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It's 410 gallons. After we used it for about 2 hrs, (2 of us), the FC was at 6, but the CC had climbed to 4(!!!!). I'm going to retest in the morning. Methinks there's some biofilm in that thar tub! Ahhsome arrives tomorrow. I'm prepared to purge alllll weekend if I need to, to get this tub *actually* set up right.

I should mention that I went online and bought the MPS interference kit from Taylor tonight. But it won't be here for another week or so, and I would really like to use the tub in the meantime.

Ack! arobbert, I should've taken your advice and done a Aah-some purge first! I'm in high CC land! Decided to at least try the dealer's recommended approach - once. If my CYA levels got too high, no big - I was planning on a drain/refill anyways. Filled the spa up, adjusted TA/ph. Everything went smoothly. Started at (right after fill): TA: 40 Ph: 6.8 Calcium: 450? After adjustment and before dichlor/cartridges: TA: 80 Ph: 7.2 Calcium: 250 That's only with test strips, mind you. Threw in the @ease dichlor starter packet and the cartridges. Let that come up to temp. Ran a test strip through this morning. It said everything was good, and chlorine was on the low-good side. (The @ease strips are totally binary - either your chlorine is "good" or it's not. I didn't like that at all) Got my Taylor K2006 test kit today and started with chlorine, since I didn't have numbers on that. I was shocked! (Pun intended). Here is what it said compared to the test strips: FC: 3.5ppm CC: 3.5ppm (! - whoa!) My combined chlorine was supah high! After doing some research, it seems like that could have been an effect from having put in the dichlor starter and leaving the cover on all night? I admit I was in a bit of a panic, and I did something probably inadvisable - I threw in the MPS they gave me. And I put in what is probably too much - I put in their recommended amount, which is 4 TBSP. I let that run, and here are my retest results: FC: 8.5ppm CC: 2.5ppm PH: 7.7-7.8 (using the Taylor test kit, not strips!) TA = 90ppm (using Taylor, not strips) I understand MPS will show as CC potentially on the readings. Would it possibly show as *FC* though? I really want to use my tub, but do I need to let that FC and CC level come down? If so, how do I do that properly? Halp!

PoolSpaForum chemistry gurus .... My new Caldera Geneva arrives tomorrow. It comes with the @ease chlorine system. And, frankly, I'm terrified. Everyone - absolutely everyone - is looking forward to using this tub (myself included). But pool chemistry has me seriously concerned because 1) I'm a n00b at it and 2) It is so easy to get it so wrong. I don't want to get sick, and I don't want anyone else getting sick. Background: The tub was a floor model, but it will be cleaned/sanitized by the dealer before delivery. (It was apparently only filled for a few weeks and used 2-3 times, if I take the dealer at their word). It sounds like that's actually a good thing, as we'd have needed to do a clean/rise anyways. I've been feverishly reading about the dichlor-then-bleach method, which is, I think, the right method to use (and seems compatible with the @ease system....) It seems like the Frog company supplies a startup kit (dichlor) that's SUPPOSED to get you to around 1ppm FC, which may not be enough for me to calculate my CD? (And will get me a baseline CYA level, I think?) I'm going according to this: The Taylor K-2006 test kit is on the way and will be here Thursday - just in time for my first daily test! I'm sure the spa company will have their own, VERY strong opinions on how to balance the water chemistry. (They've already claimed you can shock once a week and that's enough). I have my doubts. We plan on using this a few times a week (2 of us) and there will also be heavy bather loads at some points soon (our friends and family are eager to use the heck out of this tub). I'm thinking I may need to have some MPS on hand to help the ol' chlorine out. Pool chemistry gurus ... can you help a gal out? Chemistry was not my thing, but I AM good at being diligent. I will measure, and adjust, and drain and try again until I get this right. I could use some help in understanding what I should do to set up the tub, and then going forward, to manage the @ease system properly. It will be dispensing chlorine, but I'm not sure of what variety, and how that figures into the equation . ( I can't figure out if it's trichlor, dichlor, or something else entirely.) If I have the basics down, we'll need to do the following when we fill the tub (and to manage it): Adjust TA/ph. Make note of calcium (not sure what to do if calcium is high?) Use the frog startup kit to shock the ~410 gal spa. Measure FC. It seems like it will probably be somewhere between 1 to 5ppm or so (I've seen some folks claiming the higher end of that number), I don't think this packet of shock is very strong.... and I'm not sure if that's a concern. Wait 24 hours. (Obviously do not use spa since FC will be high). Measure FC again. Calculate CD as baseline. Adjust cartridge up if FC low, down if FC high. Start using tub. Keep measuring FC and adjusting cartridge up or down accordingly. This is where it's important to know what the chemistry of the @ease chlorine is and whether it affects CYA - if it does not affect CYA, I should use dichlor after soaks until hitting target CYA value. If it does affect CYA, this could be complicated, because over time it will be hard to manage the FC level and I'll be forced to change the water. Once the CYA has hit the target level (~30 ppm CYA), we switch to unscented 6% bleach shock after bathing. Otherwise we use dichlor until we reach that level. Add MPS for high bather loads. Can anyone tell me if I'm on the right path here?

