freshwater silver ion system vs. other santizer system

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R

ricwol

0
Mar 11, 2012
11
wood-ridge,nj
hello everyone,
i just bought a hot spings relay spa 4 weeks ago. im trying to understand this freshwater ion system, and so far im not happy. my last spa i used baquspa products with the ozonator and never had problems. so far with system, im having cloudy water , foaming and low readings of chlorine. from what im told, this is basically a chlorine free system, so chlorine will not register on the test strips. so im discusing this with the salesperson (and owner), and im telling them how can my spa be clean without chlorine. they insist, between the ion silver cartridge, the ozone, the enhanced shock and the mps chlorine free, this system works.
now i ask you great people of this forum, should i stay with this new system, or should i drain the tub and start over and go back to baquaspa.
thanks ,rich
spa is 360 gallons
 
Personally, if it were my spa, I'd drain, thoroughly clean, refill and use the TFPC (Trouble Free Pool Care) methods taught here.

Several of the experts here can tell you about the potential problems with the silver ion and baquasil (baquaspa) systems.

Using chlorine isn't a problem in a spa, unless you or someone that uses the spa is sensitive to it.
 
When I got my hot tub I started with Instant Ions (copper/zinc**, where you measure copper levels) which in fairness did work fine, but juggling chlorine/MPS to oxidize bather waste along with maintaining copper levels for the Instant Ions seemed like more work than necessary. The copper/zinc ions also didn't seem to do much for things like mosquito larvae, although I won't know until next summer how well chlorine works.

I switched to the TFPC methods (using dichlor/bleach rather than adding stabilizer then bleach, but I think that's still consistent with TFPC practices) and am very happy with the results. Easy for me, nice clean water for the tub and my guests. The nice thing about chlorine is that it takes care of everything -- bacteria, algae plus oxidizing bather waste etc...

** AFAICS there are two different products on the market from different vendors, both called "Instant Ions". One seems to be copper/zinc/silver, the other (which I have) seems to be copper/zinc only.
 
I think it should be possible to maintain a clean and sanitary pool using the system you describe. My main concern would be with the silver. I see 2 issues. The first is that silver can cause stains, these should be removable on a non-porous surface, but some surfaces can be almost impossible to clean. The second is that silver is rated as a hazardous substance, so if you want to drain the spa you would need to check with your local water authority to see if the silver levels are acceptable for discharge into the sewer system.
 
check this out. so i go back to the dealer yesterday, and i go to buy chlorine, and he wouldnt sell it to me. he said i dont need it with the method im using. i asked him what to do after i have a heavy bather load. he said to use more mps and oxidizer shock. does this sound right to you guys? now im afraid to switch sanitizing methods on next refill, fearing i might mess something up
 
Not at all. MPS doesn't sanitize, it only oxidizes Combine Chloramines (which get "burned off" by the sun and FC anyways under normal circumstances). He's wrong and trying to sell you expensive MPS. Don't be afraid to switch on your next fill!
 
Silver + MPS + Ozone can be an effective sanitizer at hot tub temperatures. In cases where that can't keep up and the water gets cloudy, it is common to add chlorine. The simplest thing to do is use household bleach (unscented/regular) as your chlorine source, since it is easy to get and use.
 

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