timchase01

I have to agree with Vince22. When I first got my tub this fall and did the decontamination procedure I got the brown goo line, although I would say it was more oily than gooey. I think that it is stuff left over from the manufacturing process if it is a new spa. If it isn't a new spa then it probably is body oils.

I'm actually having the same thing happen with my Certa. I received mine in Mid October, so I've had it for about 1.5 months. When I first got it, with the diverter in the middle position, so that all seats would have flow, the therapy seat felt like it would push you out of the spa. Now it doesn't feel that way at all. I did take the filter out and spray it off with the hose, but it didn't really look dirty. Do I maybe need to spray some of that filter cleaning stuff on it as well? I've also noticed that if I have all the jet air things opened, that some of that air seems to get in the filter because if I roll the filter around some of that air that is in the filter comes shooting out the jets. For this reason I don't believe I have an air lock situation. Can a filter be dirty even if it doesn't look dirty? Of course the other option that I've thought about is that my body and muscles are now more use to the jets and so they don't feel as intense any longer. Just like if you get massage often it doesn't hurt our muscles to have the massage anymore. Could it be that is what is going on?

Hi All, I've had my new spa for about a week now, and using Nitro's info on lowering the TA and running the pumps to bring up the PH, I've got my water to be stable as follows: PH: 7.6 TA: 70ppm CH: 170ppm Borate: 50ppm Temp: 100 Based on this the pool calculator says my CSI is -0.12. So my question is how important is it to get to that magical 0.00? Am I going to have problems because of being at -0.12? Should I raise my CH up to get closer to 0? Thanks to all for the great information that I've been able to find here!!! Tim

"Did you know that the pH readings at the bottom of biofilms are less than one which is highly corrosive. Scientists now believe that most if not all rust and corrosion in a pool or spa can be attributed directly to biofilms." I'm curious to see the research on this. If you can point me to the scientific journal where you found the information on the corrosive nature of biofilms and how scientists now believe that most rust and corrosion in pool's and spa's are attributed to the biofilms I would appreciate it. I just got a new spa and want to treat it as best as I can.

I just got my new 2009 Certa yesterday and filled the tub with water and put bleach to 50 ppm in it to get all the bugs out. I then drained it after a couple of hours and also noticed the brown/yellow ring at the water line. With a little scrubbing with a wash cloth it came off, almost seemed oily to me. I'm also curious what might be causing this. Is it maybe just left over oils and such from the manufacturing process or something?

Unfortunately, your spa has biofilm it and until you flush that out you will continue to have water management issues. You can go to my website at www.cwsnaturally.com to find out how to eliminate the biofilm, what biofilm is, and how to keep it from returning. All the scientific research over the last 15 years has identified bacterial biofilm as the cause for over 80% of water contamination issues. (http://www.erc.montana.edu/) This link will take to the University of Montana's website so you can see the impact that biofilm has in our enviornment. Aschwartz, How in the world do you know that biofilm is the cause of the problems without being there and testing the water? Sure it could be biofilm, it could also be that there isn't enough sanitizer in the water since it is being left for extended periods of time, etc, etc, etc. At least be honest and say that you wonder or that you think it could be biofilm, but to come straight out and say that it is biofilm is misleading. You're simply trying to use scare tactics to sell your product which I find deplorable sir. As for the original poster of the thread, if you are going to be gone without being able to check your spa on a regular basis, chlorine may not be your best option. You might think about using bromine instead since it stays in the water longer than chlorine. At least this is my understanding after reading many of the threads on this forum. I would also suggest finding a post by Nitro as he has a great post which he links to in the signature of all his posts, about how to balance your water to help prevent PH from swinging from high to low, etc. A lot to digest, but definitely worth the read.

I just joined this sight, primarily to wade through the confusion about buying a new spa. I know several people who have spas, and they each give me their genius advice on how to get the best price. I have seen some colorful postings in this section - not wanting to go there - but none of the recommendations I read followed a common theme. Each seems to be a special circumstance. There were earlier postings comparing spa purchase to an auto purchase. The difference I am finding is that there is limited information out there for spas that give me the idea of a fair price. That's all I want. So, my e-mail is not about wringing the lowest price, but about getting a fair price and going home knowing I didn't spend $2000 too much. That's not chump change, especially when paying cash up front. Here's my scenario: I am interested in a Tiger River Caspian, based solely on size. I am more than open to recommendation of other brands of similar size if anyone out there has a good opinion. So, I call my hot springs dealer here in Iowa and hit him on the price after a lengthy discussion. He really struggled to give me an answer within 10 seconds. That drew a red flag. He then said it was $8999. I told him that sounded like MSRP to me, and I asked him if I was going to have to go into this like buying a car. He said, "well there are things we can look at that can drop the price by 2 or 3%. That sounded fishy, because I had seen "sale prices" at the Iowa State Fair and the discounts were higher. I'm guessing that the discounts come in when I buy cover, chems, steps, and finance So, I hop on the net and get ever the more confused. I have found purchased prices for this tub around $6500 on this site (without extras). Here's my plan: The sales guy comes out next week to help spec out my site. Then I will ask for his price on a new one, and the model he has on the show room floor. If he drops the price less than $1000, I'll tell him that I will try to find a similar model that is lower priced or on sale. For those who have this tub, what is a fair price for a tub with cover and steps? Is $7500 fair? Sounds reasonable for a 6 pack box and a pump that holds water Cheers, BK Hey BKBroiler, I'm in Cedar Rapids and just purchased a sundance Certa spa, that I was told retailed for around 9000. I was able to buy it for 6800, and that included the normal "extras", like starter chemicals, cover lifter, deliver, set up, etc. I also know someone that worked at Pooltech here in CR and on average they mark up their spa's about 35%. Granted they have to make some profit, so they wouldn't be able to go down 35% because they have to pay employee's, rent, and stay in business, but I would think 1% or 3% is a joke. If you're in the Cedar Rapids or Iowa City area and are considering a Sundance spa, I had a great experience at Billiard and Spa Gallery. Both Karina and Stephanie were great to work with. If you're set on a Hot Spring, then flat out tell them you know the mark up and want a better deal cause they are just looking for a sucker. At least that is the way it sounds to me.

