BMR

James, no apologies necessary, it certainly is not your fault ... I do not mind getting you the info that you have asked for and will send it to you. Unfortunately you will be about the 5th person with expertise in this area to assist me. I wholeheartedly believe that Arctic Spa has the best of intentions and is willing to help, but I cannot help but wonder about the equipment itself ( specifically the ONZEN system). Once again though, I will ask the same question that I always ask of Actic Spa people and hope you can provide a convincing answer, "Is it possible to have a tub, that once is set up will allow me to use it on a regular basis ( say 3-4 times a week with my two sons and wife ) and that will stay clean and above all have clear water, that is entirely reliant upon the Onzen System set at say CP3 or CP4, that does not require superhuman effort to keep in that state?" I have owned my tub since Oct 2008 and have to this day never seen this happen. The moment I try to use it in that manner, my Bromine ( Sanitizer level ) will drop so low that the tub will be unuseable within two weeks. BMR

You can add me in to the mix on this problem. I have experienced everything that Nigel and the rest of you have detailed. My favourite is the constant discrepancy between my strips and when I take my water into the store and get it tested. I never seem to leave the store without at least 50 - 100 dollars worth of new chemicals, etc. I have had several visits from the tech repair guy and have had the electrodes replaced, etc, etc, Take heart however, I have discovered a solution to the whole mess. Empty and thoroughly clean your tub, get a new filter, set it up properly with one of the various versions of the "Cheat Sheets" that Arctic spa comes out with, get your levels proper and wait for several days until they are stable and the water is crystal clear. From then forward, and this is the IMPORTANT: 1) Stay as clean as possible especially in regard to any soap that is on your body. Even a touch of soap from a shower you had that day is trouble. 2) If you or a female has even a hint of lipstick, body lotions, underarm, etc, unless you shower first thoroughly and get it all off STAY OUT OF THE TUB. 3) Try not to have more than one or two in the tub at once and not for long. If you have several in the tub for a while, your levels will be shot for DAYS. 4) Try not to wear bathing suits, but if you do, make sure they are the same ones over and over and that you never launder them. 5) Don't forget a sprinkle of Refresh after use and at least once a week. *6) By far the most important of all rules, use the tub as little as possible ( once to twice a week ). This is the only way the ONZEN system can keep up. I have found that by obeying these rules and especially RULE 6 that I now have a tub that is useable. The True Secret to ONZEN is use the tub very very sparingly. It is the only way for the tub to get back after you have been in it. The system just cant keep up. If you think I am wrong I challenge ANYONE in this forum, aside from an Arctic Spa employee, to use the tub 3 to 4 times a week with several bathers and without superhuman efforts to keep it clean. By the way, when Onzen lets you down, and it will, a further method to help is to use Peak Boost. It will get the sanitizer up quickly although it will not last and you will have to wait for the Onzen to slowly get back in order. It will at least help when you have had several bathers in and your levels are totally Shot, as this always happens. Sorry to be the bearer of this kind of news, however, this has been the only way that I have been able to consistently use this tub without the usual nightmares of Low sanitizer, cloudy water, etc, etc, etc, ..... You will be told by an Arctic Spa rep that I am wrong and that they use their tubs almost every day and with several bathers and that everything is great and the water is crystal clear, but I have to say that I have yet to see this. I am not against Arctic Spa, as I love the tub, and wish that I could use it a lot more, but I have to deal with reality. The tub works under limited use. BMR

My boys and I were swimming in our salt water pool and then jumped into the artic spa which has Onzen and uses Bromine salt to generate sanitizer. The water which was clear turned yellow or greenish in color fairly quickly. I tested with a strip at this point. Sanitizer level and alkalinity seemed right, Ph possibly high but hard to tell. The red portion of the strip which shows ph seems to have most of the redishness bleed away quickly so it is hard to tell. Could anyone comment on this situation and whether I am dealing with a minor problem or not. Do I have to change the hot tub to a chlorine bassed salt instead ???? BMR

No Takers ?? BMR

I don't know if it is my imagination, but it seems to me that slowly over the last 4 months the jets seem to be getting slighly less powerful over time. I also noticed that when you turn on or off the both air valves that they do not seem to have that great of an effect upon the water. The water does get more effervecent, but not dramatically. I had the tech check the tub, and he seemed to think there was not a problem, however, in comparing to the same tub in the store, my power does seem less, and the store model ( same as mine ) seems to react a lot more to the on and off of the air valves. any one else with similar concerns and resolutions ???? BMR

Just had my electrodes replaced, will report how the system is making out. BMR

Thank you for your reply Cocobaily, could you also tell me more about the "bleach method" that you use in your tub. As well when you have the one filter out while the other is in, how do you clean it? Do you use the chemicals the Arctic people say you MUST use if you use the paper filter? Thanks, BMR

I am getting conflicting information on which is the best option for filtering. On the one hand there are the super fine ones that Arctic recommends that are about $33. If you use them then you do not have to use extra chemicals and they are suppose to filter down to a very fine amount. However, some techs claim they get clogged up by the bromine salt, and dont do the job correctly. I have used two and noticed that they were in quite bad shape in far less than the recommended three months. On the other hand, I have also tried the paper ones that are about $50 each. I had to also buy some chemicals along with them, ie. ones that prevent build up of metals in the components and also another that clarified water. After a week, you have to take them out and clean them in some kind of solution. They seem ok, but I would not say that my water is crystal clear by any means. Which is the right way to go, I am confused. I do not mind buying the $33 one and throwing it out at the end of three months if they work, but did not have good luck initially, although that could be due to many factors. Opinions from Arctic Spa users that have used both would be much appreciated. BMR

No Takers on this one ?????? BMR

My next question in my ongoing battle to get my tub to an acceptable equilibrium is: If you have the tub at all readings within the defined parameters of acceptable, ie. hardness, bromine, ph, and alkalinity and you get some soap in the water, will this stop you from then forward getting the bromine level to be able to come back after the tub has been used and the bromine is depleted? Now before people utter the gut reaction of yes that is possible, what i am asking is, can someone say definitively, that the presence of soap in the water, will inhibit bromine production. BMR

You would not believe the problems that I am having with foam. I cannot decide whether it is the suits, which we do not wash, or even a mild bit of shampoo on my kids from a morning shower. As well, I now cannot get any bromine to now produce and I am not sure if it is because of this matter. BMR

I have extra, where are you ?? BMR

Thanks, Dave I will try that to an extent and see where I get in regard to dissipating the suds. Does anyone else have a method as well? BMR

What brand of hot tub do you have, as, this will determine how long the tub will go before you have to worry about freeze ups. I have read that even in cold weather, the Arctic Spas will last for a long time without power due to the way it is insulated. BMR

Tom: Checked the water today, I have not used the tub for sometime because we are sick, however, water was clean, all levels good, ( hardness, bromine, ph, alkalinity ). Turned on the jets and as usual the water turns milky white, still not sure of that one, it settles down after a while, but from my understanding it should not do that. The secondary problem however, which is unrelated to the milky water, is that there is a ton of suds on the top, so obviously, one of the boys who went in must have had some soap or shampoo on them. If that is the case, how do I now deal with this problem? If there is anyone else with an arctic spa onzen tub who has had a bather get in with soap or shampoo on them and then got sudsing, what did you do to get rid of it. As always, your diligent help is much appreciated. BMR