jdskycaster

Stay away from Walmart/Home depot ect brands. They are not the correct kind of chemicals for spas. Do not use pool chemicals. You can use any brand of chemical you would like, some are of higher quality than other brands, thats all. Make sure you know what kind of chemical system you are using and do not mix different sanitizing systems. Learn the chemicals by their ingreidients if you are not going to a dealer for them (you should learn them anyway depending on the dealer, some do not do well with chemicals) What he may have been talking about is Biguinides (Baqua Spa)...some spa manufactures will void warrenties if these products are used. I have a question on not using pool chems. I purchased a large amount of oxy shock - MPS - for my pool this spring and did not use it. I would like to use it in the spa for weekly shocking. Why would it not be ok to do this as long as I follow the dosing recommendation on the package? The label says it is at least 99.9% MPS. JD

Thanks to both for the replies. Sorry for the multiple posts but I tried to edit my original post and kept getting database errors. I will start with the generous tsp. per user based on 30 min soaking time and adjust accordingly based on heavier usage and/or test readings the next day. Thanks again, JD

I just started up my new Arctic Tundra this week and have decided to go with this method - Nature2, Chlorine and MPS and ozone. My dealer also suggested using Dichlor after each use and shock weekly with MPS. The Nature2 recipe included in the package seems to recommend MPS after each use and then Dichlor weekly. The recipe also states that you can substitue Dichlor for MPS so both methods must be acceptable. I just wonder if this is due to much of the marketing around Nature2 being geared toward "lower" chlorine usage. This is definitely confusing to say the least. I started the Nature2 system as recommended in the recipe card - shocking the tub with Dichlor. I think I will continue with Dichlor after each use and then shock weekly with MPS. I am a bit confused on your recommendation for the amount of Dichlor after each use. Is it 2 tsp./person/350gallons? Since my tub holds 500 gallons would I need to add approx. 4 tsp./person to be in the proper range? After adding this how long do you all keep the cover open before closing after each use? Thanks, JD

I just started up my new Arctic Tundra this week and have decided to go with this method - Nature2, Chlorine and MPS. My dealer also suggested using Dichlor after each use and shock weekly with MPS. The Nature2 recipe included in the package seems to recommend MPS after each use and then Dichlor weekly. The recipe also states that you can substitue Dichlor for MPS so both methods must be acceptable. I just wonder if this is due to much of the marketing around Nature2 being geared toward "lower" chlorine usage. This is definitely confusing to say the least. I started the Nature2 system as recommended in the recipe card - shocking the tub with Dichlor. I think I will continue with Dichlor after each use and then shock weekly with MPS. I am a bit confused on your recommendation for the amount of Dichlor after each use. Is it 2 tsp./person/350gallons? Since my tub holds 500 gallons would I need to add approx. 3 tsp./person to be in the proper range? After adding this how long do you all keep the cover open before closing after each use? Thanks, JD

I just started up my new Arctic Tundra this week and have decided to go with this method - Nature2, Chlorine and MPS. My dealer also suggested using Dichlor after each use and shock weekly with MPS. The Nature2 recipe included in the package seems to recommend MPS after each use and then Dichlor weekly. The recipe also states that you can substitue Dichlor for MPS so both methods must be acceptable. I just wonder if this is due to much of the marketing around Nature2 being geared toward "lower" chlorine usage. This is definitely confusing to say the least. I started the Nature2 system as recommended in the recipe card - shocking the tub with Dichlor. I think I will continue with Dichlor after each use and then shock weekly with MPS. I am a bit confused on your recommendation for the amount of Dichlor after each use. Is it 2 tsp./person/350gallons? Since my tub holds 500 gallons would I need to add approx. 3 tsp./person to be in the proper range? After adding this how long do you all keep the cover open before closing after each use? Thanks, JD

I am just chiming in on this as I have no specific expertise in this area but I would think part of this equation comes down to reliability. If you live in a cold climate with below freezing temperatures you want as bullet-proof a system you can get that will not allow your water to get to the point where freezing occurs. I am not sure about you but I have had an experience with cheap set-back thermostats that have failed in the middle of winter. Not a big deal if you are home or not away from home for an extended period of time but you get the idea. This is an excellent theory and is one that should be explored with the rising costs of energy, but there is no substitute for a system that you can completely rely on and cost is always a factor. JD

To anyone interested, I just took delivery of my 2008 Arctic Tundra Ultra. The delivery went very smoothly and I have to say that Midwest Water Supply of Dundas, MN is excellent. They have provided a top notch buying experience as well as after sale communication and delivery. The family just completed the first soak and it was awesome. This tub provides everything we were looking for - great build quality, excellent therapy action and room for the entire family. The wife was the primary motivator for making this purchase and was all smiles:) I will keep you posted on our experience with the tub as we move forward but I will have to warn you that I may not be spending much time at the keyboard over the next few months! Take care and happy tubbing, JD

Richard, Thanks much for the information in the previous thread. I did read through the links you posted. Some very good info for thought but there was also a lot of confusing rhetoric about the product also. I guess what I was hoping for was a definitive study or report by an independent third party which quantifies the risks associated with using a system like Ecosmarte without additional sanitizers in a private pool. I know there is a small chance of something like this existing since most studies would be done with regard to public pools as safety is a much larger concern and lawsuits are common. I have had 4 trouble-free seasons with the system but am also the type of person who continues to learn whenever possible. If I am taking a larger than anticipated risk with this system I would be totally open to any data of this type which demonstrates or quantifies it. Part of me also remembers growing up an my parents dairy farm where my brother and I would jump in the algae infested stock tanks just to cool off on hot summer days. We did not have a pool. We also swam in a neighbors pond. Looking back now I would hate to think what that water may have had in it as it was also a primary water source for hundreds of cattle. I am not trying to make light of the importance of proper water maintenance but rather how there are several ways to look at a problem or an opportunity. Thanks again for your posts and information. It is very helpful. Best Regards, JD

