Well, Another Test is on ...

[Vinny]

... I'm experimenting again!

I've learned a lot in the year that I've had my tub: chemicals that work, chemicals that don't, how long my tub will retain heat with just the circ pump in the winter and my water sometimes behaves in ways that NOBODY can explain!

Now for my ozonator - I've turned it off!!

I want to see how much different my water will behave without it vs using it for 10 hours a day. I'm close to a water change anyway (I finally made 3 months with very little usage) and I figured that I can let my water go if it doesn't do good without ozone.

I'll post my findings!

[fletch49]

It's true that you can keep your water for 3 months, but it's too much work...

THat last month it seems like you really have to stay on top of your water regime, and add things like Clarifiers, defoamers, as well as shock if the hell out of it if you end up having people over in it.

I dump my water every 2 months...

[tanstaafl2]

It's true that you can keep your water for 3 months, but it's too much work...

THat last month it seems like you really have to stay on top of your water regime, and add things like Clarifiers, defoamers, as well as shock if the hell out of it if you end up having people over in it.

I dump my water every 2 months...

Doesn't seem that hard to me. I am into my fourth month of my first water fill and it is still doing fine. Tub doesn't get a heavy load but it has stayed clean with little fiddling on my part so far. Will probably do my first change this weekend but only because I feel like I should, not because it has been a problem. Although I have been saying that to myself for a couple of weeks now!  

Will be interested to hear how the test turns out since I use ozone with a 24 hr circ pump.

Am also curious to see if I see that much difference with "fresh" water.

Although reluctant to add the SpaGuard Spa Sentry that I used on the initial fill on the advice of my dealer after reading the negative opinions about it expressed here.

http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=wtb-hottub;action=display;num=1152293553

[ORANGEPEEL]

I'm new, about 1 week of usage for our tub.
Have an Ozonator and 24 hr circ. pump.
How can you really tell if the Ozonator is actually working? :-/
The 24 hr pump does run all the time.

[Vinny]

It seems that many people can keep theie water for 3 to 4 months, I couldn't go past 1 1/2 months for almost a full year. It wasn't until I kept it simple with the chems (this last water change) that I made it this far.

tanstaafl2 - The water is really different when brand new ... I was amazed myself at how it behaved. Bubbles were bigger and the "foam" from the air being injected cleared immediately  -  not in 5 minutes.

ORANGEPEEL - only 2 ways to tell - open up equipment bay and see if there is some indication on the ozone generator to say it's on and nothing is interfering with it's path (bubbles out of the circ pump discharge is a good indication that there's nothing in the ozone's path). And if you smell it - it should smell like it smalls after a lightning strike - kind of sweet.

I've never smelt it but I looked at my mazzi injector (the part that mixes ozone and water) and it has brown residue so I "know" my ozone is working.

[Brewman]

 I get a minimum of 3 months, and often push it to 4.  I think it depends a lot on what type of water we have, what our usage pattern is, what chemicals we're dumping it, etc.......

As they say YMMV.

[drewstar]

This is great Vinny.  I am very interested in seeing your experinces.

AS far as changing the water out....I get 3-4 months out of my tub. It's not that difficult.   If I lived in a warm climate, I'd be more inclinded with Fletch to just dump it after 2 months. Espicailly so considering the cost of chems, and matinetence to stay on top of it. Hey Water is the cheapest chemical you can add to your tub and nothing beats Fresh water.

However Dumping the water from Late Nov  through March in New England sometimes is not an option. New owners   who have outdoor tubs in the cold climates are best served to get a handle on  what it takes to get 4 months out of a fill up (it's not hard at all).  

[kysteelerja]

had my tub since late march. have done a full water change and two partials, last one monday, and my chems are still out of wack....bromine,chlor off the charts, had to turn off the bromine dispenser, going on three days, and it's coming down, ph was also off the charts never been like that before (usually low) had to buy ph decreaser. TA was really low...and still is...i hope i get a handle on the chem regimen...water looks great, bubbles dissipate quickly, nice and clear, but the chems are off!!!!

oh and how long to wait after chems added to check the levels??

[tubbyB]

Can the ozonator be turned off in the Sundance Optima?

If so how?

Thanks

[Wisoki]

There should be a pink plug on the side of the eqipment box. Pull that plug and your ozonator will be off.

Can the ozonator be turned off in the Sundance Optima?

If so how?

