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Aqua Finesse


coert

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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.

I don't understand this part. What does showering have to do with using chlorine in the tub vs. any other method?

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5). The AF is keeping the water clear. The chlorine is keeping it sanitized.

NO, the chlorine is keeping the water BOTH clear and sanitized!

Using just chlorine (and not the AF solution) is not a good plan going forward. If it were that easy, we'd all be doing it.

It acutally is pretty easy and the vast majority of tub owners do use chlorine!

Lastly, I clean my filters every 2 months....not every week. We also make sure to completely shower off prior to ever getting in the tub, so this helps extend the filter life a lot.

Good luck!

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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.

I don't understand this part. What does showering have to do with using chlorine in the tub vs. any other method?

I'm with chem geek on this? While showering before might lessen the sanitizer demand a bit it should not be a necessity. If it is I would look to a different sanitizer system that can handle a bit of extra organic load from time to time.

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  • 4 weeks later...

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

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Eric, thanks for the update. So are these Trichlor tabs so you're having to add baking soda since the TA drops over time, is that right? If your chlorine usage is around 4 ppm FC per day, which would be around 30 person-minutes of soaking per day in 350 gallons, then this would result in a drop in TA of around 20 ppm per week. Is that what you are seeing? The CYA level would also increase at 17 ppm per week (assuming that 4 ppm FC per day chlorine usage) so after some months the water may start to get dull and need a water change. Trichlor increases the CYA level more slowly than Dichlor so your water should last longer than the Dichlor-only method but not as long as with Dichlor-then-bleach. If you were to use bleach for your high load days instead of using granular, that would make the water last longer by not building up CYA as much.

For every 10 ppm FC added by Trichlor, it also increases CYA by 6 ppm.

For every 10 ppm FC added by Dichlor, it also increases CYA by 9 ppm.

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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.

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Yes, stabilizer is the same as CYA and is also known as conditioner. Though I'm not surprised the CYA is high, I wouldn't trust the test strip. They are notoriously inaccurate, especially about the CYA level. Anyway, just keep an eye on things and if you find that your water doesn't last as long as you'd like, consider using bleach at least for your chlorine increment for higher bather load. The non-chlorine shock won't build up CYA, but it's much more expensive than bleach -- obviously, up to you.

If you find that you need to not only raise the TA but that your pH is too low, then you can raise the TA level to higher than 80 ppm which should offset the pH drop from the Trichlor more. Basically, there's a TA level that will roughly have the pH be stable on average -- perhaps you've already found that sweet spot with what you are doing now, though usually with Trichlor a higher average TA is needed.

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Yes, stabilizer is the same as CYA and is also known as conditioner. Though I'm not surprised the CYA is high, I wouldn't trust the test strip. They are notoriously inaccurate, especially about the CYA level. Anyway, just keep an eye on things and if you find that your water doesn't last as long as you'd like, consider using bleach at least for your chlorine increment for higher bather load. The non-chlorine shock won't build up CYA, but it's much more expensive than bleach -- obviously, up to you.

If you find that you need to not only raise the TA but that your pH is too low, then you can raise the TA level to higher than 80 ppm which should offset the pH drop from the Trichlor more. Basically, there's a TA level that will roughly have the pH be stable on average -- perhaps you've already found that sweet spot with what you are doing now, though usually with Trichlor a higher average TA is needed.

With a CYA reading that high, you will have to keep a higher chlorine level, not the 1-2 you have been because high CYA makes chlorine less effective, the higher the CYA, the less sanitizing the chlorine is and the higher you have to keep your free chlorine. Clear water does not mean it is sanitized.

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I have used aquafinesse for almost two years. Our tub doesnt get used everyday so i add the product every ten days instead of seven. I throw in a teaspoon full of granulated chlorine stuff every couple of days. i dont over think and write down/record daily PPM or anything like that. I do know one thing and thats if i had to go back to the regime of oxidizer this day,chlorinate that day, add water clarity stuff this day and finally a scale controller that day I would drain the water and sell it. I havent had a case of anybody itching and/or complaining etc since I started with aquafinesse and I intend to keep it that way. As far as the cost of it. It's kind of an even wash by the time you buy 4 bottles of other stuff and have time on a dedicated night of the week to go through a hot tub ritual I say stick with the conventional way of doing things.

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No one said that if you don't use chlorine or sufficient amounts of chlorine that you will definitely have problems. It's a statistical thing and your adding even the small amount of chlorine you are doing is better than nothing at all though would only be enough in 350 gallons to handle 30 person-minutes of soaking per week unless AquaFinesse had enzymes to oxidize your bather waste (mostly ammonia and urea from your sweat and urine).

However, your description of everything you have to do to maintain a spa using chlorine alone is not accurate. With the Dichlor-then-bleach method or even with the Dichlor-only method you just add chlorine right after your soak, assuming you soak every day or two. That's it. No clarifiers, flocculants, algaecides, oxidizer (other than chlorine), scale control, etc. You set up your water once after each drain/refill and then just use the appropriate amount of chlorine. As for testing, once one gets into a pattern of usage, the amount of chlorine to add doesn't change so most people don't test each time -- more like once a week just to make sure things are OK.

Now it is true that if one is only using the spa once or twice a week that they may find it easier to use bromine using tabs in a feeder so that they don't have to manage the spa by adding chlorine in between soaks.

So I hope things still work out for you in the long-run. It's too bad urea tests aren't portable and inexpensive -- I think many people would be surprised with what is in the water if not properly oxidized.

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I have used aquafinesse for almost two years. Our tub doesnt get used everyday so i add the product every ten days instead of seven. I throw in a teaspoon full of granulated chlorine stuff every couple of days. i dont over think and write down/record daily PPM or anything like that. I do know one thing and thats if i had to go back to the regime of oxidizer this day,chlorinate that day, add water clarity stuff this day and finally a scale controller that day I would drain the water and sell it. I havent had a case of anybody itching and/or complaining etc since I started with aquafinesse and I intend to keep it that way. As far as the cost of it. It's kind of an even wash by the time you buy 4 bottles of other stuff and have time on a dedicated night of the week to go through a hot tub ritual I say stick with the conventional way of doing things.

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

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I will agree on the balance at fill. I have to lower my PH quite a bit no matter what system I would use. I guess the reason i am sold on the aquafinesse system is that I have no more itchy skin, its easy to use. I maintain my chlorine level about the same as i did pre-aqua,it just doesnt take as much as it used to. I also dont have the ring around the water line anymore either.

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  • 1 year later...

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