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TinyBubbles

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  1. When we were spa shopping we ran into that. I believe it was Sundance spas. They just toss the cartridge in the filter compartment.
  2. Keep in mind that all circulation pumps are not created equal. Some are very small. Artesian has switched to large circulation pumps. We have one and are thrilled with it.
  3. Bromine. You leave a floater in the spa which will slowly deliver bromine to the spa while you are away.
  4. I have to cast my vote for the bathing suits. You'd be suprised at how much soap residual is left in them. We purchased a new front loading washer and you have to use a special low suds soap. There is so much of the old stuff left in clothes that you get tons of suds at first. I ran my clothes through the new machine without adding any detergent and still got tons of bubbles the first time. When we have friends over in the tub it drives me insane. The bubbles get soooooo high. Of course if I have to weight the evil of bubbles or seeing my friends naked, I'll take the bubbles! Be careful using too much foam control product. It's a great idea to put it in a spray bottle and just mist the bubbles. It's only going to break their surface tension, but the cause will still be in the water.
  5. If you've gone 3 months on your first water fill, then it's definately time for a water change. Your cya levels will rise every time that you add dichlor or any other stabilized chlorine to your spa. I won't get into the whole debate about wether that's a problem or not. That's like talking politics and religion, everyone will never agree on that one. Are you using dichlor to sanitize your spa or do you just shock with it? What is your maintenance routine? At this point, your water is getting old and it's saturated. If you've kept your water up until now, you've done really great for a new spa owner. Give us a little info. on your water care routine so that people can help more. BTW, green could be from metal in the water or low sanitizer levels.
  6. I use scumballs. They are the same thing, just round instead of duck shaped. I love using them and they definately work. I squeeze mine out over the side of the tub everynight and like Tony said, rinse it periodically. Over time, it will go from floating high in the water to sinking, then you know it's time for a new one.
  7. Congratulations. When you post the next time, start a new thread so that other people interested in a salt system will see it. They might not look under "grow up".
  8. Good analogy about the grey water. The ammonia in our sweat and our dead skin cells feed so many organisms. That's why there is such a huge demand for oxidation in a spa. A pool can function with only a chlorine generator, but if you use one in a spa, you still have to add large amounts of an oxidizer. Bacteria from fecal matter may be the most common bacteria to cause digestive illnesses that could be introduced into swimming water, but they aren't what's clouding up your water and creating that smell. That's the problem with viruses, they can be in clear, fresh smelling water. It's probably safe to say that most people that contracted hot tub itch, did so in clear water. Hillbilly is correct that the things feeding off our waste products are responsible for cloudy, stinky water. For example, bacteria that breakdown sulfates thrive in warm water. It's the process of them consuming things in the water and the byproducts produced that are responsible for the smell. You are right that even clean individuals have some e.coli or other fecal contaminants on them. Fortunately for us spa users, most adults don't put their head under water, so we aren't getting it in our mouths. Transmission of gastroenteritus causing bacteria in a spa should be very low because of that reason. If I'm not showering immediately after getting out of the spa, I wash my hands with antibacterial soap. I don't want to grab a potato chip if some bug got on my finger. Keep in mind I said it could be algae or some other bacteria. I didn't mean to imply that it's the most common cause, but it does happen. We enjoy leaving our spa open on the weekends to enjoy the lights and water feature. I learned quickly that I have to keep my MPS or chlorine up during this time. I'm in the sunny south and people in colder climates may not encounter this problem. I know people here that use algaecide in their portable spas. Maybe it isn't common enough that I should have mentioned it.
  9. Yep! Took about 3 days to really get the clarity back -- I put a new filter in and cleaned the heck out of the old one. I had bought it so I could rotate them anyway, just hadn't gotten around to putting it in! Who is it, primarily, that likes to grow when sanitizer levels drop? E Coli? Something else? Just curious, but this is the second time sanitizer levels got low and within a couple of days the water went from crystal clear to funky looking and slightly swampy smelling, so whoever the little beasties are, they sure flourish when they get a chance. I had the same thing happen in my spa with low sanitizer levels. It could be algae or something else that loves to feed on organics and waste in the water. We don't just use our spa after dark so it's often exposed to sunlight. An algae bloom can happen fast. Generally that smell means algae, but it could be from a bacteria. I doubt it's e. coli or anything else that's harmful, but you never know. E. coli and other nasty bugs would have to be introduced into your water. If they aren't there, they can't multiply. If you've ever set up a new aquarium you know that there is a nitrification process that happens in water. Even with nobody soaking in it, it turns cloudy and icky for several days and once it clears up you can introduce fish. There's a technical explanation for the whole process, but who really cares about that. When my water got nasty I had friends coming over to soak and I wanted it clear in a hurry. When it wasn't clearing up fast enough I added clarifier to the water and rinsed the filters every 30 minutes. I had clear water that night. The clarifier really seemed to help the filter trap the gunk. I just bought a new set of filters to rotate also. We use our spa alot and I could tell a big difference with the new filters. We might just get new ones every 6 months and toss the old ones. I'm glad you got your water cleared up. There's nothing like expecting to soak and opening your spa up to gunk.
  10. Just scroll down more. It's still here.
  11. I haven't tried it, but I saw where someone said they keep milk jugs of water in their freezer and pop them in the spa to cool it down. We've been saving our containers and we'll try it out.
  12. You should be able to shock with either dichlor or MPS. Chemically they will both be converted to bromine. It's really just a matter of personal preference. Technically, there are upper limits to the level of chlorine you should have in your spa before using it, but MPS does not have these limits. It's one of the reason it's so popular. You can shock and use it alot faster than with dichlor. Did your spa clear up?
  13. Wow! Good eye hillbilly. I think you solved his problem. Never mix those chemicals. I think it's time for a drain and refill. Pick one sanitizer and then work with that. Thanks to hillbilly you should be well on your way to enjoying your spa in a healthy way.
  14. I almost forgot to post this link. http://www.epa.gov/opp00001/foia/reviews/0...2006-01-27a.pdf. This is the 2006 info. for N2 from the epa. Performing start up procedures on an unattended spa is different than having to maintain the same levels of chlorine with N2 that you would have to have to maintain without it. I use dichlor and if I leave my spa unattended long enough I'm going to need to shock it as well. My instructions with my chlorine start up kit said to shock as needed. My sister uses bromine and I asked her, same thing. She shocks as needed. The literature that I got with my N2 cartridge does state low chlorine, not no chlorine. Many people want to keep their chlorine useage at a minimum. One thing to question is wether or not MPS is better for you than chlorine. If you follow zodiac's instructions you are adding one chemical instead of another. I know chlorine and bromine have health implications. I don't know about MPS. That's definately something to investigate. Thanks for your info. Tony. I certainly wouldn't want to have cloudy water every third day. Right now, I think you and I are using the exact same method. I want to try Mps daily dosing, but things are going so well that I'm hesitant. I wish you tested your MPS levels to see if possibly you just needed to use more MPS than what is suggested. Kinda like the vermonter dichlor method, add for levels not just by amounts. But, then again, why add 3tbs. of mps when you can get by with less chlorine, right? I think I'll have to look into MPS more before I decide if it's better to be stewing in that than chlorine.
  15. I think you've just answered a question I had in another post regarding TDS. Cynurates from CYA and sulfates from MPS add to the problematic type of TDS. Any idea of how many ppm TDS from these? I think this will answer alot of your questions. http://www.rhtubs.com/TDS.htm
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