Thanks

[JJ]

Although reluctant to add the SpaGuard Spa Sentry that I used on the initial fill on the advice of my dealer after reading the negative opinions about it expressed here.

http://www.whatsthebest-hottub.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.pl?board=wtb-hottub;action=display;num=1152293553

tanstaafl2 and I have the same dealer who swears by spa sentry (thanks for buying, I got two robes and a bag of chemicals for the referral).  The dealer even has gone as far a giving me a free bottle when I had to drain the tub for some warrenty work.  Anyway, I refilled this morning and used the Spa Sentry, but did it a little different based on previous experience.

1. Fill the tub - put in freshly cleaned filters

2. With heater off, run pumps on low and adjust ph and TA with baking soda until ph is 7.6 to 7.8 and TA is 120 - This took about three hours of constant filtration with measuring about every hour.

3. Remove filters and rinse all the dead alge out of them.  I always get this in Atlanta, even in wintertime.

4. Run all pumps on high with air injection on and put a whole bottle of spa sentry in the middle of the tub.  Get the foam scoop.

5.  The Spa Sentry label has changed so now I can tell what it does.  It removed metals, precipatated calcium (softened the water), and added clarifier, plus locked and buffered the ph.  I would not have believed all the nasty brownish foam that could come out of otherwise clear looking water.  I must have scooped for thirty minutes.  I can't believe I drink this stuff

6.  Add DiChlor - mix in throughly.  Run pumps on low with air off. Clean sides of tub with magic eraser.

Tomorrow I will rinse the filters again and put in a new N2.  I thought I would hold off on N2 until I finished cleaning up the water.

I'll let you know how it works.

If anyone knows a good reason why I shouldn't be using this stuff, I would like to know so I can tell my dealer.  He highly recommends it.

[tanstaafl2]

had my tub since late march. have done a full water change and two partials, last one monday, and my chems are still out of wack....bromine,chlor off the charts, had to turn off the bromine dispenser, going on three days, and it's coming down, ph was also off the charts never been like that before (usually low) had to buy ph decreaser. TA was really low...and still is...i hope i get a handle on the chem regimen...water looks great, bubbles dissipate quickly, nice and clear, but the chems are off!!!!

oh and how long to wait after chems added to check the levels??

Think it depends on which chemical you are talking about. Don't use bromine but Dichlor I check after 15-20 minutes. If I am trying to affect pH and TA I wait at least 1 day after any chemical adjustment before I check and consider adding more chemicals.

[Vinny]

...
As they say YMMV.

Who says that? And what does that mean?

Brewman, you must work for a large corporation that uses "coded" abbreviations. I work for one and 3/4 of the time I'm clueless ... but I'm like that in my personal life too! LOL

I should add, my first observation was this morning - I had 3 sweaty kids in the tub last night and didn't dose until this morning - water was clear, ozone would have kicked on at Midnight for 5 hours.  But I added 7.5 PPM in there to combat their nasties since I didn't dose last night. Typically for a "shock" dose I use 6 PPM.

[Chas]

If anyone knows a good reason why I shouldn't be using this stuff, I would like to know so I can tell my dealer.  He highly recommends it.

Two reasons: for one, that's a lot of work just to keep from tossin' in a bit of Spa Down every couple of weeks! Wow. I fill my spa in two easy steps:

Add water.
Add 6 oz "Spa Down."

Sometimes the test strip shows I need more or less, but it's around that. I usually put in 3 oz and then let it run for an hour before tossing in the next 3oz. From that point on, it's the usual Dichlor as needed, and 2oz of Spa Down every two or three weeks, sometimes four weeks. But I'm out at the spa with the test strips and my little supply kit anyway, so it's no big deal. I guess I should put in 'Metal Gon,' but I haven't seen much metal come out of the water for the past few years, so I guess I'm lucky on that one.

Another reason I stopped selling this stuff is that for some reason I have had lots of customers who did NOT DO all those steps you pointed out, and it ruined their heater elements, some even lost the circ pump. It took a lot of work to dig out the heater housing - it gets completely caked, almost solid - to replace the element.

Again - this is the fault of the owner for not reading and following the important instructions on the label.

BTW - I don't see any mention of hardness. The products I used to sell required a narrow range of hardness or they would cost you money. Does Spa Sentry say anything about hardness on the label?

[JJ]

Well of course I have tossed the bottle, but I seem to remember it saying if your calcium hardness was below a certain number, you would only need one bottle, above a certain number you would need two.  I used one.

My PH is ALWAYS low and tends to drift low over time.  I don't even own a bottle of Spa Down.

My usual water routine is very similar to yours, except substitue "baking soda" instead of "SPA DOWN"

I think it was the dead alge that made such a terrible mess the previous times I have used Spa Sentry.  I was a lot easier when I filtered it out first.   It also cleaned up the water very nicely, and removed some odor problems I usually have during the summer time. ( with the spa, that is)