Search the Community

Hi, First off let me give you the specs and current water parameters. Clearwater 475 gal. With ozone & uv. 98° Typical user load is 4-5 days per week, 2 people, 1 hr. This is the first water fill and it has been running for approximately 3 months. Using Taylor K-2006 test kit Currently using a mineral stick in filter 1. I've been using 6% liquid bleach since my cya hit approx 35ppm. Ph6.8 CH 180 TA 60 FC 6 TC 1 I have had my TA @ 120+ for a while and have constantly Fought with pH rising to and above 8.0. Finally decided to read nitros bleach method and look up the acronyms that I did not know. Using muratic acid( lots of it) I have brought my TA down to the point where the PH settled at 6.8 . Boric acid is showing up tomorrow and I'll be adding 32oz (weight) to get a 50ppm boric load for buffering the low TA. I keep reading different things about mineral sticks, whether or not to use them and why. There seems to be a caveat to every situation. How long I can run the water before needing to drain and fill it? What are the indicators that I need to look for when it comes to water change? Water prices in my city are absolutely insane, so I'd love to limit water usage as much as possible. My CD has been insane, but my parameters have been all over the place so I'm not sure if it's the ozone or something else entirely. I've been adding around 3/4 cup of bleach after our nightly soak.By the next evening it's down to .5 ppm or less. Also, how often do I want to shock? I have non chlorine shock,or bleach available.. I really appreciate your time! -ToyCruiser

I plumbed the Paramount UV filter backwards and it seems to work fine. Does it make any difference? To change the piping will require xcross of pvc pipe and more 90 degree elbows.

I bought some enzyme to use in cleaning our new 245 Jacuzzi main filter. The container says one can add it directly to the spa, 1 oz per 500 gallons to help clean the water. We had a higher than usual amount of guests. After adding a light ounce of it to our 345 gallons I tested the water and saw it needed chlorine. So ... if I do add the chlorine now, will it nullify the enzymes? Is the enzyme less effective because our pool has a UV filtering element? I assume that the enzymes are part of a living cell component that wouldn't do well under UV or Chlorine?

