I have bought the new EGO3 filters. Unfortunately I have cloudy water now. What is the cause? Can I use the EGO3 together with SpaBalancer?
Answer:
The EGO3 filters can only be used with SpaBalancer to a limited extent. These filters are filter balls which are used instead of the normal filters.
You must understand the background of their use. If you operate a whirlpool with chlorine or bromine, the water is cleaned exclusively by oxidation. This means that the fats and oils from the skin and cosmetics that end up in the water are chemically broken down. They are so strongly crushed that they are no longer retained by the filters. The filters are then only there to retain larger impurities such as skin scales, hair or leaves.
The manufacturer recommends that these EGO3 filters can be cleaned with a water jet. This overlooks a fundamental problem. Fats and oils settle in the filter balls. Bacteria settle on these fats and oils. These bacteria in turn form a biofilm in which they multiply strongly without being killed by disinfectants such as chlorine or bromine or active oxygen. The biofilm in turn is partially torn off during filtration by the pump pressure and bacteria are distributed throughout the water. The filter becomes a bacteria slinger. The manufacturer says that the filter wadding is mixed with silver and therefore remains germ-free. Whether this works in practice I do not know.
With brand filters with cleaning fleece the filters can be put into a cleaning solution. This cleaning solution was developed to remove fats, oils and cosmetics from the filters and destroy biofilm. After the filters have been in the cleaning solution for at least one night, they are rinsed out with a special cleaning spray. This guarantees that there is no dirt, biofilm or bacteria in the filter. The EGO3 filters cannot be cleaned in this way. It is said that the filters can be cleaned in the washing machine. I do not know if this really works.
When using the SpaBalancer system care, two cleaning principles are used in parallel. 1) Encapsulating the dirt - with SpaBalancer Basic - so that bacteria cannot settle on it and so that the dirt can be filtered out. 2) Oxidation - with SpaBalancer Ultrashock. This system gives you double security. If one system fails, you have the other system which works.
In general, one can say that approx. 50% to 70% of the dirt is encapsulated and removed from the water through the filters. And that explains why good filtration is so extremely important. The dirt must be removed from the filters. And this is only possible with proper filter cleaning. This is the reason why the EGO3 filters are only suitable or unsuitable for SpaBalancer to a very limited extent. If you throw away the EGO3 pads every 2 to 3 weeks, then the EGO3 system would work well. If these pads are to be used for a year, as recommended by the manufacturer, then this can be problematic.
What can you do now?
1) Reduce the amount of SpaBalancer to 30% in the next 3 months. Triple the amount of Ultrashock. Make sure that you have 0.6 to 1.5 mg/l Ultrashock in the water at all times. This will oxidize and remove the clouding over time.
2) Solve the filter problem. Either you use brand filters from Magnum, Darlly or Pleatco. Or you use the EGO3 filter pads as a disposable product and replace them with new filter pads every 2 to 3 weeks. If you use brand-name filters, always clean the filters with the filter cleaner SpaBalancer Filter Clean Natural. This cleaner works very well and is biodegradable.