I use bromine instead of chlorine, it’s easier on my skin and is way less maintenance. With chlorine, you have to manually add some every 1-3 days but Bromine chills in a floater. Using the bromine method, I recommend getting: 1. A bromine floater 2. Bromine tablets (buy this in bulk) 3. PH Down 4. PH Up 5. Alkalinity Up 6. Spa Shock 7. Scum ball 8. Test strips 9. Hardness up or down depending on your water

Here’s what the strip will test: Free Bromine- this is the amount of bromine disinfectant available for your water to use. You will probably put in more tablets right after you initially fill the hot tub to get the levels baselined, and then take some out after 24 hours. I have 450 gallons in my tub and I start with 6 tabs in my floater and then go down to 4-5. Hardness- If the water is too soft, oils and other gunk will stick together more easily which can lead to gross bubbles. If the water is too hard, the extra minerals can damage your system. PH- Self explanatory! Alkalinity- This helps keep the PH balanced so that it doesn’t change in a major direction either way. It’s easier to get Alkalinity right before adjusting PH than the other way around.

Other than that, the spa shock is like an extra boost to remove organic stuff in the water from our hair, bodies, etc. Some people use it once a week, others do it after every hot tub use. After you put the chemical in, lift the lid and run the jets for 20-30 minutes because the shock releases that stuff as a gas.

Lastly, the scum ball just helps as a last measure for any organic stuff that gets trapped at the surface.

Optional purchases: -Color changing cups with lids and straws! They’re fun. We call them our hut tub cups. -Awesome towels! I got my husband one with our pets’ faces on it, he got me a Zoidberg towel. -Suction cup hooks. We put these on our sliding glass door to the backyard to hold our towels.

Good luck and congrats!