Nature2 With Sundance Spa

[Makmomom]

I recently purchased a 2006 Sundance Optima, 480 gallons. I am using the Nature2 cartridge in the skimmer. I am using the Spaguard chemicals. When I first filled the tub, I put in an entire bottle of Spa Sentry and then shocked the spa with Enhanced Shock, the next day. I was told to shock the spa approx. 1 /week. These were the only chemicals I was told I needed.

9 days after using the spa nightly, the water was cloudy and green with a musty odor. The dealer told me it was metals in the water and had me add in an entire bottle of SpaGuard stain and Scale and then shock the spa with approx. 2/3 of a cap.??? He is never good at giving me an accurate amount to use.

Anyway, I ended up having to drain and refill the spa because the Stain and Scale and the shock did not work.

After I drained it, the dealer recommended another entire bottle of Stain and Scale. And then the entire bottle of Spa Sentry. I decided to go out on my own and I just followed the directions on the back of the Stain and Scale bottle. I only added 2 ozs. I did add the entire bottle of Spa Sentry. The next day, I shocked it with 3 ozs of the enhanced shock. So far, the water is clear but it has only been 3 days.

My question is, do I need another chemical to go along with the Spa sentry and the Enhanced Shock? Do I

need to be using some sort of dichlor or chlorine? My dealer says no, but I think that I do.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks.

[griffe]

I plan on using nature two when I get my spa (its being built).

Sundance Altimar.

My dealer said to use Nature 2 with a shock of clorine, thats it.

They seemed very knowlegable.

[Hot H2o]

I recently purchased a 2006 Sundance Optima, 480 gallons. I am using the Nature2 cartridge in the skimmer. I am using the Spaguard chemicals. When I first filled the tub, I put in an entire bottle of Spa Sentry and then shocked the spa with Enhanced Shock, the next day. I was told to shock the spa approx. 1 /week. These were the only chemicals I was told I needed.

9 days after using the spa nightly, the water was cloudy and green with a musty odor. The dealer told me it was metals in the water and had me add in an entire bottle of SpaGuard stain and Scale and then shock the spa with approx. 2/3 of a cap.??? He is never good at giving me an accurate amount to use.

Anyway, I ended up having to drain and refill the spa because the Stain and Scale and the shock did not work.

After I drained it, the dealer recommended another entire bottle of Stain and Scale. And then the entire bottle of Spa Sentry. I decided to go out on my own and I just followed the directions on the back of the Stain and Scale bottle. I only added 2 ozs. I did add the entire bottle of Spa Sentry. The next day, I shocked it with 3 ozs of the enhanced shock. So far, the water is clear but it has only been 3 days.

My question is, do I need another chemical to go along with the Spa sentry and the Enhanced Shock? Do I

need to be using some sort of dichlor or chlorine? My dealer says no, but I think that I do.

Any advice would be great.

Thanks.

You definitely need to put a tablespoon of dichlor in weekly. And, the Nature 2 doesn't do too much, really.

[griffe]

You definitely need to put a tablespoon of dichlor in weekly. And, the Nature 2 doesn't do too much, really.

What is dichlor? is it an alternative to chlorine?

[Makmomom]

You definitely need to put a tablespoon of dichlor in weekly. And, the Nature 2 doesn't do too much, really.

I was wondering if the nature2 was doing anything, since I already had smelly , green water after just 2 weeks of use. Will the dichlor help with this?

If I add in the TBLS of dichlor weekly, how much Enhanced Shock do I need to add in and when do I add it? Weekly, bi-weekly or after each use?

I can't seem to find any simple, easy to follow instructions for these chemicals. It has been frustrating.

