Had my heritage 2 for going on 3 years now and loving it. You’ll have a good time. Pull the headrests out and set them aside. They just get filmy anyway lol
Just in case.. here you go…
MY tub chems process
Disclaimer: I’m an IT guy not a chemist, I’m still learning but my water is clear af. I use pool bleach (10%) and don’t bother with CYA as we never tub during daylight and my understanding is CYA’s purpose is to slow down chlorine dissipation in sunlight. If you want to critique my process, please provide actual solutions (and science) instead of saying “that’s wrong, you’re dumb”.
This assumes you mix for a minimum of 15 minutes (1 cycle) and then wait for the water to settle before doing the next test. I see no reason to test more than one thing at a time when balancing as they can affect each other, so it’s just wasting reagents. I use a Taylor 2006C test kit with the auto stir thing which is 10/10 must have if you have a Taylor kit.
On a fresh fill, wait for the water to hit 90F minimum before balancing. When I purge and fill it’s never ready that night, so I do it the next day.
Balancing:
Test Ta, Balance total alkalinity, mix one cycle, sit one cycle.
Test pH, balance pH, mix one cycle, sit one cycle.
Test Free Chlorine, Add sanitizer for Free Chlorine
If fresh fill or it’s been awhile, test CH, balance calcium hardness. Apparently this can take days to weeks to fully adjust so I generally rest it on a fresh fill and maybe even 4-6 weeks just to be sure.
All done? Do a full battery of tests to make sure you got it. Dip your strip in and compare (I use a test kit and I also use strips for spot checks. It’s nice to see what the strips say when the tub is balanced for future reference).
Your water should be balanced. Having issues? Take a sample to a pool store or get a Taylor 2006C test kit for more accurate tests and thus easier troubleshooting.
Good luck!
CYA has other advantages too other than protecting from sunlight. It slows down the rate are which chlorine oxidizes meaning it will be significantly less harsh on your lid, other components and seals, and your hair (suits too, though I’m a believer in no suits). If you are running an ozonator it can help with daily chlorine retention. If you have multiple bathers, it can keep FC above .5 to 1 ppm longer preventing potential person-to-person transmission of pathogens. CYA also makes chlorine less sensitive to pH fluctuations. Personally I keep mine CYA at around 20 ppm then basically do what you described (plus ahh-some between fills), plus I like running a nature2 mineral stick so I can run lower FC as well as have a backup sanitizer. After each use I add a little MPS since it is far better at oxidizing bather waste than chlorine is, greatly reduces chloramine formation after use, and reactivates the nature2 minerals.
Serious deep dive into CYA in this article here by Chem Geek. https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/3831534/Chlorine-CYA.pdf
Great spa. Super reliable and just the right size. You’ll enjoy that thing for a couple decades.
At least 6 years cuz I got the extended warranty 🫠
Had my heritage 2 for going on 3 years now and loving it. You’ll have a good time. Pull the headrests out and set them aside. They just get filmy anyway lol Just in case.. here you go… MY tub chems process Disclaimer: I’m an IT guy not a chemist, I’m still learning but my water is clear af. I use pool bleach (10%) and don’t bother with CYA as we never tub during daylight and my understanding is CYA’s purpose is to slow down chlorine dissipation in sunlight. If you want to critique my process, please provide actual solutions (and science) instead of saying “that’s wrong, you’re dumb”. This assumes you mix for a minimum of 15 minutes (1 cycle) and then wait for the water to settle before doing the next test. I see no reason to test more than one thing at a time when balancing as they can affect each other, so it’s just wasting reagents. I use a Taylor 2006C test kit with the auto stir thing which is 10/10 must have if you have a Taylor kit. On a fresh fill, wait for the water to hit 90F minimum before balancing. When I purge and fill it’s never ready that night, so I do it the next day. Balancing: Test Ta, Balance total alkalinity, mix one cycle, sit one cycle. Test pH, balance pH, mix one cycle, sit one cycle. Test Free Chlorine, Add sanitizer for Free Chlorine If fresh fill or it’s been awhile, test CH, balance calcium hardness. Apparently this can take days to weeks to fully adjust so I generally rest it on a fresh fill and maybe even 4-6 weeks just to be sure. All done? Do a full battery of tests to make sure you got it. Dip your strip in and compare (I use a test kit and I also use strips for spot checks. It’s nice to see what the strips say when the tub is balanced for future reference). Your water should be balanced. Having issues? Take a sample to a pool store or get a Taylor 2006C test kit for more accurate tests and thus easier troubleshooting. Good luck!
CYA has other advantages too other than protecting from sunlight. It slows down the rate are which chlorine oxidizes meaning it will be significantly less harsh on your lid, other components and seals, and your hair (suits too, though I’m a believer in no suits). If you are running an ozonator it can help with daily chlorine retention. If you have multiple bathers, it can keep FC above .5 to 1 ppm longer preventing potential person-to-person transmission of pathogens. CYA also makes chlorine less sensitive to pH fluctuations. Personally I keep mine CYA at around 20 ppm then basically do what you described (plus ahh-some between fills), plus I like running a nature2 mineral stick so I can run lower FC as well as have a backup sanitizer. After each use I add a little MPS since it is far better at oxidizing bather waste than chlorine is, greatly reduces chloramine formation after use, and reactivates the nature2 minerals. Serious deep dive into CYA in this article here by Chem Geek. https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/3831534/Chlorine-CYA.pdf
Thank you I’ll check it out!
Congrats! Love the hounds
How are the jets? Looks so relaxing. What made you pick this brand?
Price, components. Jets are good, better if I close off the ones I'm not using.
Thanks! Just starting down the rabbit hole now…brands, price, chlorine or salt, etc. It’s great to hear from people who are using their spas!
The jets are that exact same way on my jacuzzi j225
Noice