Thank you castletonia! Appreciate the thorough answer and the time it took to post that. Why we liked the Geneva over the Grandee: Wet test - overall comfort and placement/type of jets. We both sat in the Grandee first and were like, "eh, it's ok". If there hadn't been a Geneva there, I think it would have been alright, but didn't wow us - we both sat in the Geneva and did not want to get out. We also wanted a lounger. My husband has a neck injury and the corner seat in the Geneva with the above water line jets really worked (and the pillow that propped his head up). Tall people problems - we're both tall (around 6') and the fit on the Geneva is good - the Grandee isn't bad, but didn't leave that "wow, I don't ever want to get out of this tub" impression that the Geneva did. Style - we both liked the modern look of the Geneva (which surprised us both). Price - see features not needed below. Geneva felt like we were paying for what we wanted (lounger, long warranty), getting a little extra that we'd actually use (speakers), but nothing that we weren't likely to use What they were even on: Fit, finish, quality of build - both seemed very good. Dealer - same dealer, who has extremely good (and plentiful) reviews. Seems to be a higher volume dealer, versus the Marquis dealer (though it's hard to tell), which makes me feel better about the level of support we're likely to receive. Unsure of this - the dual nature of the wiring in the Caldera made my engineer hubby happy - he likes the idea that if the heater fails, the tub will still circulate water (we live in a cold climate) What was cool but didn't really sell us: NXT features like the wireless control - neat, but not needed. Felt like we'd be paying more for things that weren't necessary to us. What Marquis we were considering: The Resort - thought we liked the lounger/Adirondack setup, but I discovered on Saturday I'm a "floater" ... and the neck pillow on the Geneva anchors me, plus there's a spot for my feet in the lounger where I can hold myself down. I'm concerned I'll float right out of the Marquis! The Wish - liked the hip and wrist jets (I have hip problems and a metal plate in my wrist from a bad break years ago) - but the Geneva has both of these. The Wish is a 5 person, too, so the Geneva is superior in that respect. (Also, the Marquis dealer only has this in a color combo I don't think I will like - ordering it will drive up the price). Why we aren't going to go Marquis: Dealer, dealer, dealer - got a good feeling from the Hot Springs/Caldera dealer and they were extremely accommodating. Let us wet test at the end of the day on a Saturday and said they were willing to fill tubs if we wanted. Stayed late and did not push us. Negotiated clearly - hubby drives a hard bargain and they were polite and fair. Can't wet test the Marquis. I'm even unsure if the dealer would unwrap the Resort (which is in their warehouse) to even let us sit in it. I'm even afraid to ask, they've been so unaccommodating so far. That makes me afraid of having to deal with them over warranty issues, which is not what I want. (Hubby handles negotiation and anything that slightly smells like confrontation, I'm frankly afraid of head-to-head confrontation - I do enough of that in my day job, I don't need to do it when dropping 10-15K on a discretionary expense!) I usually look for customer service that is friendly versus someone I have to fight with, and give those folks my (repeat) business. We're getting what feels like a really good deal on a 6 person tub (versus a 5) - one more seat feels useful Sorry about the long answer, but I'm happy to answer any questions you have, since you've answered mine with such consideration :).

I've been reading helpful threads on this forum for years (well, just slightly over 1 year) now, and we've decided to "take the plunge" (pun totally intended) on a 2017 Caldera Geneva. Based on the feedback I've read here and on other forums, we did a wet test, and I like the dealer. There's another Marquis dealer nearby who did not give me as much confidence as the Caldera/Hot Springs dealer, and would not let us wet test the tub we were most interested in. I'm not sure if the Caldera dealer would have let us wet test whatever we wanted, but it wasn't an issue - the Geneva was already filled up and ready to go. We also tried a Grandee NXT, but the Caldera was clearly the winner. In terms of negotiating, we wanted to stay around the 10-11 mark if possible (we could go up, but that's around what the Marquis dealer quoted for the tub we thought we'd be buying, so that's where our budget was at). Given that the Geneva is a more expensive tub than we were at first considering, my fiancee drove a cash bargain and we've got a quote from the dealer of ~11000 for the 2017 floor model if delivered within 45 days (with all the normal included stuff - cover, lifter, steps, first chemicals, delivery). I feel pretty good about this. I've feel really good if I can get them to throw in a new filter and agree to do a cleaning cycle for us before delivery. A couple of things I'm looking for guidance on: Does it sound like we're doing things right so far? Any suggestions, pitfalls to watch for? The Caldera offers the inline Frog - I can choose either @ease chlorine or the "old" bromine system. Recommendations for a newbie at pool chemistry? I also want to sincerely thank everyone who participates on this forum. Based on the threads here, I was able to pretty quickly narrow down my list of candidates to Marquis, Caldera/Hot Springs, and Artesian :).