[JeffB]

I am not a chemist and am not in the hot tub business in any way. I had an Optima for a number of years and recently purchased an Artesian tub. So take these comments any way you like. I believe you are not using an adequate method of sanitation, and you are not adequately removing the metals from your water. I believe the SpaGuard stain and scale product is more for calcium scale control than to remove metals. You need to use Leisure Time Metal Gon. As soon as you fill the tub, pour in a whole bottle around the edges of the tub. Put in nothing else. Run the pumps and filter the water. The iron and other metals will get caught in the filter. If you have lots of iron, the filter will turn an orangish color. Keep rinsing the filter until the metals are gone. In bad cases of well water (like mine), this can take a day or two. If your water is clear when you fill the tub (rather than brown or green), use the Metal Gon, but then you probably do not need to wait to do the rest. Nature2 is great, but in most cases will not work by itself. You really need to use a clorine (dichlor) or bromine system. Clorine involves putting some in after each use and weekly shocks. Bromine involves using granular bromine when filling the tub and bromine tabs in a floater thereafter, and weekly shocks. The RHTubs website, under faq, has a couple of detailed clorine procedures. There is also some good bromine information. Nature2 should allow you to use less clorine or bromine, but it will not work alone just with weekly shocks. I tried it once just as Nature2 says with MPS (a nonclorine shock) added before each use. It did not work. The water always turned bad. To be fair, my tub had alot of use at the time. I use a bromine system with ozone and a frog mineral stick (Nature2 cannot be used with bromine). It is easy once you learn it. Lots of people like and use a clorine system. I think the real difference is whether having to put chemicals in after each use works for you. Hope this helps. Jeff

[waterbear]

Nature2 is a copper/silver system. It by itself will NOT properly sanitize the spa. MPS (non chlorine shock) is NOT a sanitizer....it is only an oxidizer. Kill times of bacteria by copper and silver are very slow so you NEED to have residual sanitizer in the spa at all times for fast kill times. I would recommend that you do NOT let the FC go below 1 ppm with the N2! Dichlor is a fast dissolving form of stabilized chlorine and in the Nature2 recipie for spas on the the Zodiac website it is the first chemical that is to be put into the water when using the N2. Subsequent shocking is done with either dichlor or MPS but I would recommend the dichlor and testing your FC levels so they don't drop below 1 ppm!

The fact that your water smelled is indicative of bacterial action! The green was probably algae since the water was a cloudy green. Excess copper in the water can cause the water to turn a green color but the water stays clear and does not smell. N2 does not put enough copper into the water to cause the water to turn blue green but if you used a copper based algaecide in conjuction with it it is possible.

N2 is NOT compatible with bromine.

IMHO, N2 is not a good way to sanitize a spa.

I personally would recommend either chlorine or bromine for spa sanitation.

[pat]

We use Nature2 in our Caldera, you absolutely need to add some dichlor (we use Spaguard chlorinating concentrate) to keep it at 1ppm. We add every 2-3 days, shock 1x per week.

[Wmartin]

Can I ask some questions since this is a post on the Optima? My optima was just delivered 3 days ago.

Day 1- The instructions in the Sundance manual said to put a whole bottle (8oz) of the Stain-X (Metal Control), so I did. There was a starter bag of shock that I put in as well. I tested the water and the PH was low, I added 1 oz. The spa guy on the phone (service dept) said I should add a little shock every day I use the tub and Id never have a problem. I accidently put a little (1/2 a cap) Sani-Chor in instead of shock.

Day2- The next day I tested, the PH was still low I added 1 more oz (It was recommend never to over do, you dont want to go from low to to high etc). I went to the store to ask operating questions and the salesman said I shouldnt have used Sani Chlor, thats why I have they little "box thing" in the filter. I bought some shock, but the salesman said putting shock in everyday would be over kill, maybe 2-3 times a week if it was used everyday.

Day 3 (today) Ph still low, same reading of around 6.2 so I added 2 oz today.

My other readings on my strip are:

Free Chlorine- 0-.5 its suppose to be 3-5, what should I do?

ph registers low 6.2 so I added 2oz

Total Alkalinity- in ok range around 80

Cyanuric Acid- registers low around 0, it should be 30-50. What should I do?

Use info-

It is new so my wife and I are going to use it at night 5-7 times a week before going to bed. In addition, I have 4 children ages 2.5 to 8 that will climb in during the day (we will set at 98deg (and watch them like hawks).

When and if my buddies come over, lets say 3 guys and me, should I shock it with a capful before or after?

This is a lot, thanks if you can help out?