Eric W.

My optima is rated at 6-7 people, but there's no way 6 or 7 full sized adults are going to sit comfortably. Maybe 6 thin teenagers, but that's about it. OTOH, my wife and I are larger people, and my family of 4 can sit comfortably any time. The other thing to consider is the more people in the tub, the more water is displaced. I wish these tubs came with some sort of overflow chamber that would hold the excess water when the tub has more people, and push it back in when they get out. I don't like it when the water is up to the top of the filter cover.

I got a 2009 Optima this summer, and we love it. The Intelli-Jets are just wonderful, as are the foot jets. Be aware that the Ipod connector in the stereo isn't all that great. The sound quality is great, and it charges your ipod, but it will only play your song list in alphabetical order, or will play a playlist you select or individual songs, but it's tedious and you can't do it from inside the pool. It would be nice if you could set your ipod on random and advance songs from the remote, but you can't.

You have two choices: 1. Keep shocking! Add 2-4 cups bleach, and 2-4 oz MPS everyday until your Chlorine Demand (CD) is under 50%. 2. Decontaminate and start over. Questions: How old is this water? Was your CD this high when you first filled it? The tub was installed new on June 25. I changed the water a week after installation due to foaming from the new plumbing, and I followed the original kit's instructions and added all the chemicals it came with according to their instructions, and after I found this forum I found I didn't need most of it. The tub was new in it's original packaging. Once the ozonator was installed, the CD became very high. I do maintain it very carefully. Also, this is municipal water, not well water. I live in the Chicago area. Do you think all that bleach and MPS will reduce my CD? Note that my CC is also 0, so there's no spent chlorine remaining either.

I can and have shocked my tub to 30+ppm, and in 4 hours I'm down to 5-10ppm (leaving the cover off in the sun). I can put in 1/2 cup at midnight after a personal soak, and at noon the next day (with the cover on), there's 0 FC, 0 CC.

I have a similar situation with my month old Sundance Optima. I chlorinate it after every use, and I was chlorinating it every day around noon. I have my CYA up to 30 so I'm using 12.5% chlorine (liquid shock). I have the Ozone generator and the Nature 2 cartridge in the weir. I can chlorinate and 12 hours or less later I have no FC or CC. My water is crystal clear and smells good. It's new, and I assume the ozonator is using up the chlorine. My bather load is usually me for 1/2 to 1 hour every night, although the teens have used it a couple times, as has my wife.

We're thinking about winter now that we've got the spa. It's on my patio in the sun, about 30' from the back door. I'd like to build an enclosure for the winter that I can take down in the summer. I don't really want a building/enclosure on my patio, but I have a hunch the only way we're going to use it regularly is if it's enclosed. We're in Chicago so winter is pretty cold. My eventual game plan is when the above ground pool eventually comes down in a couple years, I'll build a larger garage and put the hot tub on a deck off the garage with a full enclosure.

Thanks for the reply. I keep it on standard mode, but was curious about the change in operation in economy mode. I'll pop the radio panel off this weekend and look for the antenna jack. It's frustrating that my favorite radio station is the only one that comes in with static, but it's not just the tub radio.

We bought a 2009 Sundance Optima that was installed June 25. The installer didn't have the right Ozone generator so he came back a few days later and installed it. I noticed before the ozone generator was in, the circulation pump turned off according to the timers in economy mode. After the ozone was installed, the circulation pump never shuts off. Is this adjustable somehow? There's no mention of this in the manual. Also, my favorite radio station doesn't come in as clear as the others. I've found this problem on other radios and an antenna or relocation of the antenna solved the problem. Is there an antenna on the radio in this spa, or a jack where I can install an antenna? I haven't taken the radio panel off yet, and I wanted to ask first before I waded into this wiring.

I have a 12 year old above ground pool w/aluminum framework, and it has the plastic corner covers at the top of the posts where the top rails meet. I replaced them all once as I found them in a box at a pool store that's now out of business, and now I've broken one, and 2 more are cracked. They seem to be a somewhat universal part since they have an adjustment in them for varying thickness of the rails. Can anyone recommend a place where I might order these? I searched on above ground pool parts and above ground pool corner caps but I've yet to find anything.

Here's some information on how to control and remove them: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74102.html Otherwise, I've used bug spray and sprayed around the patio/hot tub on a daily basis to get rid of them temporarily. I thought Raid Ant & Roach killer worked on them, but a quick check of their website shows it's not recommended. Ask at your local hardware store or home center for the right product to use.

So can I ask what you paid for your Optima? And what area do you live in? Thanks! Around $11k with radio, ozonator, nature 2 cartridge, startup chemicals, step, cover lifter, tax, and delivery. Delivery guys installed everything. We're in the Chicago area.

I never looked at a Vanguard, but we took delivery of a 2009 Optima 2 weeks ago. We are very satisfied with our decision. We only wet-tested the Optima as the other 2 available for us to test had features we didn't care for. Also, the dealer up the road had Artesian and Hot Springs tubs, but he was pretty dismissive when we were looking, so that ended that ("we don't have literature, go look at our website"). We've had our above ground pool now for over 12 years, and I want my spa to last the same way, so I went with one of the premium brands. The kids are older now, and the pool gets very little use, so the spa was the natural progression for us. The pool will come down in the next year or two.

I got a new Optima last Thursday, and I was reading the instructions for the stereo, and there is a warning of electric shock when you remove or replace your ipod. I also experienced the tingling when I removed my iphone.

I've had my pool now for 12 years, and it's under a maple tree. Early on, I bought a "Zippy" and later a suction type cleaner. I've learned that the only way to remove heavy leaf and seed pod debris is with a "rake" (wide skimmer with a bag) and a leaf eater, a device that connects to your hose and uses water pressure to vacuum up the big debris from the bottom. Once that's gone, the zippy or the suction cleaner will clean out the fine particles left behind.