SJ Hart

Thanks. Just drained it and will do a purge when we do a startup.

We are having some work done in our backyard. It will likely require at least 2 months of our spa being unusable (also no water, electricity, etc.). What is the best way to prepare for this? Super shock, Ahh-Some treatment, etc? Thanks.

We are having our backyard remodeled. Given the schedule for demo, concrete, outdoor structures, etc. it likely will be 4-6 weeks that the spa will not be used and have no power. Any suggestions on preparing for this? I was thinking to super shock it before draining. Wonder what manufacturers do after wet testing. Thanks for any suggestions. SJ

I tried this for a 2.5 week vacation we had. With Bromine, I have always been able to put two floaters in our spa, lower temp and things were fine when returning. However, since switching to the bleach method, it really doesn't work well for long vacations. I was thinking of just switching to bromine during our vacation and then switch back to chlorine bleach on my next fill. When this came up I spoke to the folks at frog and they told me it would be ok for a long vacation. Boy were they wrong. I raised my FC level high before we left and put in this new frog chlorine system. Came back to green water. FC at 0. I decontaminated and refilled the spa and all is back to normal. Not sure if the lack of chlorine or the minerals were the issue. I actually do not think my water was decontaminated, but didn't take any chances. SJ

We recently went on a 2+ week vacation. Was a little worried about my bromine level... Anway, my Jacuzzi tub allow you to put a Bromine dispenser inside the filter. I filled that one all the way up with tabs and then added my floater at the minimum level (also completely filled with tablets), but the opening VERY small just to trickle in the Bromine. Came home and the level was a bit high (5-6), but everything was fine. Let the level drop (removed the floater). All worked well. Not sure, but since you are not actually using the tub, you shouldn't really require as much Bromine. Also, I shocked the tub before we left and turned the heater OFF. SJ

Well, be careful about what you read. Most of the scare stuff on that page is from dietary or serious environmental exposure. The citation regarding cherry angiomas possibly due to bromide exposure is speculative ("We suggest that the association between exposure to bromides and cherry angiomas should be investigated by a controlled study." i.e., there is no study identifying any such association) and cherry angiomas are hardly worrisome (Wikipedia, assuming you trust it, says "They are harmless, except in very rare cases"). And if you are using bromine, you should shock with bleach rather than MPS, as the bleach will reactivate the banked bromine. --paulr What is the normal shock amount for bleach? Is this normal to shock with bleach when using Bromine? I've always used MPS and always had great success. Thanks. SJ

I don't believe so. What would that product be for?

Yeah, once you get the hange of it, it is fairly straighforward... SJ

Not very scientific, but I change my water when I get too much FIZZ in it (solids) that form when I turn on the jets. The water is always perfectly clear, but when the jets are running full I get fizzing like champange. Usually around 4 months.... SJ

What is the difference between your 24 hour circulation pump and filter cycles? Does't the filter run whenever the circulation pump is on?

That's the one I also use. Almost went to just a two step bromine program (no floater), but using this one cranked down to just allow a little bromine out works perfect. Also, I only put a couple of tablets in at a time. I started by using what the instructions indicated, but I got way too much bromine. Just a trickle seems to be perfect. SJ

My Jacuzzi J480 default is 24 hours/day on the pump with the ozonator running the whole time. There are no options for the ozonator as it runs whenever the main pump is on. However, I only run the main pump 8 hours/day which seems to be more than enough to keep the water clear. What is the standard folks use for running their filters?

Thanks for taking the time to provide such a complete answer. Helps a lot. SJ

I've noticed that I'm constantly taking my bromine floater out of my spa as the bromine level seems to get too high. If I leave it in, I have it on the minimum opening. If you have a proper bromine reserve and an ozone system, is the floater necessary? Also, does adding non-chlorine shock raise bromine levels? Does the ozone system constantly use up the reserve? There doesn't seem to be anyway to measure the bromine reserve. I'm thinking of not using my bromine floater unless we are out of our home traveling, etc. Thanks. SJ

I also use Bromine because of our travel schedule. I just recently switched and am still trying to figure out how to dial in the bromine. tends to go up and down, but I'm getting better at understanding how it fluxuates.... SJ

Thanks. Raised the CH. TA is only around 40, but pH is stable at 7.6. I'll monitor, but my TA always seems to low.... No plaster or grout (portable Jacuzzi J480 model) - so I shouldn't be concerned with CSI? SJ

Well, because of this forum, I know a lot more than I used to.... Anyway, just filled my tub (580 gallons). CH is around 30 (straight from the city water supply). So, I'm raising it to around 130-150 per the recomendations on this forum. pH is OK right now, but TA is very low (I did add a bit of alk increaser) = TA is now around 40. So, I should get my CH up and then see what happens to TA/pH? Thanks. SJ

Interesting product. However, given that my spa is larger than 450 gallons (570) I would need to use 2 strips every month resulting in a 3 month cost of $100 (just for the strips). Not disputing how it might help (I'm certainly no expert), but frankly it seems too expensive... SJ

We also have a J480 and recently switched to Bromine. So far seems to be less maintenance and works fine (I travel often and needed something that didn't require constant attention). Might be another option... SJ

I agree. My water does NOT foam up. It just gets really fizzy and cloudy with the air jets on. Clears right up after I turn the air off. Even if I run the jets without the air, the water stays fairly clear. SJ

I can't seem to raise my Alkalinity without raising/impacting my pH. pH seems to be something you want to have correct and therefore I've left my Alkalinity low. Sometimes it goes as low as 40-50, but pH remains solid. Might be time to empty my spa, but at 580 gallons and with high water costs/drought conditions in our area, I don't like to do it more than I need to! SJ

My pH is stable at 7.6, but my Alc is low (40). Any issues with this? Thanks. SJ

I know mine is low (50-60), but my water is balanced (solid pH with no drift) and was given feedback on this forum that this would be OK.... SJ

Water is balanced (alk is bit low: 50/60, but pH is very stable at around 7.6, Hardness around 240). Using Bromine (always around 3-4). Water is about 2 months old. Have an ozone system. Thanks. I tend to agree with Dr. Spa, High TDS. Your Calcium Hardness (I assume that's what you're referring to) is kind of high. Do you have well water by chance? No, I actually added chemicals to to raise my hardness. We have very soft water in our area. thought that was causing it. I'm wondering if it is all the ALC increaser I added (and then had to reduce PH). Before you gave me the feedback to not add ALC increaser if my pH was stable. Maybe the water had had too much added to it. Next time I refill I'm going to try and minimize a bit. Thanks. SJ

Water is balanced (alk is bit low: 50/60, but pH is very stable at around 7.6, Hardness around 240). Using Bromine (always around 3-4). Water is about 2 months old. Have an ozone system. Thanks.