Bullfrog M8 maintenance

Radiochemista said:

Off the scale 100+

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Wow- You’ve definitely got people soup going on now - I would suggest purging & refilling asap.
If you plan to use the tub before then do the diluted cya test so you can chlorinate properly & maintain fc @ at least 7.5% of your cya level. Otherwise don’t use it.
Step 8

Just know Ozone will fight CC, but will also affect FC. You'll learn what your loss to Ozone is and then you can account for it.

Radiochemista said:

The warranty is disappointing, but not shocking. I feel sorry for your friend- that's a real bummer.

I might hold off on SWG and try to use the ozone generator to my advantage since I have the circulating pump. Should I aim for FC of 4-6 with CYA 30, even with ozone? Seems like ozone will just eat the FC, so would a lower level be better?

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Ozone and Chlorine are two different things in that one provides a residual and the other does not.

Bullfrog uses a batching process in its Ozonator. It takes in a measured quantity of water into a canister, saturates it with ozone which sanitizes that batch of water, vents any excess ozone or other gaseous by-products through a filter, and then returns that batch of water to the spa. The process then repeats. As soon as that sanitized batch of water enters the spa, it mixes with whatever is in the spa.

Chlorine on the other hand mixes through all of the water, and even after it kills everything, a residual remains (if dosed correctly) to kill anything new that may get into the water.

The Ozone does help. I use mine. But it will consume Chlorine, but I find it is not *that* much.

Radiochemista said:

I did, unfortunately it does not address the ozonator use. Seems like a controversial topic haha

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While I really think you have all the tools I'll agree not all topics get addressed in every link you will be offered here.

If you're not a pilot, surely in some movie or pic you've seen an airplane cockpit. Switches everywhere, radar, gages all over the place ... but at least for a small plane, the one you watch is the horizon/Altimeter and compass, you climb, descend, or go in the intended direction. The message here is keep your eye on what's important and you will live to fly another day. For a hot tub, keep your fc above the minimum and ph within safe range and you shouldn't have to fight another algae bloom. Yes cc is probably also an important airplane gage (i.e. engine temperature?), but it's OK to learn the ropes as you go ... just watch the gages that keep the plane from crashing

So, we're talking ozone. You are right, it's controversial. Some folks disconnect it, some embrace it for its "non-mainline characteristics", some experienced folks understand it will not last long and simply let it expire, and others maintain theirs (change the check valve regularly, test to see if it still works, etc.). Just search threads or read through topics of interest and I think you will find all the information you want, ozone included. Oh, the "mystery" inference on non-mainline and ozone? Our "resident repair guy" likes it to chew through "excess" fc so the water is "less harsh", and (maybe?) over-chlorinates a little on purpose knowing the ozone will backstop the excess.

Kinda suggests that when somethings controversial, you might as well experiment with issues and come to your own conclusions based on empirical measurements and outcome. Same with borites. Many consider adding borites just another unnecessary chemical in the water to muck things up. Same with MPS, which adds sulfates to the water. Sulfates are algae food. So, how much, can it be measured ... more research, fly by the seat of your pants, avoid, all your choice

You will get the hang of all this, just watch the horizon and compass. I think this thread thrashed out a good deal of decent info.

Best of luck getting the most out of your hot tub!