Nature 2 Question

[craighaggart]

I bought a 2-pack of Nature2 cartridges to go in my new spa with the hope of reducing the amount of chrorine needed as sanitizer. The instructions say to put the cartridge in "the filter." My spa has two filters, however -- one for the jet pumps and a separate one for the circ pump. I called Zodiac, the manufacturer of Nature2, and my question seemed to stump them. The person I spoke with eventually just said that it would be OK to put it inside either filter.

Has anyone else ever had (or know anyone who has had) this issue? If so, how did you resolve it, and did it work out OK?

Thanks in advance for any help! I'm brand new to spa ownership, so I'll probably be asking plenty of water-chemistry-related questions in the near future...

-Craig Haggart

Sunnyvale, California

[Guzz]

I bought a 2-pack of Nature2 cartridges to go in my new spa with the hope of reducing the amount of chrorine needed as sanitizer. The instructions say to put the cartridge in "the filter." My spa has two filters, however -- one for the jet pumps and a separate one for the circ pump. I called Zodiac, the manufacturer of Nature2, and my question seemed to stump them. The person I spoke with eventually just said that it would be OK to put it inside either filter.

Has anyone else ever had (or know anyone who has had) this issue? If so, how did you resolve it, and did it work out OK?

Thanks in advance for any help! I'm brand new to spa ownership, so I'll probably be asking plenty of water-chemistry-related questions in the near future...

-Craig Haggart

Sunnyvale, California

Put it in the filter connected to the circ pump.

[spatech (the unreal one)]

Put it in the filter connected to the circ pump.

That is about the biggest no brainer question you can ask a spa professional. Who'd you talk to at Zodiac, the custodian (actually that's a disservice to their custodian, he'd probably know that too). Send Zodiac an e-mail and let them know they have someone asleep at the wheel.

[craighaggart]

That is about the biggest no brainer question you can ask a spa professional. Who'd you talk to at Zodiac, the custodian (actually that's a disservice to their custodian, he'd probably know that too).

I was pretty surprised by their response -- or lack of one. First, it took at least twenty minutes to get through to a human being in "customer service," who didn't know the answer and told me that I needed to talk to someone in "tech." When I finally got a human there (which also took a while), he had to go have a discussion for five minutes with someone else. I certainly didn't feel very confident that I was being given good info.

So do you concur, that the cartridge should go in the circulation pump filter rather than the jet pump filter? Do you have experience with this working OK? It seems logical that it would, but I understand that not all spas even have a circ pump and most spas have just one filter. That means at least some Nature2 cartridges are expected to be in the jet pump filter. Since the water circulates 24/7 in the circ pump filter, I can't help but wonder if the Nature2 cartridge could release its contents much more quickly than designed.

I sure wish Zodiac would specifically address this issue in the instructions! The way they dealt with this made me feel as though I was the first person to ever ask the question.

-Craig Haggart

Sunnyvale, California

[spatech (the unreal one)]

So do you concur, that the cartridge should go in the circulation pump filter rather than the jet pump filter? Do you have experience with this working OK? It seems logical that it would, but I understand that not all spas even have a circ pump and most spas have just one filter. That means at least some Nature2 cartridges are expected to be in the jet pump filter. Since the water circulates 24/7 in the circ pump filter, I can't help but wonder if the Nature2 cartridge could release its contents much more quickly than designed.

-Craig Haggart

Sunnyvale, California

The cartridge goes in whichever filter is tied to the circ pump and if you have no circ pump it goes in whichever filter is tied to your 2-speed pump that does the filtering. It is THAT simple.

I like the N2 cartridges. Someone once said "they work but they're not worth the $$ as you won't save enough on chems". I thought that opinion was VERY shortsighted. It's all about making water maintenance easier and keeping the water cleaner and for that it's a very nice addition to chlorine and ozone (and in that order of need of usefullness, #1 sanitizer, #2 ozone (especially a good CD ozonator) and #3 N2). I've seen people in a frazzle trying to keep their water clean and if you were to ask any such person if they wanted to try one their repsonse would be "if it works, please get me one" and they do work.

[Roger]

The cartridge goes in whichever filter is tied to the circ pump and if you have no circ pump it goes in whichever filter is tied to your 2-speed pump that does the filtering. It is THAT simple.

