New to Spa, frog @ease does not appear to me efficient

[ja3372]

I am new to owning a spa, we just received our Artesian Grand Cayman Elite 450 gallon about a month ago and have been battling water tests the whole time. The spa has the Frog inline @ease system and every time I test the water the chlorine level is low on the frog test strips. I spoke to my local pool/spa store and they keep telling me to add jump packs, and maintenance multiple times a week. Even when doing this I am still running into the low chlorine level. Plus with the cartridge on level 6 i'm replacing every 8-12 days. I don't think this system is sufficient enough for the spa and it certainly is not economical at all. I've spend more money on cartridges, jump packs, and maintenance packs in the past month than I have spent for my pool all summer. Which route could I go I am planning on changing to a different system this week and draining spa/cleaning filters when doing so. Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated. Thank you all!

 

[Mdragger88]

That system is extremely efficient for the seller as you have experienced.
It’s possible that you have a high cya now which makes it very hard to maintain a sanitary tub according to the FC/CYA Chart.
You need a good test kit to properly maintain your spa accurately & conveniently.
Test Kits Compared
Here’s a guide you can follow- it’s simple & affordable

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

An Ahhsome purge is suggested before draining/refilling so u start off fresh w/ no biofilms/nasties.
Also check out the ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

 

[ja3372]

I think i'm going to purchase a good test kit, from watching videos and reading on this page there seems to be a lot of discrepancies with having the store test the water. In regards to chemicals where is a good place to start. The pool store seems very expensive, I know of a store a few towns away that is kind of like a big lots store that sells chemicals for much less money but should I go with a name brand?

 

[cranbiz]

The Frog strips suck. Mine almost always read replace the cartridge and were hard to interpet. I use the TF-100 kit and I trust that. It'd way easier to use and tests things the strips don't. It's more accurate too. You can't use a couple of tests though due to the type of chlorine the smartchlor system is but you can test the FC level which is what the test strips do. My Chlorine is between .5 and 1 PPM as King says it should be and on a 320 Gal Artesian Nevis, set on 2, I get about 4-5 weeks out of a cartridge.

It is easy and convenient, it's not cheap to use. Once I'm out of cartridges (I got 12 Smartchlor and 4 mineral cartridges included with my purchase) I will switch to the TFP method. You don't need name brand chemicals. You just need the proper chemical that will do what you bought it for.

 

[mknauss]

I love this comment from our Expert here on the forum regarding the SmartChlor things.

They are often found in the manufacturing of toilet bowl cleaner tablets, the kind you hang inside the tank.

Has anyone used the Smartchlor system?

I'm looking to get feedback on the new-ish Smartchlor system. Apparently it knows how much chlorine to add. TIA.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Mdragger88]

I think i'm going to purchase a good test kit, from watching videos and reading on this page there seems to be a lot of discrepancies with having the store test the water. In regards to chemicals where is a good place to start. The pool store seems very expensive, I know of a store a few towns away that is kind of like a big lots store that sells chemicals for much less money but should I go with a name brand?

be sure to to get the Taylor 2006c, tf pro or the tf100 as you need the fas/dpd that is included with those.
Depending on an outside party for testing is a recipe for disaster - you need to be able to test often & accurately as a hot tub can turn real bad real quick without proper sanitation.
Ahhsome for your purge is available on amazon & tftestkits.net
To follow the dichlor then bleach method in the link i posted above you can just get dichlor @ Walmart in the spa section
it’s 99% dichlor & doesn’t have any “blue” ingredients (spa essentials I believe) it’s about $9 - 1 container lasts me a year.
Amazon has some other brands as well just be sure it’s 99%.

Walmart,lowes,home depot, ace etc.
all have “liquid chlorine” in the pool section
or
you can use plain, unscented, non splashless, no chloromax/fabric conditioners household bleach.
Just be sure to select the percentage u are using in PoolMath

Muriatic acid (to lower ph) is available in the pool section of hardware/big box stores.

Ph up is probably not necessary as in a spa aeration can raise this quickly without the need for chemicals
But borax or washing soda can accomplish this as well & are easily found if needed in the grocery store/Walmart in the laundry aisle

Baking soda (ta up) - cheap & available everywhere just have a box on hand (about 50 cents)

Borates -if u choose/need can be added with granular boric acid from duda diesel.com

Recommended Pool Chemicals - Trouble Free Pool

There are thousands of different pool chemicals companies attempt to sell you. These pool chemicals are cheap, easy to find, and have little side effects.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[ja3372]

Thank you all for the help, also in regards to the filter in the spa, how many hours a day should i be running the filter i can set it to anything, from the factory is runs 24 hours

 

[jseyfert3]

Thank you all for the help, also in regards to the filter in the spa, how many hours a day should i be running the filter i can set it to anything, from the factory is runs 24 hours

Do you have a dedicated filter pump?

 

[ja3372]

yes, with the option of 2 different time settings

 

[jseyfert3]

I don’t have a dedicated filter pump so I don’t have experience with those. I figure it probably is a pretty low power pump and there likely isn’t much downside to having it run 24/7

 

[cranbiz]

I filter my tub 4 hours a day. 2 hours in the morning and 2 hours at night, 12 hours apart.
I have a circulation pump but the filter cycles do run both pumps intermittently.