HI. We need your opinions & advice please. First, I'll say that this is a much shorter version of my first more detailed post which explains why & who will be using our spa/hot tub. (see here:http://www.poolspaforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=45231 We had narrowed our large pool of spas down to 3, but were only able to wet test 2, which we did this past weekend. They were the Caldera Makena & the Vitaspa Envie. My husband wants the Caldera because he likes the lounger better & felt there was more control over each seat, & I want the Vitaspa because I was disappointed when I was in the Caldera Makena because it didn't give me a therapeutic massage. I was very impressed when I was in the Envie with how great and massage like the jets were (even my husband & son agreed) I also didn't float out of the lounger like I did with the Caldera Makena. They also felt the Envie was bigger, which it is, and with my family being 6'4 and 6'6, I'm not sure why they prefer the Makena. Both have excellent warranty & great service which is how we narrowed it down to these 2, so it's not really a factor. Both salesman have gone over & above in trying to please us with big discounts. Caldera Makena: http://www.calderaspas.com/en/shop/paradise/makena/ $8200 with tax ($10000 regular price). Dealer is throwing in their best cover & cover lifter, steps, ozone & 3 Hotsprings robes. Comes with spa frog bromine system & outdoor panel. Has 46 jets, & 3 pumps, including circ pump. Pumps are only 2 hp. Has lounger and volcano foot jet. Also colored lights and fountain & lighted handle. It has speakers but no stereo installed. Not much of a cool down seat. Even though smaller than the Vitaspa envie it did feel deep enough, but then again there was so much water in there it was overflowing on the floor. I am willing to wet test it again tomorrow to see if I can get the jets to have a better massage. I'm not a hot tub person because of the heat, but I was looking forward to using it for the massage aspect. Vitaspa Envie: http://vitaspa.com/2011/05/envie/ $8500 with tax ($8300 regular price) Owner also giving us steps & cover lifter & gave us a big discount on ozone & UV. Doesn't come with outdoor panel, so that would be extra, but gives cost on it & the wire. Crown has great warranty & service too. I just like the Envie better. It has steps & a cool down seat, & a very comfy lounger. It has only 2 pumps though, but they are 3 hp. It has 54 jets - 8 more than the Makena, & gave a great massage. We can also change out the jets if we like. Has colored cupholders & a fountain & the color & cabinet is more to our liking. The dealer suggests we use Enzymes with our spa. My husband says the control for strength of jets only controlled one side of the tub at a time, which is why he likes the Makena better. Sooo, I told my husband the spa is really for him & he should choose, but then he chose the Makena, & I guess I was disappointed because I didn't enjoy being in it. Which means I probably won't use it much. It's wrong for me to try & change his mind though since I told him it was his choice. Saturday after wet testing the Envie, he couldn't make up his mind, & I told him & still feel that we should try the Makena again. Maybe I'll change my mind, or it will solidify his decision. So, what does everyone think. Spafrog bromine & ozone & circ pump, vs UV & ozone. I have folliculitis, psoriasis, and sometimes get rashes to chemicals in hygiene products, so I liked the idea of the uv & ozone to kill bacteria and maybe help with skin conditions. Spa frog means always buying bromine & mineral cartridges, whereas uv means a $100 light once a year. Does the circ pump make a big difference? One last thing; a tiebreaker could be the Alps Olympus spa, but the dealer who is new & selling out of her home says we can't wet test it. We can sit in it though. Here's its info: Alps spa Olympus model: http://www.jetsensationhottubs.com/#!olympus/cpyc $8300 with tax, price on website $7995. The warranty on it is ok, but not as good as the others. This tub is larger and deeper, & has ozone included (their standard) and 2 6hp pumps (breakpower I'm guessing). It has 3 pumps (circ of course), full lighting package including cup holders. lighted hand rail (like the Makena) and even a stereo system. Comes with a cover lifter & breaker panel & she would give us a deal on ionizer & steps. This one has 2 loungers though, so I don't know if we'll like it, or if the lounger is long enough (looking at the pic, the end of the lounger looks short & part of the tub space looks unusable at end of first lounger. With 72 stainless steel jets, I would hope they would give a good massage. The problem is these are in her back yard, (new & packaged though) and she hasn't opened an actual store or warehouse yet, so we're concerned about warranty in the future. She said Alps would still take care of us if she stopped selling them. I'm hoping she changes her mind & lets us wet test it. Well, sorry it wasn't as short as I thought it would be. I've just lived and breathed this forum & anything to do with hot tubs & spas for the past few weeks. I have barely gotten any sleep & I just want it to be over & the decision made & the hot tub on its way. I should add, all of these hot tubs are available to get right away, since we're taking the floor model. Only the Caldera Makena has been on the floor with water in it. The dealer added water to the Envie just for us to test. (He also installed ozone & uv just for us, so I'd feel really bad if we don't choose it) Thanks for your help, advice, & opinions. Cheers.

All - I got my first tub last year with a lot of help from all of you! I searched and didn't see anything around this so thought I'd post it. I just bought my replacment Clearray UV bulb last week and came across this coupon. I pain $60.47 out the door at Ace Swin and Leisure in Rochester, NY. They say you need to drain the tub or pull the two lines and put a wine cork in the lines. I'm going to wait another month and do my final change before winter. Bleach / DiChlor is a great method. Once you get the hang of it and balancing it the first time, it make tub maintenance so easy. Here are the links: http://www.jacuzzihottubs.com/clearray-print.html?s_cid=4&utm_source=promo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=F13_clearray_bulb http://www.jacuzzihottubs.com/hot-tub-blog/2012-spa-model-owners/ Hope it helps! Scott

Hello all, new to the forum and new to being a CPO. I am 22 years old and just got CPO certified and am the CPO/aquatics director for the Salvation Army here (yes, we have a pool). The last CPO was a complete idiot and did not keep the pool up to good standards, so I am hoping to change that. Info: My pool is an indoor 191,000 gallon pool, has a 7hp pump, runs around 180gpm, 3 sand filters (2 750lbs filters and 1 375lbs filter), a Lite2 heater, the pool is 25ft x 75ft long and ranging from 3.5' to 9.5'. The chlorine is kept between 2 and 3ppm, pH is always between 7.4 and 7.6, Alkalinity at 90, and calcium hardness at 180-200. I am looking at putting a UV system in now. The last CPO had recieved a grant for $15k to have one put in, but upon getting fired and taking my CPO class I told my boss that I would like to withold doing that until I got more information on it. After looking around some I found a Spectra Light system for my pool (model SL-600) for around $2400. My question is does anyone have any experience with Spectra Light systems? I am hoping to cut down on the chlorine levels in the pool (from the Spectra Light website they are saying you can run the chlorine at under 1ppm, I currently run it at 3ppm). Any information about UV systems would be amazing. Thanks!