Nature 2

[cofive]

Has anyone actually used the Nature 2 cartridge strictly as directed? Using only the MPS regularly and dichlor once a week as the directions note? I believe I have narrowed my problem to a chlorine allergy even at low levels, 1-3ppm. I know it may be risky to try their recipe, but I gotta try.

Ken

[quantumchromodynamics]

Using only the MPS regularly and dichlor once a week as the directions note?

Dichlor is a type of chlorine source product.

[OttawaGreg]

Has anyone actually used the Nature 2 cartridge strictly as directed? Using only the MPS regularly and dichlor once a week as the directions note? I believe I have narrowed my problem to a chlorine allergy even at low levels, 1-3ppm. I know it may be risky to try their recipe, but I gotta try.

Ken

Hi Ken

I just switched over from the SPA store chemicals to the dychlor/bleach method described in this forum. I've tried it for a few weeks and saw improvements. I just dumped the tub this weekend and refilled and and my plan is this;

I have brought up the Calcium hardness to 170, TA 90, pH 7.8, CL 5, and the CYA is next to 0. I will bring CYA up to 30 using dychlor (stabilized) over the next few days and then switch to bleach as the main sanitizer. That I will augment with MPS on a weekly basis, just a small amount. I have just installed the Nature 2 and think I will need to modify their overly dosed recipe of MPS. They have you adding 1 tbs before and after each soak. I will try bleach and the MPS end of week.

I will let you know how it goes. Please keep me posted on how your trial goes as well.

Greg

[OttawaGreg]

Has anyone actually used the Nature 2 cartridge strictly as directed? Using only the MPS regularly and dichlor once a week as the directions note? I believe I have narrowed my problem to a chlorine allergy even at low levels, 1-3ppm. I know it may be risky to try their recipe, but I gotta try.

Ken

Hi Ken

I just switched over from the SPA store chemicals to the dychlor/bleach method described in this forum. I've tried it for a few weeks and saw improvements. I just dumped the tub this weekend and refilled and and my plan is this;

I have brought up the Calcium hardness to 170, TA 90, pH 7.8, CL 5, and the CYA is next to 0. I will bring CYA up to 30 using dychlor (stabilized) over the next few days and then switch to bleach as the main sanitizer. That I will augment with MPS on a weekly basis, just a small amount. I have just installed the Nature 2 and think I will need to modify their overly dosed recipe of MPS. They have you adding 1 tbs before and after each soak. I will try bleach and the MPS end of week.

I will let you know how it goes. Please keep me posted on how your trial goes as well.

Greg

[hottubdan]

We have hundreds if not thousands of customers using that method. Helps to have 24 hour filtration and 24 hour corona discharge ozone.

[Hillbilly Hot Tub]

We also have hundreds of customers on that program with no issues. As stated a good working ozone and 24 hour circ pump help greatly. If you use the tub nightly, you may have to add a small amount of di-chlor mid week also.

[cofive]

I'm going to give it a try. I have 24 hour filtration and CD ozone. So we'll see. I'll keep ya posted.

[EricMN]

I'm going to give it a try. I have 24 hour filtration and CD ozone. So we'll see. I'll keep ya posted.

I have been following the instructions as stated with N2 for about 2 months now with good results. I am typically the only one that uses the tub, and use it daily. When there is someone other then me, I have always added a little more dichlor prior to having them in the tub, just to be sure there is enough free cholrine in the tub. One thing I have noticed is that my ph tends to drop and am assuming that it is from the adding of MPS on a reagular basis, but could be wrong.

[chem geek]

Both Dichlor and MPS are net acidic unless the MPS product is specifically pH balanced. Having a higher TA level can sometimes compensate for this, but over time you'd have to add baking soda as the TA will drop from the net acidity of the oxidizer products.

[Mikey_in_NY]

YES - when I bought my first ever tub earlier this year (Sundance 680, 540 gallons) my water quality went to crap after only 3 weeks using the weekly Dichlor and Renew (MPS) method the dealer recommended - the tub has a 24 hour circ pump with ozonator, and a Sunpurity (aka Nature 2) cartridge. After seeking help from the dealer he had no real explanation other than "you've got the chemical balance wrong", which may well have been true, but I followed his recommended dosages to the letter, so was not too happy with this initial experience.

