ulty_dude

Hey, I have the exact same scenario ! Might be able to have a buddy come by one day but not sure. Any suggestions would be great. What temp should I set the spa at while away?

If you use Nature2 with MPS as the primary sanitizer combo, then you do use less chlorine since you only then need chlorine about once a week or so ("as needed") to keep the water clear. Though you use less chlorine and are also exposed to far less chlorine, this is a more expensive approach since both the N2 stick and the MPS are far more expensive than the Dichlor-then-bleach method. If you were to use chlorine as the primary sanitizer, then there's no real point to using Nature2 and there won't be any savings in chlorine usage. Does that make sense? It's not the N2 itself that saves any chlorine, but the fact that you can use MPS instead of chlorine with N2. It's not cheaper -- just less chlorine usage and exposure. Without an ozonator, the rough rule-of-thumb is that every person-hour of soaking in a hot (104ºF) tub requires around 3-1/2 teaspoons of Dichlor or 5 fluid ounces of 6% bleach or 7 teaspoons of non-chlorine shock (43% MPS). Your one tablespoon (3 teaspoons) is not quite enough and you probably got behind at some point and need to shock to catch up. You also need to add more oxidizer/sanitizer to cover days you don't use the tub as you will generally lose around 25% of the Free Chlorine (FC) per day. Also, it may be that your brand of Dichlor isn't nearly pure -- it should be 99% Dichlor with around 55% Available Chlorine. Thanks Chem Geek, that makes sense. So basically Nature 2 only saves chlorine if you do MPS daily and as needed chlorine shocks. In Canada that technically isn't allowed so funny that sales guys don't mention that Nature 2 with chlorine only is redundant. May as well keep the stick in until it runs out and re-evaluate. Chlorine so far is not irritating or smelly so hope that continues. How long after I add chlorine should I test it ?

Good luck with the new tub and enjoy and welcome to the forum! Thanks for the responses, sounds like you aren't a fan of Nature 2 ! You seem very convinced that it essentially doesn't work if you are using chlorine method ( you mentioned you need the same amount of chlorine ). I have read a lot of people saying they don't seem to require as much chlorine though, that is the frustrating thing about the inter-web, if you look hard enough there is always a conflicting view. The replacement sticks are $20 on Amazon which isn't horrifying, will stick with it for now and see how it goes. Good info on the aroma stuff, I had a feeling that would be the case. I gather you are not a fan of just MPS treatment with weekly, or a little more, chlorine shock? SO far I add about tablespoon of chlorine after 2 people for half an hour ( not a big tub ) chlorine barely registers on strip though, likely will get a test kit, with a weekly MPS shock.

Hey all, have been reading the forums for the last several weeks, we got a new tub with and are using Nature 2 with chlorine. A few quick questions and clarifications on a few things. So far things have been going fine, I only have test strips at this point but am considering getting a Taylor test kit, maybe if things go Pete Tong on me I will but for now maintenance has been relatively easy ( did I just jinx myself? ) 1. I live in Canada, is it true that Nature 2 with MPS and maybe a weekly chlorine shock is not "legal", I was told I need to use chlorine after each soak and not MPS ( what is MPS anyway? Can I buy it in Canada ) 2. Water bear, I know you tend to mention cost quite often in your posts, if I am not overly worried about cost would you stick with Nature 2 ? The wife is paranoid about dry skin and the low chlorine with Nature 2 seems to be good so far, without any smell either which is good. 3. What do you think of those products that make the tub smell nice, like a eucalyptus scent or something? Thanks for any input, lots of good info here. Some very technical which I am slowly absorbing, so far things are going well, we use the tub everyday and a few minutes of maintenance after each soak seems to be working !