Spa Frog

[themaroon]

First time poster but I love the forum and have dug through it for hours. Got a quick question.

I got a Caldera spa with an in-line Spa Frog system. After reading around here a bit, it seems people don't care for the Spa Frog. My question is: why is that? Is it just because it's expensive? So far it's maintained a really high bromine level, I think because the spa people put it on the highest setting and told me to keep it there. I'm going to turn it down a little and see what happens. I'm using test strips until my Taylor kit comes, so it's hard to say for sure, but it looks like it does do a more than adequate job of keeping the tub stocked with bromine.

Also, what does the mineral cartridge do? Spa Frog claims that using it means you don't have to dump chlorine in after every bath. Does the mineral cartridge just oxidize the bromine?

 

[scott.MI]

Can read this see what you get from it. http://www.troublefreepool.com/alternative-sanitizers-and-chemical-free-pools-the-truth-t3025.html

I'll take a crack at your question. I expect to be corrected if anything I say is wrong.

*The spa frog at a higher cost doesn't really do anything a normal bromine float with tabs can't.

*TFP does not recommend adding metals to your water.

Having you seen this article describing a 3 step bromine with normal bromine float and tabs?
http://www.troublefreepool.com/how-do-i-use-bromine-in-my-spa-or-pool-t102.html

 

[themaroon]

Can read this see what you get from it. http://www.troublefreepool.com/alternative-sanitizers-and-chemical-free-pools-the-truth-t3025.html

I've seen that. Spa Frog isn't really an alternative though, it's just bromine. The minerals (I suspect) are just an alternative oxidizer.

Having you seen this article describing a 3 step bromine with normal bromine float and tabs?
http://www.troublefreepool.com/how-do-i-use-bromine-in-my-spa-or-pool-t102.html

Yes. That's what made me think the minerals are just functioning as an oxidizer. I did use some dichlor on startup with the frog too.

 

[chem geek]

The minerals don't oxidize anything. They just act as a disinfectant, but not as effective as chlorine and completely redundant. Depending on the specific metal ions used, they can act as insurance if you get the chlorine get too low, but that's about it. The main risk for metal ions is that they can stain and of course they are extra unneeded cost.

 

[themaroon]

The minerals don't oxidize anything. They just act as a disinfectant, but not as effective as chlorine and completely redundant. Depending on the specific metal ions used, they can act as insurance if you get the chlorine get too low, but that's about it. The main risk for metal ions is that they can stain and of course they are extra unneeded cost.

I see. Thanks for the info. So should I still add a bit of dichlor after each soak?

And should I just use the bromine cartridges? I know they're pricier than tabs, but I like that they're out of site due to it being inline.

 

[chem geek]

Yes, with bromine you usually add some sort of oxidizer after each soak -- bleach, dichlor, non-chlorine shock (MPS). However, if you have an ozonator, then it might make enough bromine along with that from the tabs, depending on how long you soak. The only way to know is to measure the level just before your soak or if you don't soak every day then 24 hours after your soak and if it's too low, then you need to add more oxidizer after your soak. Also don't forget to create a bromide bank by initially adding some sodium bromide when you do a fresh water refill.

 

[themaroon]

Yes, with bromine you usually add some sort of oxidizer after each soak -- bleach, dichlor, non-chlorine shock (MPS). However, if you have an ozonator, then it might make enough bromine along with that from the tabs, depending on how long you soak. The only way to know is to measure the level just before your soak or if you don't soak every day then 24 hours after your soak and if it's too low, then you need to add more oxidizer after your soak. Also don't forget to create a bromide bank by initially adding some sodium bromide when you do a fresh water refill.

OK thanks. I'll just ignore the spa frog manual then and go by the readings.