MPS in Hot Springs

[gkck]

I have tries the search but cannot find my situation anywhere.

My Hotsprings (Hot Spot) dealer sold me a unit to slide inside my filter to reduce the amount of chlorine I need in my spa. I have the MPS test strips. I have about a 250 gallon spa and add 2 TBSP of MPS every other day. Every time I test the water the MPS is low and the way to bring it up (according to the directions on the strip container is to add Chlorine. If this is true then how am I reducing chlorine? What is the advantage suppose to be? Is it common to have to add chemicals every two days to your spa. We have very hard water (New Mexico) and I use PH decrease. Add no water and two days later it reads high again. Am I doing something wrong?

Any help/advice is appreciated

Greg

[SerjicalStrike]

My advice would be to start adding chlorine when you are done using the spa or if you go more than 4 days without using the spa.

The mineral cartridge helps you to use less chlorine by reducing the amount needed to get the chlorine level to 3-5ppm,  but you still need to get the level up to 3-5ppm to properly sanitize the spa.  

I would also suggest only using MPS once a week to burn up an combined chlorine.

[Bill_Stevenson]

The slide-in cartridge you are referring to is an ion exchanger that puts silver ions into the water.  This is made by Zodiac and they sell their own version of it under the brand name Nature 2.  

The way silver ions in solution help to reduce chlorine requirements is by making the cell walls of the bacteria more permeable.  This alllows the chlorine to enter the cell chamber of each bacteria more quickly and to more efficiently kill the bacteria.  You still will need to add dichlor to a level of 2-3 ppm after each use of your tub.  Although you can use MPS the way you are doing now, I would suggest that you consider using dichlor for your daily treatment and using the MPS to shock once a week or so.  If you do this you will have less total dissolved solids and better control of the water.

Additional information on how to use dichlor can be found by going to rhtubs.com and look in the FAQs section for the Vermonter's water treatment program.  The Vermonter is a professional water chemist and his recommendations are the best I have seen.  FWIW, I am a chemical engineer but water chemistry is not my professional area of endeavor.

Regards,

Bill

[drewstar]

IT sounds like the unit that your dealer sold you to go inside your filter well is a Nature 2 (N2) or similliar product.  In theroy, it release silver ions into the water,  which makes  the bacteria more suspetible to the sanitizing agent (I belive it weakens the bacteria's cell wall). In a nut shell you are supposed to be able to use less sanitizing agents (chlorine, bromine or MPS). ie; you can kill more bacteria with less sanitizer.

Additionaly the manufactuer of the product claim it will also "enhance" your water, making it clearer, and "silkier". Your whites whiter. Your breath minty freash.    Some folks claim it reduces male patern baldness. Woman claim an increase of 2 cup sizes.  


Some folks here swear by it.  I've used it and didn't see any improvement.  And yes, the dealer also told me I'd be using less sanitizer, but I was never given a program that called for less sanitizer.  Given the cost of the product ($25-$30 per unit) and the cost of Dichlor, I figured for me, using the product was significantly more expsensive than not.  But as I said, some folks here absolutey swear by it.

I say, judge for yourself, use the program for a while, and then switch off of it. See for yourself .

I am on a dichlor, and ozone system and shock with MPS, so I'm not an expert in your mehtod, but 2 tbs of MPS everyother day seems to me to be ALOT.  


Here iswhat the manufactuer recomends for sanitizing your pool with N2

http://www.nature2.com/spas2.asp


Before Each Use        
Add 1 tablespoon of potassium peroxymonosulfate (MPS) to spa per 250 gallons (approx. 1000 litres)
(Note: 1 tablespoon = 1 tablet = 3/4 ounce = 21 grams.) A convenient way to insure proper MPS level is to use a Nature2 Spa Test Strip. If the Nature2 Spa Test Strip indicates a low level of MPS, add 1 tablespoon of MPS to spa per 250 gallons and retest.

Once A Week      
Add 3 tablespoons of potassium peroxymonosulfate to spa per 250 gallons (approx. 1000 litres). Check and adjust pH and total alkalinity. A convenient way to check pH and total, alkalinity levels is to use a Nature2 Spa Test Strip.

------------------------------------------


The silver ion catridge must be replaced every time you refil your tub.  There have been warnings posted in this forum not to keep old catridges in the filter well. They may break, spilling the ceramic beads into the pump causing major, non warenty damage.


Question for the pros:
The above method only calls for MPS. Can a hot tub be properly sanitized only using MPS?  I was under the impression some amounts of diichlor or bromine would be needed no matter how much MPS or magic siver beads you use?

[tony]

Question for the pros:
The above method only calls for MPS. Can a hot tub be properly sanitized only using MPS?  I was under the impression some amounts of diichlor or bromine would be needed no matter how much MPS or magic siver beads you use?

I am not a pro, but I have tried using the N2 cartridge with only MPS and it did not work for me.  I even tried it with a dichlor shock once per week and MPS during use and it did not work.

[tonyp]

I use N2 with ozone and shock with dichlor weekly.  I also use MPS before each tub use.  I never measure chlorine or MPS levels.  

It's been almost 2 years now without any water issues other than a high Ph due to hard water which I slowly adjust and usually get stable in time for my next water change (4 months).

[DPS]

The Nature2 is mostly colloidal silver, so you cannot use bromine with it (the Spa Frog is mostly ionic silver, and you can use bromine with it).
When we had our customers on Nature2, with ozone, most were reasonably successful as long as they shocked once per week with MPS and used dichlor after each use.  We had a few customers that were against using chlorine and had many recurring problems - including water mold that would only go away with heavy doses of dichlor.
King Technologies makes a mineral "stick" version of the Spa Frog that fits in the filter like the Nature2 AND works very well with bromine or chlorine.
All of our customers who were previously using Nature2 have switched to this  and are reporting very good results.  They use granular bromine (some use dichlor) and shock weekly with MPS.

[hawkman]

I have the Envoy, & the Silver thing . I use chlorine before each use and then shock with it once per week. I think the HS manual said to use 1/4 tsp of chlorine per 250 gallons each time and 1 1/2 tsp chlorine per 250 gallons each week.

I opted not to use MPS because it takes more MPS than chlorine and it costs more per oz.

Any issues here?

[lskarp]

I have a 450 gal vita Nuage that has Ozone.  I also run N2 with 1 tsp of Spa56 (DiClor) after each use and 2 TBSP of DiClor and 2 TBSP of Renew (MPS I think) once a week.  I am very happy with my water quality thus far.

I am a little unsure of the benefit of N2 as I think I am using the same amount of chems that I would have without it I think.  But it works and I am sticking with it for now.

Good luck!