Bullfrog @ease smartchlor fail

[Thisismyname]

I had a Caldera for 15 years and used BaquaSpa for most of its life.  Never ever had an issue with water quality or smell or anything.  Sometimes the tub would go for months without being opened...no chemicals added and no issues.


Got a Bullfrog A8 a few years ago and it's been a constant battle.  Using dichlor and a nature 2 mineral stick for the most part.  If I don't go out once a week and add a few tsps of dichlor the water becomes nasty quick.

I bought the new @ease setup with the mineral cartridge on one side and  a smartchlor on the other.  Followed directions....supposed to change out smartchlor once a month and the mineral every 4 months.  No other chemicals needed.....

Water began getting stinky after a few weeks and noticed black mold growing on things that get wet but not submerged.  By 4 months when it was time for a water change and new cartridges the water was disgusting.... green cloudy and smelly.  Lots of mold growing on surfaces.  Spent 2 days draining and cleaning before going back to dichlor and a nature 2 stick.

Anyone know what went wrong?  The tub doesn't get used too much.  Maybe 1 or 2 times a week max and usually only me. ....once in a while the 4 of us get in together....2 little ones

[castletonia]

I assume you still are balancing the water (ph, Alkalinity, etc) correct?

I have no experience with the Bullfrog @ease cartridges but I assume just like the inline ones made for Hot Spring/Caldera, Marquis, and Artesian, that you have adjustable settings.  I have a Hot Spring SX using @ease.  I have my mineral set to 6 and SmartChlor set to 2.  Yes my hot tub is smaller (230 gallons) but it gets used every day by 1-3 people for a total of 30-60 minutes.  Filtration on mine is set to run 2 hours twice daily.  I shock weekly using SpaGuard Enhanced Shock, adjust pH and TA and add Natural Chemistry Cleanse Weekly.  My first cartridge lasted 4 weeks and my second cartridge is going on week 6, but its almost empty.  I've had no issues at all other than that the SmartChlor for some reason lowers pH and TA, which I already knew.

The SmartChlor cartridge life is variable and not guaranteed to be 4 weeks.  The setting you choose, the size of your hot tub, the bather load and the amount of filtration will affect the lifespan.  Low pH will also deplete the cartridge rapidly.  I do firmly believe that the shock once a month claim by Frog is not sufficient, but YMMV.

Without knowing more information, I would have to attribute the water quality to either inadequate Frog settings, not shocking frequently enough, improper water chemistry or inadequate filtration.  I have never used Baqua before but I think your experience should be considered the exception, not rule.  Any hot tub that goes months without attention and still has clear water means you were either fortunate, had a really good ozone, or had low pH and the acidity of the water did not allow for anything to get funky.