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Picking up a Hot Spring sx tomorrow

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Whitepine459:
Hello all,

Great info here, I'm looking forward to finally becoming a spa owner as of tomorrow (Thursday)...

Found a 5 y.o. Hot Spring SX for a good price. Owner says it works great, no issues ever, they've loved it, they're moving and want to upgrade at their new place.

I have seen the SX at the dealer and it's perfect size for me and my wife and a very occasional guest or two.

I've read on here that they're well-liked, and last a long time, so many thanks for all the info here.

My main question is about startup. I'm a total newbie when it comes to pool/spa chemistry. I've learned what I can about the important parameters, pH, calcium hardness, alkalinity, and sanitizer levels, but don't yet have any products or strategy (previous owner says he has chlorine (edit: bromine, and I didn't get any) pucks I can have). I'm wondering if there are any tips or tricks when filling up for the first time.

Our water: we are on a well. We have a water softener and can bypass it. Our unsoftened well water is on the hard side, but not too bad, no scale or staining ever formed before getting the softener. It is also clear and drinkable.

I have read that some folks try 50-50 soft/unsoft and some suggest no more than 25% soft. Right now I'm thinking I would try 75% unsoftened and then 25% from our hot water supply, which is softened.

I see there are pre-filters for use while filling the tub, would this be a good idea?

Is there any crucial step I should be aware of?

I look forward to dialling in my spa experience, thanks very much for any help in advance :)

d00nut:
Don't use chlorine pucks.  Those are Trichlor, and would be a great way to destroy your hot tub fast.

Honestly, the best use of watercare for that little tub is a nature 2, silver nitrate stick.  Add dichlor (2-3 tsp) once a week, and MPS everytime you use it.  Check ph and Alk once a week and add a scale inhibitor.  Takes about 2-3 minutes a week.

There is also the @Ease system, which in a sense is kind of the same thing as above, you just pay for the convenience a bit.

Fill it through the filter compartment.  You want at least a little bit of Hardness in your water, but using soft water is totally fine, I've been keeping mine (granted I use the salt system) at 25-50ppm for years.

Best of luck, and enjoy your new hot tub!

Whitepine459:
Thanks for the suggestions!

I’ll look into “nature 2” and @ease.

And re the pucks, now that you say don’t use chlorine pucks, I have to admit I don’t think he said what kind of pucks he has, he just said pucks. My father in law who has a pool said most hot tubs use bromine, since chlorine isn’t so great in heated water. Sounds like he may be right.

Thanks again and wish me luck today with the move, which may involve a forklift and a tractor...

bud16415:
If it is a 5 year old tub and you don’t know the history I would fill it first and then add a purge product run it as directed and then drain clean and refill. Decide if you want to run bromine or not is the first question. I ran bromine for a year and switched to chlorine as I found bromine hard to control. Others seem to have no issues with it.

As mentioned do not use pool tablets that are chlorine / triclor.

Whitepine459:
Hey thanks, and sorry for asking but what is a “purge product”?

Thanks

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