So...after draining and refilling my tub 8 weeks ago I switched over to Nitro / Chem Geeks Dichlor then bleach method, using Dichlor for the first 10 days to build up the CYA level, then switching over to Chlorox. During this 8 weeks I still carry out a weekly shock using 1.5 TBSP Dichlor and 4 TBSP MPS. After every use (usually every day) I add 1oz Chlorox for every 'person hour' of use, plus another 1 oz for good measure. After many checks I find this usually leaves a residual of around 0.5ppm free and total chlorine 24 hours later. TA holds very steady at 75. PH is typically 7.3 after shocking, rising to 7.7, then back down again to 7.3 at the next shock. Whether or not this is the 'ideal' method I don't know - but it certainly works for me, and after 8 weeks my water is as clear as the day it was filled, with very little/no chlorine odor.

Would certainly welcome any good or bad comments over this method, as I am relatively new to all of this!

[chem geek]

You could reduce the pH swing by using 50 ppm Borates. Also, the use of MPS is optional -- a supplement to the chlorine which is fine, but not necessary unless you wanted to do that. Your regimen is a bit uneven since one person-hour of soaking will require a lot more oxidizer than your daily dosing so it is a bit surprising that you still register some chlorine by the next time you soak.

I would not shock weekly with Dichlor. That defeats the purpose of the Dichlor-then-bleach method since it will increase the CYA level. Is there some reason why you don't follow Nitro's method more literally, with proper daily dosing and no need to shock once a week?

2 fluid ounces of 6% bleach after each soak is 14 fluid ounces per week so good for around 2.8 person-hours of soaking. The shock with 1.5 tablespoons of Dichlor is 4.5 teaspoons and good for around 1.3 person-hours of soaking. The shock with 4 tablespoons of MPS is 12 teaspoons and good for around 1.7 person-hours of soaking. So the weekly total is good for around 5.8 person-hours of soaking or 50 person-minutes every day. This is probably on the edge, but it's a very uneven application of oxidizer. It would be far better to add 5 fluid ounces of 6% bleach per person-hour of soaking or some combination of bleach and MPS that was equivalent after each soak and skip the shocking altogether.

If you decide to use bleach and not MPS, then you'll need to lower your TA level and it would be really good if you used 50 ppm Borates (after lowering the TA first).

[OttawaGreg]

YES - when I bought my first ever tub earlier this year (Sundance 680, 540 gallons) my water quality went to crap after only 3 weeks using the weekly Dichlor and Renew (MPS) method the dealer recommended - the tub has a 24 hour circ pump with ozonator, and a Sunpurity (aka Nature 2) cartridge. After seeking help from the dealer he had no real explanation other than "you've got the chemical balance wrong", which may well have been true, but I followed his recommended dosages to the letter, so was not too happy with this initial experience.

So...after draining and refilling my tub 8 weeks ago I switched over to Nitro / Chem Geeks Dichlor then bleach method, using Dichlor for the first 10 days to build up the CYA level, then switching over to Chlorox. During this 8 weeks I still carry out a weekly shock using 1.5 TBSP Dichlor and 4 TBSP MPS. After every use (usually every day) I add 1oz Chlorox for every 'person hour' of use, plus another 1 oz for good measure. After many checks I find this usually leaves a residual of around 0.5ppm free and total chlorine 24 hours later. TA holds very steady at 75. PH is typically 7.3 after shocking, rising to 7.7, then back down again to 7.3 at the next shock. Whether or not this is the 'ideal' method I don't know - but it certainly works for me, and after 8 weeks my water is as clear as the day it was filled, with very little/no chlorine odor.

Would certainly welcome any good or bad comments over this method, as I am relatively new to all of this!

Mikey,

I am following your recipe very closely after having the same problem with the water going bad after 2-3 months of heavy chemical use. I just dumped and went the Dychlor/Bleach method after testing it for a few weeks. Still in the initial stages getting my CYA up to 30 before switching from Dychlor to bleach. From my usage prior I think I will be using dosage amounts very close to yours for bleach, MPS & Dychlor(weekend only) and I wanted to know, do you still have the Nature 2 in?

I have installed a Nature 2 for a trial and plan on staying with the Dychlor/Bleach method but using it as well to compensate for the 2-3 days span where I don't use (or maintain) the tub.

Curious, I am thinking the Nature 2 will lower the required bleach, dychlor & MPS required, and maintain a sanitizer level for a few days of absence.

