tony

I find if I keep my TA at about 80, my pH is much more stable. When my TA runs up close to 100, my pH will rise with it.

I have disconnected my ozonator for those very same reasons. I shock with 1.5 tablespoons of non chlorine shock once per week to maintain my water.

In my spa I add a tablespoon at a time.

When following the Enhance/Activate bromine program you add 4 0z Activate the first time and 2 oz thereafter. For a normal shock, use 2 oz per 250 gallons. If your bromine floater does not adjust, then you have to experiment to see how many tabs you need to maintian a certain bromine level. I see that Protect Plus is a combination of stain and scale and a clarifier, so definitiely stop using the separate clarifier. Many times it makes sense to start with fresh water. It will all come together...we all had to endure the learning curve.

I am not terribly experienced with bromine but a couple of things stand out here. First, with a very high level of bromine, just take the floater out until you get to a managable level. Next, you must get your pH and TA into the proper range. I am not familiar with the test kit you are using but you need something that will give you numbers. You need to get your pH in the 7.2-7.8 range preferably 7.4-7.6. You want your TA to be 80-120. With bromine you may want to be on the higher end of that range because the bromine tabs are going to naturally pull your pH down and the high TA will help keep it up. The values you should be concerned with are total bromine, pH and TA...Calcium hardness only at your new fill. Your start with the sodium bromide to get a bromine bank is good. Protect Plus sounds like a stain and scale and is ok for weekly basis as is the natural clear enzyme (though this is purely optional). I would not use the clarifier unless you have hazy (not cloudy) water. Clarifiers, IMO, should not be needed for regular maintenance but can be used to help with water that just won't sparkle. Fill your floater weekly or as needed and keep it adjusted to give you a 3-5 ppm free bromine. Shock weekly or after heavy use with the Activate which is a buffered MPS. You should only need about four tablespoons of Activate per use. Six oz is way off the charts. Alk Up should bring both TA and pH up while pH UP should raise just pH. Test your water at least weekly and adjust accordingly before levels get too out of wack. If your spa is six months old and you changed your water at two months, you are probably overdue for a water change, especially with all the products you are adding. With yellow water it may be prudent to drain and fill. Most spa owners change water between three and four months.

I used the PoolFrog for two years because it came with two years worth of trichlor. As I mentioned, it now acts as a pretty good trichlor puck feeder. I use trichlor to keep about 1ppm free chlorine and suppliment with liquid chlorine about twice a week. This gives me a good free chlorine level and keeps my CYA levels in check. I never have any combined chlorine in my pool so I do not shock. Right now I am experimenting with bleach to sanitize in my spa and shock with 1.5 tablespoons of non buffered MPS weekly. I have yet to register any combined chlorine with this routine. I have removed my ozonator and stopped using mineral cartridges as I do not believe they add any value to my water because I use my spa almost daily, thus I add chlorine daily. I keep my TA at about 80 and need to add about one tablespoon of dry acid every other week to keep my pH in line. I am about two months into my bleach experiment. So far everything looks good.

Nature2 for a spa is a combination of silver and zinc and can be used with chlorine only. The Spa Frog is a combination of silver and limestone and can be used with either chlorine or bromine. The Frog Bam is a product used for pool Frog system and is not available for use in a spa. I have used both the spa N2 cartridge and the spa Frog cartridge for extended periods in my spa. I also had a pool Frog system on my pool. For the record, my pool Frog now makes a pretty good trichlor chlorine feeder and I am not using any minerals in my spa.

I know of someone who has the same symptoms as you are experiencing. This person is sensitive to chlorine and bromine. You may want to try a biguanide product such as Baqua Spa, LeisureTime Free or Spa Guard Soft Soak. It may work for you and is a real sanitizer.

When I used a mineral cartridge I always placed it on top of the filter. It will work just as well there.

Chas, one of the moderators on this forum is a Brilliance supporter. If I were to use bromine, I would use this system.

