Spa Girl from Ohio

AMG - Thanks for the advice. Luckily even though I didn't follow the rules exactly I guess... it looks like I've got a fixed hot tub:) I have it totally filled up now and I haven't had any leakage after the first initial "leaking" period. I had read about "goo" that resulted from other reports, but I haven't seen any of that. Now, according to the bottle, if I added less that 1/3 of the bottle (I used less than 1/4), I can just put my filter cartridges back in and get the excess out, then wash them well. I really don't *want* to refill the thing if I don't have to. I've wasted enough water already... and well, we have below freezing temperatures and I'm afraid of the complications. Thoughts?

Greetings all! I've been lurking on this board since I purchased my to me me hot tub in September -- 1996 HotSpring Sovreign Spa. Since the previous owners had been Baqua users, I figured I'd keep with their regiment. Within no time at all, I was using Chlorine instead because of all the great information on this forum. If anything, I've learned to look before I leap from now on -- and with the internet it's pretty easy to look. I'm sure you've had enough back story at this point and would like to hear about Fix-A-Leak. Well, there doesn't seem to be a wealth of independent information about the product. The manufacturer's website boasts amazing reviews from satisfied customers, but we all know about truth in advertising, right? Well, this time I can say that's exactly what it is. At least for now. Less than 24 hours into my $30.00 Fix-A-Leak experiment, my hot tub is maintaining it's water level. Shortly after I made the conversion from Baqua to Chlorine (see, there was a reason for the back story), I started to notice the spa losing water. It didn't seem like that much, so I consulted this forum. I figured from the amount I was losing, it was probably just condensation. I made a mental note to find a well priced spa blanket online and I turned the temperature down so that it hovered right at 100*, figuring I could turn it up a little when I planned to use it. I topped it off with water* and figured everything would be okay. Well, the water loss kept occurring, and seemed to get worse each time. Figuring I had a leak, I took to the net to figure out how I could a) fix it myself or how much it was going to cost to fix. Learning quickly the professional fix would likely cost more than the tub had, I ruled that out pronto. I still haven't figured out how to access the sides of my hot tub under the wood paneling, so I have gotten very far in locating the leak myself. But I also know that attempting to all and heat 200+ gallons of water every few days wasn't economically viable either. In fact, about a week ago, I gave up on trying to keep it full and let it leak as much as possible. The leak level was about half way down the spa, luckily just over the filter intake and hot water output area. With the freezing temperatures we've had around here, I was very concerned about the future of my tub. Luckily, in my internet searches, I found the Fix-A-Leak website. It sounded great. Too good to be true. But, as I already stated, my options were limited. Ironically enough, it was Roberts Hot Tubs (they post here, too) that I purchases the product from. I received it in the mail earlier this week, but knew I needed to wait until I could spend a day with the tub before I tried to use the product. I had read someplace that the product works better the warmer the water is. I figured it made sense then to add cold water a little at a time to not drop my water temperature too much. So, yesterday, I measured out 3/4 cup of Fix-A-Leak and poured it into the filter intake area after taking out the actual filter cartridges. Just the movement of the water from the heater quickly had it well mixed with my water. Then I started to add water. I let about 3-4 inches of water enter the tub, and then I decided the water felt "cool" to my touch and turned the water off. I let everything circulate and warm up while I went and did other things for about 3 hours. When I checked on the tub, the water was all warmed up, but it appeared I had lost about an inch of water. This seemed slower than the rate of my leak, so I wasn't too upset, but I guess I was expecting a quicker reaction time - amazing product that works immediately - I was asking too much - or almost too much. I added another inch of water, and stopped it, thinking perhaps I had let the water get too cool before. I had read in someone else's report of Fix-A-Leak that they had seen some "gelatinous goo" coming from their spa when they used the product. I didn't seen any of that. And at this point, I know if that was a good or bad thing. Off with the water and more warming and circulating. And watching. Thirty minutes later: same level. Forty-five minutes after that: same level. An hour after that: same level. Forty minutes later: It's started to snow. There is accumulation. And it's all around the base of my tub - no "melt marks" from leakage. Same level. Twenty minutes later: I'm ready for bed, confident I have reached water level maintenance. Now, I'm aware that it's still early in the process and disappointment could still come. I'm also aware that I still don't have a completely full hot tub, so that could cause complications, as well. But so far, I'm very satisfied with this product. I'm so happy I found it and used it. I promise to keep you all updated as I go along, so we can follow this saga to the hopefully happy end:) _______________________________________________________________ *I have well water and a rust problem. Over the summer, I battled it in my little Easy-Set pool, finally coming up with the best way of getting rid of it - a laundry bag filled with pillow stuffing at the outtake part of the filter. It wasn't pretty and it wasn't quick, but it got the job done. From dealing with that problem, I knew I could get something to attach to the hose to filter all that out for me. But, man, $50.00 (the cost at the pool stores) seemed pretty high for something I didn't really need. In a random wander at WalMart, I came across something similar for RVs. Mineral cartridges that left the user with clean, health water. I was able to purchase the two pack for like $23.88 or something like that. I'm VERY satisfied with the water that I've gotten out of them. And no yucky orange stuff!

I agree with you AG. I just opened my spa about three weeks ago. It didn't take very long at all for me to get frustrated with Baqua. There was an overwhelming mildew smell that started about a week after I opened the spa and I could NOT get to go away. I also had a war with my ph and alkalinity levels which were almost off the charts, though the water that had filled the spa initially had been almost perfect with ph and alk. I also experienced a funny green tint to the water and the water was consistently cloudy. I was VERY disappointed with the Baqua products. At this point, I'm working on getting all my levels balanced now that I've switched to chlorine. But I can already tell that it is going to be a better experience. When I first found this forum -- I was looking for some other people's "directions" about Baqua b/c the salesman at Leslie's had been LESS than helpful -- I couldn't understand why so many people were so AGAINST the biguanide based products. Well, I do understand now!!!! I wish I had taken the words of unhappy users and others knowledgeable of pools and spas rather than thinking I might be one of the lucky *happy* ones.