Greg

[Mikey_in_NY]

You could reduce the pH swing by using 50 ppm Borates. Also, the use of MPS is optional -- a supplement to the chlorine which is fine, but not necessary unless you wanted to do that. Your regimen is a bit uneven since one person-hour of soaking will require a lot more oxidizer than your daily dosing so it is a bit surprising that you still register some chlorine by the next time you soak.

I would not shock weekly with Dichlor. That defeats the purpose of the Dichlor-then-bleach method since it will increase the CYA level. Is there some reason why you don't follow Nitro's method more literally, with proper daily dosing and no need to shock once a week?

2 fluid ounces of 6% bleach after each soak is 14 fluid ounces per week so good for around 2.8 person-hours of soaking. The shock with 1.5 tablespoons of Dichlor is 4.5 teaspoons and good for around 1.3 person-hours of soaking. The shock with 4 tablespoons of MPS is 12 teaspoons and good for around 1.7 person-hours of soaking. So the weekly total is good for around 5.8 person-hours of soaking or 50 person-minutes every day. This is probably on the edge, but it's a very uneven application of oxidizer. It would be far better to add 5 fluid ounces of 6% bleach per person-hour of soaking or some combination of bleach and MPS that was equivalent after each soak and skip the shocking altogether.

If you decide to use bleach and not MPS, then you'll need to lower your TA level and it would be really good if you used 50 ppm Borates (after lowering the TA first).

I guess the only reason I don't follow Nitro's method more closely is that I've been successful to-date, and therefore very leary about changing anything. Having said that your advice is very welcome and I'll therefore stop the weekly Dichlor shocking, and double the amount of daily bleach to even out the oxidizer, but I will continue with the weekly MPS shocking (will try the no MPS with Borates method once I've gotten a handle on no Dichlor). Overall I would estimate the tub gets 12 person-hours of use per week. It probably also helps that since adopting the Dichlor/bleach method my family has a 'zero-tolerance' policy on showering before getting into the tub - in these 8 weeks we've never had any problem with foaming, unlike the 1st 3 weeks when it all went horribly wrong and my tub turned into a cloudy foam monster!

Thank you for your invaluable help - I'm sure that goes for many forum members here.

Ottawagreg - yes, I've kept the Sunpurity (Nature 2) cartridge in the tub.

[OttawaGreg]

YES - when I bought my first ever tub earlier this year (Sundance 680, 540 gallons) my water quality went to crap after only 3 weeks using the weekly Dichlor and Renew (MPS) method the dealer recommended - the tub has a 24 hour circ pump with ozonator, and a Sunpurity (aka Nature 2) cartridge. After seeking help from the dealer he had no real explanation other than "you've got the chemical balance wrong", which may well have been true, but I followed his recommended dosages to the letter, so was not too happy with this initial experience.

So...after draining and refilling my tub 8 weeks ago I switched over to Nitro / Chem Geeks Dichlor then bleach method, using Dichlor for the first 10 days to build up the CYA level, then switching over to Chlorox. During this 8 weeks I still carry out a weekly shock using 1.5 TBSP Dichlor and 4 TBSP MPS. After every use (usually every day) I add 1oz Chlorox for every 'person hour' of use, plus another 1 oz for good measure. After many checks I find this usually leaves a residual of around 0.5ppm free and total chlorine 24 hours later. TA holds very steady at 75. PH is typically 7.3 after shocking, rising to 7.7, then back down again to 7.3 at the next shock. Whether or not this is the 'ideal' method I don't know - but it certainly works for me, and after 8 weeks my water is as clear as the day it was filled, with very little/no chlorine odor.

Would certainly welcome any good or bad comments over this method, as I am relatively new to all of this!

Mikey,

I am following your recipe very closely after having the same problem with the water going bad after 2-3 months of heavy chemical use. I just dumped and went the Dychlor/Bleach method after testing it for a few weeks. Still in the initial stages getting my CYA up to 30 before switching from Dychlor to bleach. From my usage prior I think I will be using dosage amounts very close to yours for bleach, MPS & Dychlor(weekend only) and I wanted to know, do you still have the Nature 2 in?

I have installed a Nature 2 for a trial and plan on staying with the Dychlor/Bleach method but using it as well to compensate for the 2-3 days span where I don't use (or maintain) the tub.

Curious, I am thinking the Nature 2 will lower the required bleach, dychlor & MPS required, and maintain a sanitizer level for a few days of absence.

Greg

Let me correct my posting. I will need to add Dychor on an as needed basis to keep the CYA level up. As per the other thread this may only be monthly.

Greg