Trouble Balancing Initial Fill Water

[spanewbe]

We filled up our SA Euphoria on Wednesday eve, had our first soak on Thursday and have been in the spa every day.  We love the spa and will post more details, pictures (as requested) and a review later.

We are having trouble balancing our water.  The water that comes in from our tap is very hard.  We know this from our swimming pool experience.  We added 4 oz of shock once the water was up to temp (99 degrees is good for us and the kids) then loaded the spa frog at the settings recommended by Marquis.  After the first two days, we increased the bromine setting from 2 to 3 and still did not show any bromine reading from our test kit, which is a Taylor K-2005.  The pH reading has been off the chart since the first day we filled the spa.    We have twice added 1-1 1/2 oz of Marquis pH & alkalinity down.  At our dealer's rec, we today added 16 oz of Metal Gon from Leisure Time.  As of a few hours ago, our latest test still showed no bromine and pH off the charts.  After the latest test, we just upped the bromine setting to the max.  My wife has kept our pool water in perfect balance for the 5 years we have had our pool and is trying to learn the ropes of the spa water.  Any thoughts on what we need to do next and what we might have done wrong to this point?

Are any of the following products worth using/trying? If yes, which one is the best?

1.  Rendezvous PH Magic
2.  Leisure Time PH Balance
3.  Leisure Time PH Balance Plus

Thank you for your input!

[spanewbe]

Morning update:

Yesterday afternoon we added 16 oz of Leisure Time Metal Gon and later in the evening we upped the bromine setting of the spa frog to the max, as noted in our post of last night.  This morning's test showed pH in the 7.5 range and bromine in the 1 to 2 range, so we are on the right track.  We will dial back the bromine setting and we should be set.  Maybe the Metal Gon took some time to circulate and do its thing?

[tony]

Anyone with hard water should use Metal Gon or similar product.  I am not a fan of any of the balance or magic products.  Your taylor kit will keep you in control of your water.

[Mendocino101]

I do not think you are lacking sanitizer .......you should be fine with the frog set around 3 .......but you need to get the rest of the spa in balance before you will a accurate reading on your bromine .....Why not go to your dealer as he should be more familiar with nuances of your water in the area .....I am sure they have dealt with it before and knows what it takes to get it in line....

[spanewbe]

I do not think you are lacking sanitizer .......you should be fine with the frog set around 3 .......but you need to get the rest of the spa in balance before you will a accurate reading on your bromine .....Why not go to your dealer as he should be more familiar with nuances of your water in the area .....I am sure they have dealt with it before and knows what it takes to get it in line....

We have turned the frog bromine back to 3 now that the rest of the water parameters are in balance.  Our dealer is great, but he is over an hour's drive away.  He is also new to the spa business, having just opened his first store about one year ago.  So while he has been helpful, we also value the opinions of many of the experienced spa veterans that frequent this forum.   Water chemistry can be a bit complex, as we have learned in maintaining our pool water.  Also, the Phoenix area covers a lot of square miles and has quite a few water providers, each with somewhat unique water chemistry issues.  Anyway, I think we have things dialed in now.  We will drain and refill at our 1 month anniversary and be sure to add the Metal Gon as the tub is filling.

[Mendocino101]

Did you deal with Brent....if so he is a great guy.....

[spanewbe]

Yes we did deal with Brett  and we concur that he is a great guy.  As I have said in previous posts, we liked a few things about the J-385 a bit better than the Euphoria, but we really wanted to support Brett's business and we had a much better feeling about doing business with him than with the Jacuzzi dealer in Phoenix.  We really appreciate the principles on which his business is based and liked the fact that he does all of the following himself at the moment:  sales, delivery, and service.  I am sure the jack of all trades mode will have to change as sales volume grows, but we liked his hands on commitment to knowing everything about the business and the product.  We have no regrets about going with the Brett, Marquis and the SA Euphoria.