New Spa Owner

[Paul.]

Hi Everyone,

I just recently purchased an Arctic Spa Ocean Swim Spa to replace my above ground pool that broke last winter. I am familiar with the TFP method since I was using it for the above ground pool.

The Swim Spa is being delivered on Tuesday and would like some Startup advice. The Swim Spa comes with a SPA Boy salt water generator for the production of chlorine and the measuring of the pH balance. I will still be using my TFtest kit to monitor the balance of the Swim Spa. I have also bought some Awwsome in preparation for the delivery

The manufacturer suggests CH 50-150, TA 80-100, pH 7.2-7.6, Salt 2000-2500ppm, 0.5ppm Chlorine, (they don't mention CYA)

The manufacturer's setup is
1) Fill the Spa
2) Get water to 85 degrees (before adding product)
3) Add the Filters
4)Program the Filter Cycle for 2 hours 4 times a day
5) Balance the water with their products (I will be using the TFP) and add the Salt


I was reading in the forums that the Spa should be purged first with Awwsome to remove residue from the manufacturer. I wanted to know if this was mandatory since the manufacturer doesn't mention it.

Also, they suggest a weekly use of Stain & Scale control for the spa. Is this necessary or just an Upsell from the store^

Any other startup suggestions would be helpful.
Thanks

Paul
Arctic Spa Ocean w/ Spa Boy, 14ft x 8ft, 5100L
Montreal, Canada

 

[YippeeSkippy]

Use the Ahh-some. Too many folks with new spas suddenly develop their first ( and hopefully last) case of hot tub rash and that could very well have been caused by the residual stagnant water left over in production.

I've never heard of a reason to use the scale product, but I also live in an area with very soft water. Kind of hard to check for scale on heating elements in a spa so I dunno??

Maddie

 

[Mdragger88]

Definitely purge the spa upon 1st fill - they wet test all spas at the factory & it is impossible to evacuate all the water from the lines so biofilms & nasties grow while it is in transit to you. You just need to fill, add 2-3 ppm of fc & purge - no need to balance other things until after u dump & refill.
Upon refill,
If you have an issue maintaining ph in the 7’s with a ta of 80 - let it fall to 50/60.
Always follow the FC/CYA Levels
You want a cya of about 30ppm to moderate the harshness of the fc on people & equipment- this also allows you to keep a decent residual amount of fc without risking going to zero. The bather load is higher in a spa than a pool- although it might not be quite a much of a roller coaster in a swim spa depending upon the volume. Let your testing be your guide.
To get cya to 30 you can use dichlor or granular stabilizer in a sock - up to you.
Then switch to liquid chlorine as needed to supplement your swg so you never fall below minimum for your cya.
Here’s the guide

How do I use Chlorine in my Spa (or pool)?

If you have a question about any information within this Sticky, please start a new thread for yourself where you will receive very quick responses to your specific questions. Thank you! Introduction There are two main things to consider when maintaining your hot tub water, Water Balance and...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Mdragger88]

Also - what’s in the “stain & scale “?
If you don’t have a known metals problem (never experienced it with your pool) it’s likely unnecessary.

 

[Paul.]

Thanks for the Information,

I will be doing my first purge with the Ahh-Some as soon as the Spa is filled.

@Mdragger88 the Stain & scale control product is made by SpaGuard; Stain & Scake Control for Spas & Hot Tubs www.spaguard.ca
I am not sure what is in it but i don't have any heavy metal problems in my Water. My tap water has 130 CH, 0.4 Copper, 0.1 Iron according to the pool store testing.

Also I have a question about Ahh-some and Aqua Clarity. I am in Canada so I don't have access to Aqua Clarity. My pool store does have Ahh-Some Weekly maintenance 32oz liquid bottle. Is this the same as Aqua Clarity?

Thanks
Paul

 

[Mdragger88]

If you followed bbb with your pool & never had any staining/ metals precipitation you can likely omit that product. If they arise you can always add it then. With your ch scale shouldn’t be problematic if you maintain your ph in the 7’s. Although you should confirm that ch with your test kit.
Let’s ask @Ahhsomeguy about that Ahhsome weekly maintenance product.

 

[Ahhsomeguy]

Hi Paul: Aqua Clarity is available on Amazon.ca Here is the link

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B09DLB36J3?ref=myi_title_dp

 

[Paul.]

Thanks,

I have a question about my CYA level. Since I have a SWG in my swimspa, should I be aiming for a CYA level of 70-80 as recommended by the chart, or should I be aiming for 30 like in the Dichlor to Bleach article? Considering that the Swim Spa will have a cover on it when not in use.

 

[Mdragger88]

30 is fine. Thats what I use for my spa & swg.
The higher cya levels recommend for an uncovered body of water w/ a swg are for protecting fc from uv whilst the swg produces it slowly over time.
In a covered situation the cya is just there to buffer the harshness of the fc & to allow for higher fc levels so you are covered in the case of bather load demand.