Shock

[OKC]

We were told by a local dealer that you should shock your spa everytime before you get in.  We were told since we are using a non chlorine shock it would be fine.  Does this seem obsesive?  How ofter do you shock your spa?

One other question.  Do you need to let the water cool down before you drain it?

[Brewman]

We're using a non-chlorine bromine sanitizer in a floater, and use MPS for shock.  We just add the MPS once a week, but not prior to using the spa.
I never let the water in my spa cool off prior to draining.

[HotTubMan]

One other question.  Do you need to let the water cool down before you drain it?

No. But you might want to check to make sure you have a low or "0" sanitizer reading. Hot tub water with no sanitizer in it can be quite good for the grass.

[Vinny]

What exactly are you using to sanitize your water? Is it Bromine or Chlorine?

Do you use Nature 2  (N2) or the Frog system too?

If you're using chlorine, MPS is good as it lets you use the tub in 15 min but your not santizing the tub only oxidizing. You also need to sanitize and that's what chlorine and bromine do.

Some people who use N2 do shock before getting in, the problem that I see is that MPS has a PH of 4 which lowers your tub's PH and it also drives up the total disolved solids (TDS) and at a certain point your water becomes unmanagable from what I've read. If your using bromine then that may be a different story, I have no experience with bromine.

Please let us know what and how you are using your sanitizer.

[bosco0633]

if you are using bromine, you do not need to shock before you go in.

I am not sure if your tub is new or not  but here is what I did when it was new.

After I added the small pack of activator, I set my brominator to 7.  my tub is 540gal.  So I was told by my dealer that after each soak, add 1 tablespoon per bather.  

I did, and I began a journal, watching how the chemicals were used over a few months.  In my tub and wate chemistry, this helped.

I noticed that for the first month, after each soak I shocked that this was good.  The reason, perhaps the new fad and going in it like crazy plus the water is still new with a certain water make up.

After the first month of use, I started noticeing that my bromine levels were starting to show high readings.  So I dropped my brominator down to 6.  I stopped shocking after each use as well.

Now the water is 3 and 1/2 months old.  My brominator sits at 5 and I shock only after more than two people are in the tub and once a week.

This has worked great for me.


Also with my bromine, I have noticed that my ph levels are usually always perfect.  Everyone month, I add just a bit of ph down.

Once a week though, I find that I have to add two capfuls of perfect balance, which is for alk.  I think the bromine causes this, because of its make up.  

This has been working for me, so I am not sure if this is good advice.  You will find that your water will just come into its own and you will have no problem with it.  Just look and record trends that you see over time.  


Good luck

[OKC]

No Bromine.
my tub is new, couple of weeks old.  Its a Calspa V500.  Its just big enough for our needs.  It does have a Ozonator. The startup kit included the metal gone, Natures choice oxidizer shock, a purifier cartridge, and thats about it.  We have checked our AK and ph daily and everything seems OK by testing with strips.  The water is cloudy and foam is present when you run the jets.  We have cleaned the filter several times.
  Now Im a total newb to the spa life, my wife and I have talked about getting one for 15 years.  We  love it and have used it every night.  Im sure there is a simple solution to my problem.  Im draining it as I sit here, we decided to start over.  I know there will be some experimenting until we get it.  

[Vinny]

OKC,

I'm a newbie too but have found out a couple of things.

Water that's been in a tub after a while  (1 week) does get Alka Seltzer like bubbles and some foaming, at least mine does. Brand new water acts differently, larger bubbles and clears up immediately; it takes my water about 5 minutes to clear after mixing air into the jets.

Introduced foam (detergents) will eventually go away with shocking and enzymes (I do like these things for eating up the scum line and eating up oils and detergents in water) or from normal use.

If you use a shock with a clarifier in it - it will cause foam too (just found it out today!).

The purifier isn't good enough to keep th the tub clean.

As for your chemical usage - it doesn't sound like you're using any sanitizer unless the "nature's Choice" has chlorine in it. You do need to put sanitizer in the tub for killing the bacteria that bodies and the environment introduce into the tub. Look for either dichor chlorine or lithium chlorine. The cloudiness could be from a lot of bacteria in the water. Go to any dealer and get chlorine and dump the appropriate amount for your tub as a shock dose, this should bring you up to about 10 PPM. Wait about 24 hours or until the tub is below 5 PPM.

[Ehizzle]

OKC,
I agree with Vinny. Neither ozone or the mineral cartridge are stand alone products.  You need sanitation dispite what any dealer might try to tell you different. Without using chlorine or bromine on this system cloudiness and foaming are the least of the troubles that could accure. On the ozone you can however use way less than you would otherwise. (about 1 part per million of sanitizer vs. 5)

[OKC]

What do you recomend for the sanitizer?  

[Vinny]

What do you recomend for the sanitizer?  

Some like Dichlor others like Bromine. Dichlor is a daily or every 2 day thing, bosco0633 gave you a routine for bromine.

If you go with chlorine, use enough when you get out for a 3 PPM reading on the strips. It will dissipate by the time you use the tub again (12-24 hours). Once a week shock either with MPS or chlorine and you'll be fine.

[orlandoguy]

Hey Brewman,

It's nice to see your regimine is similar to mine as you seem to know wat you're doing.  I also use the bromine floater and shock once a week and have very few problems.

Recently, someone said that the bromine floater will void your warranty and I checked and couldn't find anything except that certain chlorine products will void it.

It got me a little nervous but the risk of the floater getting trapped up against the shell and burning it seemed small compared to the ease of care it provided me.  I guess it's one of those chances I will have to face.

[tony]

Bromine was probably the most preferred way to sanitize a spa at one time, even by the manufacturers.  Who ever said it would void a warranty had to have some misinformation.

Now trichlor in a floater will void almost every manufacturers warranty.

[HotTubMan]

Bromine was probably the most preferred way to sanitize a spa at one time, even by the manufacturers.  Who ever said it would void a warranty had to have some misinformation.

Now trichlor in a floater will void almost every manufacturers warranty.

Some warranties (Dimension 1 for example) state that the use of slow dissolving sanitizers will void the warranty ( among other things). This would include any puck, chlorine or bromine.

Other manufacturers do not prohibit any puck, including trichlor.

[tony]

Some warranties (Dimension 1 for example) state that the use of slow dissolving sanitizers will void the warranty ( among other things). This would include any puck, chlorine or bromine.

Other manufacturers do not prohibit any puck, including trichlor.

Agreed!

There are few manufacturers that allow the use of trichlor...Emerald is one that comes to mind...but the vast majority disallow it.

[bosco0633]

actually, trichlor is widely accepted here in Canada.  Arctic spas sells chlorine which is trichlor.

it is very difficult to find dichlor.  It is not widely accepted.  Here in Ontario where I am from, most dealers of brands recommend bromine still.

I may try trichlor next year for a bit, if I can find a local supplier close by.