duglynukem

I have had this issue a few times over the years.this is what i tell spa owners with this one:1 be happy it means you have a healthy biosystem in your yard and it is good 2 how close is the spa to the trees, pond,stream things like that you may need to move the spa. as long as the little buggers don't get sucked into the skimmer all is good.the only spa's that i have come across with this one are bromine users I do use bromine. The spa in on the deck six feet above the yard, but I do have trees in the area. I guess I need to learn to share... Thanks

Now that the weather is warming a little in Iowa, I have a few unwanted guests in the hot tub. Every time I open the cover I have several frogs that are basking on the rim of the tub. While they are just pesky to me, the wife has a little more difficulty adjusting to them. I brush them away off of the deck. So not sure if anyone else out there has had a similar problem, but suggestions would be welcomed. Thanks and best regards, Doug

I have recently joined this forum and started following the sage advice from members of the board. I have been using the Pool Calculator to verify CSI following my sampling to see how well the spa is doing. The Pool Calculator appears to be primarily a Chlorine tool. I have just ignored the FC and CYA fields and left them at the default numbers of 4 and 40 respectively. I noticed if I change the CYA default number the CSI changes. My question is: for a Bromine spa what should I put in the fileds that generally apply to Chlorine. If this question has been answered before, just point me in the right direction. I tried searching... Regards, Doug

Here it is for $26.95. Click here! It even has LED's to illuminate the sample in poor lighting conditions...

That is exactly what I have been doing. Right now I'm in the trial and error phase. Thanks...

It may not be necessary to shock the tub weekly?

I have changed over to a Bromine system recently. I established a "bank" with sodium bromide and use a floater. I have been using a cup of bleach weekly to shock the tub. Any issues with that? Regards, doug

Thanks. I bought a very inexpensive test kit, so you are probably correct. I reperformed the decon and have now balanced the water (Step 10). I have decided to shelve the Baqua products for now and will use Bromine with "Gentle Spa" to help make the water more comfortable. I really appreciate your insights as I setup the spa.

If you don't you'll have Super Chlorinated water in your tub, which will last for days. Not recommended. However, you can use Hydrogen Peroxide to neutralize the Chlorine. I'm not sure on the amount. I'm in the decon process. I followed the procedure and balanced the water. I super chlorinated with the Clorox Plus. Initially, I had foam 2 feet above the edge of the tub. The weather was too cold (20F) to drain and fill so I waited until today. Approximately 36 hours later the FC = 0. Could this be a reaction since I was using Baqua as the Sanitizer? Should I super chlorinate again? Your thoughts are appreciated - Doug

Hmmmm you are lucky! I just paid $180. for a Taylor kit, which included UPS delivery charge. I reviewed the Taylor website, excellent selection of kits and replacement reagents. I thought I would try something from a local supplier. If it works out well, I saved some $ and get the same result (I hope).

So I bought a test kit at a local supplier. Its a Premier Test Kit by Poolmaster and has tests for Chlorine, pH, Alkalinity and Acid demand. I only paid $17.95 + tax. So do cheap kits work? Any difference in reagents? The only other test I think I need is hardness and I can get that on the test strips. I used Spa Flush - OMG - tons of foam when I added it to the tub. Yuck deposits above the waterline including on the pillows, that cleaned up easily when following the instructions on the bottle. The jets spin more freely than they have in years. So far a very positive experience. I am presently filling the tub for the decon portion. I picked up a filter from an online source that said the pre-filter is just what I need for my well water. I will balance and add Chlorox unscented tonight and circulate for a couple hours. Thanks, Doug

It looks like I would need two kits. The K-1725 that Chem-Geek mentioned and another for pH, TA and calcium. Would it make sense to get the K-2006 to get pH and TA correct then use the strips primarily to test for Baqua? I haven't had any equipment issues (knock-on-wood) to date. I do have fun trying to get pH stable initially. Although, I have gotten some enlightning tips from this site that will help in the future. Thanks again... Doug

I had no clue how little I really know about my hot tub until I read a few posts on this forum. I have had my Sundance Optima for 8 years. I have been using Baqua Spa as the sanitizer for all that time. After reading the problems and suggestions posted here, it appears that proper spa maintenance begins with a good test kit. I have been using test strips all these years and thinking I am state of the art I would like a recommendation for the kit that would be the most useful to me. For now I intend to stay with the Baqua Spa sanitizer. I have read some very compelling discussions for chlorine and bromine systems here in this forum. I think if I ever changed the sanitizer, I would opt for the bromine because we use the tub once or twice a week and sometimes not for a couple weeks and the maintenance looks like a better fit for us. I intend to Decon the tub first (Kids were home for Christmas holiday), then try to balance the water thanks to some very useful procedures I happened to see on Nitro's thread. Thank you to all of you that take the time to assist those of us that need the help. Happy New year and happy hot tubbing to you all. Best regards, Doug