I like the N2 cartridges. Someone once said "they work but they're not worth the $$ as you won't save enough on chems". I thought that opinion was VERY shortsighted. It's all about making water maintenance easier and keeping the water cleaner and for that it's a very nice addition to chlorine and ozone (and in that order of need of usefullness, #1 sanitizer, #2 ozone (especially a good CD ozonator) and #3 N2). I've seen people in a frazzle trying to keep their water clean and if you were to ask any such person if they wanted to try one their repsonse would be "if it works, please get me one" and they do work.

For me they are a supplement to a chlorine regimin that allows for longer periods between additions to maintain clean healthy water. As long as you don't use the tub they double the amount of time between chlorine additions. And if you use your tub everyday or every other day you will be able to reduce the amount of chlorine required from 3-5 PPM to 2-3 PPM after your soak. But I have never got that serious about it just add 1 TBLS after my soak and then I can go for 4-5 or even 6 days without additional chlorine. Which believe it of not happens...LOL But if I am going to soak in a few days I put in just 1.5 tsp or half a TBLS

[hottubdan]

I was pretty surprised by their response -- or lack of one. First, it took at least twenty minutes to get through to a human being in "customer service," who didn't know the answer and told me that I needed to talk to someone in "tech." When I finally got a human there (which also took a while), he had to go have a discussion for five minutes with someone else. I certainly didn't feel very confident that I was being given good info.

So do you concur, that the cartridge should go in the circulation pump filter rather than the jet pump filter? Do you have experience with this working OK? It seems logical that it would, but I understand that not all spas even have a circ pump and most spas have just one filter. That means at least some Nature2 cartridges are expected to be in the jet pump filter. Since the water circulates 24/7 in the circ pump filter, I can't help but wonder if the Nature2 cartridge could release its contents much more quickly than designed.

I sure wish Zodiac would specifically address this issue in the instructions! The way they dealt with this made me feel as though I was the first person to ever ask the question.

-Craig Haggart

Sunnyvale, California

Hot Spring and Jacuzzi have private labeled N2 with dedicated circ pump filters. That is where the N2 goes. No question about it.

[craighaggart]

Hot Spring and Jacuzzi have private labeled N2 with dedicated circ pump filters. That is where the N2 goes. No question about it.

Thanks, Dan! I appreciate the help. It's a shame that Zodiac couldn't provide such a clear answer.

Roger, thanks also to you for your suggestions. I do plan to use the Nature2 as a supplement to dichlor sanitizer. In combination with the spa's ozonator, I'm hoping that the amount of chlorine will be minimal enough that my wife isn't bothered by it. She dislikes "smelling like a swimming pool," as she put it.

-Craig Haggart

Sunnyvale, California

[Roger]

Thanks, Dan! I appreciate the help. It's a shame that Zodiac couldn't provide such a clear answer.

Roger, thanks also to you for your suggestions. I do plan to use the Nature2 as a supplement to dichlor sanitizer. In combination with the spa's ozonator, I'm hoping that the amount of chlorine will be minimal enough that my wife isn't bothered by it. She dislikes "smelling like a swimming pool," as she put it.

-Craig Haggart

Sunnyvale, California

One of the other reasons to use it (the old swimming pool smell) but that comes from using chlorine wrong. If your chlorine has not completely dissapated down to a very low level you will get the chlorine smell. But there's a point where it is a clean smell and then after that it is musty so you need to reach a point where your levels during your soak are at the clean smell. I find it at about .5 to 1 PPM of chlorine which is pretty equal to drinking water from a city supply. This level should not bother anyone as it is very low considering most commercial pools and spas are kept at close to 10 PPM.

[craighaggart]

...you need to reach a point where your levels during your soak are at the clean smell. I find it at about .5 to 1 PPM of chlorine...

Thanks for the info, Roger! I like the sound of those levels.

More questions, of course. Should I disregard the recommended chlorine level on the test strip? I've wondered how to determine the correct level of sanitizer, since Nature2 and an ozonator are both supposed to reduce the amount required to do the job. However, neither Zodiac nor the spa manufacturer really say anything concrete about figuring out how much less sanitizer it actually takes. How will I know that it's OK?

-Craig Haggart

Sunnyvale, California