Ok, maybe I'm missing something, but if you're going to wheel it around the room, how are you going to get the electrical to move around with it? Since most spas are hard wired, I don't see how you'll deal with that? Maybe you have a 110 spa and have enough plugs that it will always be within 10 feet of a plug? Just trying to visualize how it would move around ya know? Also, just a thought. You might want to use more than 2x4's for the frame you build. Since it will have over 5000 lbs on it, it could easily flex and if it does I would think the shell of the tub could start to get little cracks and then you have a mess on your hands. It's kind of like a tile floor. If you get any flex in the floor the grout and tile will start to crack. I think a tub would be the same, but maybe I'm thinking they are more rigid than they seem to be.

lbooth - Thanks for the feedback. I really like the Sundance and I think it's what we're going to go with. Right now I'm contemplating between the Burlington and the Certa. The Burlington has 25 jets with 1 pump but the Certa has 24 jets with two pumps. Looks like the warranty really varies between the 680 series and the 780 series. What model did you choose in the Sundance line? Unfortunately in our area there are very few Sundance or Hot Spring dealers and none of them have the spas we're looking at available to wet test. I have sat in them dry and they seem to "fit" very nicely. Good luck with your purchase as well!! Hey Chillin, I just ordered my Sundance Certa at the beginning of September, and it's being delivered on Oct. 15th. We're so super excited. Based on looking at both that were in our dealers showroom the Certa has some nice stuff that the Burlington doesn't. The lighting is very different between the two as is the water feature and number of jets. The burlington has 25 jets and the certa has 34, plus the type of jets you get are different as well. Ultimately we decided to go with the certa because the wet test in the certa felt the best to us. In fact, we preferred the certa over some of the 880 series models. I know people keep saying this, but you really need to wet test the tubs because the jets feel differently to everyone since our bodies are different and the jets hit all of us differently. Good luck on your search!!! Timchase01 - Great info! Congrats on your spa purchase - bet you can't wait to get it! Do you mind me asking what you paid for the certa and what area of the country you are in? It's so hard to determine what the best deal is. Thank you! I live in Eastern Iowa and I have a great dealer here. They have been super great to work with, plus they're funny. It wasn't a high pressure sales pitch at all. The first time I went in they said the list price was 9,000 or something like that but that due to the sale sundance was having they could get me 7500. I told them I would think about it and then called them back a couple of days later letting them know that I saw, on here actually, that someone had purchased one for 6500. She said that her costs didn't allow her to go that low and the lowest she could go was 6800. It was very honest and straight forward. I would hope that if you directly asked your dealer what is the lowest price they can give that they would be honest, but maybe I just have a good dealer? Not sure. So I got mine for 6800, which included tub, delivery and set up, starting chemicals and cover lifter. I decided not to have ozone in the tub due to the corrosive nature of it. Was it the best deal? I'm not sure, but I was happy with the price and honestly in the end that is what matters right? I should also probably point out that I paid with cash and that paying with cash seems to make a difference in the price you can get, but that is just my feels based on experience. Cash usually goes farther than credit.

lbooth - Thanks for the feedback. I really like the Sundance and I think it's what we're going to go with. Right now I'm contemplating between the Burlington and the Certa. The Burlington has 25 jets with 1 pump but the Certa has 24 jets with two pumps. Looks like the warranty really varies between the 680 series and the 780 series. What model did you choose in the Sundance line? Unfortunately in our area there are very few Sundance or Hot Spring dealers and none of them have the spas we're looking at available to wet test. I have sat in them dry and they seem to "fit" very nicely. Good luck with your purchase as well!! Hey Chillin, I just ordered my Sundance Certa at the beginning of September, and it's being delivered on Oct. 15th. We're so super excited. Based on looking at both that were in our dealers showroom the Certa has some nice stuff that the Burlington doesn't. The lighting is very different between the two as is the water feature and number of jets. The burlington has 25 jets and the certa has 34, plus the type of jets you get are different as well. Ultimately we decided to go with the certa because the wet test in the certa felt the best to us. In fact, we preferred the certa over some of the 880 series models. I know people keep saying this, but you really need to wet test the tubs because the jets feel differently to everyone since our bodies are different and the jets hit all of us differently. Good luck on your search!!!

Hi all, I've been lurking around for a couple of weeks now and have been so thankful for all the information that I've found and read on these forums. I've decided to get a Sundance Certa, which I'm getting for $6890 USD with steps and cover mate III cover lifter. I was pretty happy about the price after seeing some of the prices I've seen others mention here. At any rate on to my question. Currently in my house I have 150 amp service. I am wanting to run the Certa with a 60 amp breaker so I can run the pumps and heater at the same time, since Iowa gets pretty cold in the winter months. What I'm wondering is this. Do I need to update my electrical service to 200 amp? Besides the hot tub I have central air, electric clothes dryer, electric range that are pretty big electric hogs. There's also the normal refrigerator, TV, stereo system, lights, blah blah. The electrician that came out for a quote said he could squeeze the 60 amp breaker into my breaker box by moving some things around, but he wasn't sure if I would need to upgrade my electrical service or not. If I have people over on Thanksgiving, lets say, and I'm cooking a turkey, people are watching TV using the sound system, the central heat is running and the hot tub is going with both pumps on full, will I have enough juice or do you think it will pop the main breaker? Thanks all for any info! Tim