It has nothing to do with chips. Jacuzzi and Sundance spas built pre 2006 with the higher end controller could heat to 108 with a simple jumper change. There may be some early 2006 spas that can still do this but the J-325 does not have that particular controller.

Absolutely. Its LeisureTime SpaGloss. I don't use every water change but try to do it a couple of time a year on my granite finish shell.

I've got the 1/4" blanket also with a seam. Just use a scissors and cut so it lays flat on the water. Follow the contours of the shell. Rough cut a little larger and fine cut to be more exact. It will flatten out on the water in no time.

Believe it or not, with some enzyme systems your water will last up to a year. TDS is much less of an issue with enzymes. Though some users get by without adding chlorine or bromine, a low residual is required in the same way Nature2 or the Frog is used. I have been tempted to try Eco One or The Natural, the two most popular enzyme systems. I don't like the fact that you must rinse your filters weekly and that the pH likes to stay up around 8.2. They also don't come cheap.

Baqua won't give problems for the first two plus years but long term use will show the problems with water mold. I first heard of this from a Baqua user in a pool about five years ago. My dealer was a big fan of biguanides until recently and is now moving customers to other routines. They only recommend Baqua to those who have allergic reactions to bromine and chlorine. If you asked me three years ago, most spa owners I know were using Baqua and loving it. Today they are all using either bromine or chlorine.

Anyone? Filters should last eighteen months and sometimes longer if taken care of. I use two filters and swap out every month so I clean one while the other is in use therefore I purchase new filters every three years or so.

Thanks for the info. Standard Oxone from Dupont is about 43% Potassium Monopersulfate (aka peroxymonosulfate) so it sounds like Leisure Time is cutting that down. I suspect that Leisure Time Renew may have more Magnesium Carbonate in it to be more pH neutral since standard Oxone is acidic. The same company that makes Leisure Time also makes GLB and Robarb. The GLB Oxy-Brite for pools, for example, is more like pure Oxone at 43% active ingredient. So my guess is that the spa products are intentionally made more pH neutral. Of course, one can handle this on their own through separate addition of chemicals. LeisureTime Renew is a buffered non chlorine shock that is pH neutral. I don't use it because it is expensive and you have to use a lot of product compared to non buffered MPS (more than twice the amount). I use a very inexpensive non brand at 43%. Two pounds seems to last forever at 1.5 tablespoons per week.

Yup. Its an ad to sell enzyme products. Enzymes can't do the job themselves, though. They need chlorine or bromine to work effectively.

The mahogany stained pine must be what I saw. No more wood cabinets for Arctic?

As long as you keep your pH and TA in line.......they can't.

Is it the Eco-Spa chlorine generator by Balboa. Try www.spapartsnet.com.

Cedar and redwood are soft woods and they will outlast the spa????? What gives? Oak is terrible outside? I've got a redwood cabinet and I absolutely love it. It takes a little more work once per year but IMO it is well worth it...and no matter what you do to it, you can repair and color match...after all it is real wood. I believe Arctic makes a mahogany cabinet which is probably the only hardwood that would be acceptable. Cedar and redwood are the best as they naturally resist pests and decay but are getting very expensive to use.

Yes, you have to wait for the free chlorine level to drop to five ppm or below to use the spa. One of the advantages of using non chlorine shock is the ability to use the spa shortly after shocking.

As Richard said, this is simply not true. Chlorine is actually more effective at higher temps than at low temps up to about 120 degrees.

I shock with non chlorine shock once per week and never accumulate combined chlorine. I have tried all different ways and like this best. Non chlorine shock seems to be better at preventing CC while shocking with chlorine is better at eliminating existing CC. Pro Team Non Chlorine Spa Shock seems to be a buffered MPS. You could use this weekly and shock with chlorine only when you register any CC (total chlorine - free chlorine = combined chlorine) or you could alternate every other week with chlorine and non chlorine shocks. You could also just shock with chlorine whenever you find you have combined chlorine and not use non chlorine shock at all. As you see there are many ways to shock your spa. I use an inexpensive non chlorine shock that is not buffered because it is less expensive and I use half the product.