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Thumbsie

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  1. I get a rash if the chlorine (or bromine) is too high. Make sure it's between 3 and 5 ppm. Over 5 and I get the rash.
  2. Thank you. Both responses are very helpful.
  3. After a fresh fill, my TA is always too high (180). The online chemical utility I use tells me to add 6 oz of dry acid in two 3 oz dosages 24 hours apart for my 300 galon spa. The problem is, after the first 3 oz dosage, the spa runs for 24 hours with a high TA causing an abrasive feeling film to form on the tub walls. Why can't I just add all 6 oz at once to take care of the TA? Eric
  4. I tried aquafinesse. My observations are: -Expensive -comes with insufficient chlorine tabs (you still have 1/3 of the liquid left once that tabs are gone) -chlorine dispenser too small (holds one tab, not even one and a half, so the first tab must be COMPLETELY gone before adding another) -chlorine dispenser not adjustable -dealer lied and said chlorine not required, only added in north america because legally required. This product does not work AT ALL without the chlorine, so forget about "chemical free" -Not necessary. The chlorine does the sanitizing, the magic liquid "elimininates biofilm" (and smells nice - the salesman will always want you to smell it). If the tub is sanitized properly, there will not be a biofilm to eliminate. I switched to chlorine alone. My tub is just as nice as it was with aquafinesse.
  5. My advice to you is to include enough chlorine with your $150.00 kit to last as long as the liquid does. Also you should educate your retailers about your product (or advise them not to fib). Let them know that the system *requires* the chlorine. My retailer said the chlorine is not needed but is included only because that's what is required by Canadian law. Overall I did not find your product was worth the price. It does work but not significantly better than chlorine alone. Eric
  6. I hear you. I like to keep it simple too. The Aqua Finesse system is simple, but the chlorine system is simpler. With Aqua, it was keep a tab in the dispenser and add a cup of liquid once a week. With chlorine, it's keep a tab in the dispenser. That's it. If it's going to be simple, I prefer simple and cheap over simple and expensive. With aqua, you still need to balance the water when filling, and you still need to watch the TA and PH. This is true no matter what system you use. Eric
  7. Hi Geek, Yes they are 15g tabs of trichlor. I am seeing 15-20 PPM drop in TA per week yes. Once it drops to 40, I add 6 tablespoons on baking soda to bring it back to 80. Is "stabilizer" on the test strip the same as CYA? I am reading 150 ppm. The water is still clear. Thanks for the help. Previous to the Aqua-finesse trial, I was using bromine and a floating dispenser. Was not working at all. Bromine count all over the place Oh, and I shock once in a while with non-chlorine shock.
  8. Update. Since the last post I have stopped adding the weekly dose of the liquid all together and have just been using the chlorine tablets alone (in the included dispenser) and my water is staying perfectly clean and clear. The dispenser keeps the free chlorine between 1 and 1.5 with normal bather loads (2 peops every other day). I do add a tablespoon of granular chlorine from time to time if our bather load is a little higher (which I had to do when adding the liquid as well. In my opinion the included chlorine tabs (2 months worth - 400 grams) and little dispenser do all the work and the liquid (5 months worth - 4 liters) is some kind of expensive snake oil. The kit was $150.00 My new approach to spa care is a 550 g bottle of chlorine tabs ($14). Keep little dispenser full (one tab every 3 days). Add 1 tablespoon granular for high load days. The bottle of tabs should last 3 months or so. Adjust TA/ph with baking soda as required. This has been working very well for the last 4 weeks. My water is 4 months old now so due for a change soon. My test strip shows 150 ppm stabilizer (is this the same as CYA?) I still have a little over 2 liters of the liquid left from the AquaFinesse which I doubt I will ever use. Eric
  9. In fact, the majority of spa users (a little more than 50%) do use only chlorine (mostly Dichlor, though some use Trichlor, some use saltwater chlorine generators and some use Dichlor-then-bleach). About one-third use bromine. The rest use a variety of different systems. One can absolutely use chlorine and have the water remain both clear and sanitary. The key is to use enough oxidizer (chlorine is both an oxidizer and a sanitizer) to handle the bather waste and this can be added immediately after a soak such that one gets to 1-2 ppm FC before the next soak. The main issue with most of the chlorine methods are that they require frequent chlorine addition which is OK if one soaks regularly but is less convenient if one has to add chlorine in between soaks. The plan for me would be run the dispenser which would deal with the tub when not used for a few days, and add a teaspoon of powder chlorine after each use to deal with bather waste. The idea of showering (x2 for two people), then drying off, then running downstairs, then getting in the tub, then drying off again (with a wet towel this time)seems like too much work. The tub is supposed to be easy.
  10. I have been using AquaFinesse for about 3 months now. Not sure what to think. The routine with this stuff is to add a certain amount of this white liquid once a week (based on tub size), clean the filter once a week and keep a chlorine tab in a small dispenser that is provided with the kit. The dispenser holds exactly one tab and has a couple small holes in it to allow the tab to dissolve at a fixed rate. Here ius my experience so far: 1) The sales guy at the spa dealer flat out lied. He told me it is very popular in Europe and that it works by coating the tub and carrying the bacteria to the filter blah blah. He said it doesn't NEED any sanitizer at all but by law is sold with a sanitizer in North America because here it can't be sold as a spa care package legally unless it includes a sanitizer. In my experience it doesn't work without a sanitizer AT ALL and the tub will very quickly become polluted unless the sanitizer is in there at all times. 2) It doesn't come with enough sanitizer in the package. I bought the package with 5 months worth of the liquid and a small bottle of chlorine tabs. The tabs go in a small dispenser that sit in the skimmer basket. The tabs only last 3 months. I would think for $150 you would get enough tabs to last the life of the package. I asked the dealer about this and he said I should be going through 1 tab a week. I was going through two. I told him I could not control the rate at which the tabs get used up because the dispenser has a fixed hole. Again he said I should be using 1 tab a week but had no suggestion as to how to slow down the chlorine usage. 3) 3 times in the first 3 weeks my water turned green despite the fact that I kept a tab in the dispenser all the time. The dealer told me I needed to add additional chlorine because of our heavy usage. The package does say maximum 2 bather hours per week. We were at least 4 bather hours per week. He said add a teaspoon of powder chlorine after each use. Another employee at the store said she runs two dispensers. So this means the one guy said I was using too many tabs a week, but in the same breath said I needed to add additional chlorine because of heavy usage, and the other employee said running two dispensers works (which means I would go through about 4 tabs a week. The kit comes with maybe 20 tabs. 4) It'd damned expensive. The package was $150.00 for 5 months worth plus $20.00 for powder chlorine plus I need to buy additional tabs for the dispenser since I ran out after 3 months. 5)My water is clear ever since I have been adding the extra powder chlorine (I add this every other day if we are bathing daily or not at all if we are bathing every other day). I also keep the tab in the dispenser at all times), the water has been nice and clear. What is not clear is if it's the AquaFinesse that is keeping the water clear or just the chlorine. When I measure the chlorine is between 1 and 3 ppm. As an experiment I have been adding 50% of the recommended amount of AquaFinesse liquid for the past month and have not noticed any difference in water clarity. 6) If it's going to come with a dispenser, it should come with two or at least one that can hold 1.5 tabs. The dispenser hold exactly one tab meaning if there is a sliver of the old tab left it won't hold a new tab. The old tab has to be completely gone before you can replenish the dispenser. When I run out of this stuff I will probably go with just the little dispenser (which seems to keep the level around 1-2 ppm) and add a little powder choline after every time we use the tub. Eric
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