I do not know much about your pump but the reduced flow could be caused by dirty filters. You say you are changing them once or twice a week. Are these new filters or are you cleaning them and reusing? The pump should have no effect on the actual life of the filters. If you are cleaning and reusing them then they are just not getting cleaned well enough. I found out with my inground filters that they had to be soaked in filter cleaning solution or TSP regularly to remove all of the junk that builds up in them. The bottom line is after owning my first pool and maintaining it with a sand filter for nine years switching to a cartridge filter system in my new pool and then struggling with the cartridges for 3 years was enough to make me return to sand. JD

Congrats on the purchase JD. You're gonna love the Tundra. Great choice!!!! Thanks Water Boy, I have owned (and maintained) 2 different in-ground pools over the last 19 years and held the wife at bay on adding a hot tub. I finally gave in as this was "all she wanted" for a 20 year anniversary gift. There was no way I could delay any longer. She deserves it. Now that it is on order I have to admit that I am as excited as she is to be getting it. 4 weeks seems like a long way off at this point. I will post back with my impressions. Regards, JD

This is interesting. I have heard about the warranties being voided when I purchased my Ecosmarte so I called Raypak. They said as long as I kept the water at a neutral PH then I would be fine. They said nothing about having to keep it above neutral to keep the warranty intact. Another question I have is how long will a heat exchanger last anyway? Will it last longer with chlorine running through it given PH levels are maintained in the acceptable range? My previous pool was chlorine and I swapped a heater at 9 years due to the exchanger rotting. I religiously maintained my PH between 7.2 and 7.6. I cannot say if my current heater will last longer now that I am on Ecosmarte. I ran chlorine through it for the first 3 seasons, switched to Ecosmarte and am just starting my 5th season chlorine free. That means if it makes it through this season it will be 8 years old. Hoping to make it past the 9 year mark with this heater but if all I get is 8-9 years out of it I would not be disappointed due to my past experience with pool heaters. If anyone knows of a residential pool heater with a 10 year warranty on the heat exchanger forward the link. Everyone not using Ecosmarte wants indisputable proof that it works. Everyone bashing it continues to point out things like "your heater warranty will be void". I want some indisputable proof that the system absolutely causes premature heat exchanger failure due to maintaining PH of 6.8 - 7.2. The water in my 20 x 44 vinyl lined pool stays rock solid at 7.0. By September each of the last 2 seasons I started to wonder why I continued to test it 2x per week. I will continue to post my experience with the system and let you know how long this heater lasts. Take care, JD

Jamie, I am going to send you in a totally different direction. I too was in your position 4 years ago. I researched all of the options and was only able to find 1 chlorine free solution that would potentially work. I was lucky enough that the manufacturer of this system was only 35 miles from my home so I paid them a visit and spoke with several customers in my local area. The system I refer to is Ecosmarte. You can do some research at www.ecosmarte.com. This is a copper ionization system that uses titanium as an oxidizer. Other copper based systems that I researched still require the use of chlorine as a sanitizer in conjunction with copper. This system is totally chlorine free and it WORKS. I am just starting my 5th season with it and cannot say enough about it. It rocks. The water is chrystal clear (as long as you continue a regular maintenance schedule of water testing and balancing of your PH). You also get the benefit of reduced electrical costs due to the fact that your pump will only need to circulate for 8-10 hours per day. My electric costs dropped dramatically. I have absolutely no affiliation with Ecosmarte other than being a happy customer. In fact after contacting them directly only then did I find out that my pool builder was also a dealer. He does not endorse the system. Why, because I am no longer placing an $800 order for a chemical package every spring. The other reason is that besides the lost chemical revenue they (pool builders) love chlorine based systems because they wear out liners and heat exchangers at an increased rate. Any swampy water problem can also be solved just by dumping enough of this caustic chemical into your pool. Many still have the mentality that I have been using chlorine for 50 years why stop now? I did and will never look back. I love the fact that my kids are swimming in chemical free water. Good luck in your search for a product and do not be confused by all of the hype around many of the hyped systems out there. My neighbors built a pool last year and after swimming in ours demanded that their builder install a system of this type. Instead he talked them into a salt generation system by leading them to believe that this is a chlorine free option. It is not. It creates chlorine out of sodium chloride. They still have all of the chlorine side effects from their pool. If you have no sensitivity to the side effects that chlorine causes then this is a great alternative. If you want to go truly chlorine free you have to look at something else. This is an alternative. Best Regards, JD

Tom, I really appreciate all of the information you have provided. After considering all of the options and comparing the build quality I have decided to place an order for the Tundra. I really like the fact that all parts of the tub are accessible for servicing. I have been informed that my tub is slated for production on May 12th and the dealer should have it by the end of the month. I will post a follow-up regarding my experience. Thanks again, JD

Tom, Thanks for the feedback. I am really interested more in the seating arrangement of the Tundra and the M870 as I have found that neither myself nor my wife are into loungers. We both much prefer the captain's chairs. One thing that I am having problems with is determining how deep the footwell is in the Tundra. I have asked my dealer for some spec's but without a tub to measure they do not have them. I also have a question regarding the ozone systems. Which is better Arctic Ozone or Peak Ozone. My dealer is not sure about the new Onzen system due to lack of information from the factory as well as the fact that the warranty on the new Onzen system is only 1 year. That is not much of a warranty if you ask me. The dealer says he would not recommend it at this time until the new system is proven and/or the warrany provided extends. Thanks for all of the input, JD

Thanks for the advice. I am still working on a wet test of the Tudra. I may just have to delay the wife a bit to make sure we get the best option. Thanks, JD