Category Archives: Swim Spa

Choosing a swim spa, exercise pool, fitness pool or swimming pool is a big decision, as it’s a choice you’ll be living with for a long time. Choose the wrong type of pool, and you will drastically reduce the use you get from your new investment, choose the right swimming pool, however, and you will be delighted with it for years to come.

Indeed, a swim spa offers a few added benefits that your traditional pool may not offer. Individuals who are considering the investment in this type of pool will find that the advantages are not just exercise related. In fact, this can be the perfect place to relax and unwind with friends or to let the kids splash around in the summer months. Unlike other pools, the swim spa is a complete system that is easy to use and maintain.

One of the key advantages of an exercise pool is that it provides you with one of the best types of exercise methods available. Swimming is good for several reasons.

• It provides an effective workout plan that gets the heart going.
• It works to provide exercise without impact. Unlike running or walking, there is no impact on the joints.
• This system is fun. Unlike other types of exercise, like treadmills and workout gyms, people tend to enjoy swimming. When you enjoy doing something, you are more likely to do it.

For all of these reasons, an exercise pool is an ideal choice for those who need to get moving. Keep in mind that you will find a variety of other advantages to swim spas too. 

Swim spas provide other uses as well. Individuals will find a range of ways to use these that do not always have to provide for health improvement. For example, some split models offer a side that is perfect for relaxing with a few friends, in a hot tub style experience. This makes for one of the best overall experiences because the water’s warm and the current is just enough to be relaxing.

They are safe for children who will enjoy spending time in the swim spa. A very dynamic and easy to use product. The children will love playing with the jets and will learn swimming very fast. Moreover, a swim spa is easy to use. You can keep it heated 12 months a year at the cheapest price with covers and its great isolation. It only demands a few products to keep the water clean. 

Whereas in a swimming pool, you will only have space to make a couple breaststrokes and once you have done that, you will sit on the side of the pool and not enjoy it as you should.

Therefore, a swim spa is the way to make the most of your investment, by spending less time worrying about the money spent in maintenance, and spending more time enjoying your pool, the relaxation and comfort it offers.

Our products are recognized in the world over for their excellence in design and comfort. Here are some of the key features that distinguish our hot tubs and swim spas from the rest:

Comfort and Design

We have incorporated many unique design features in our products, including: ergonomically designed seats and pillows, deep bucket seats, large foot wells, adjustable jets that focus on specific areas of the body; and customizable massage jets that allow you to tailor the massage experience to your exact needs.

Reputation and Quality

We are a family-based company located in the prestigious Ruxley Manor Garden Centre, in Sidcup, Kent. The Directors have been in the industry since 1998, and we’ve loved the lifestyle that comes with owning a pool and spa. Our company ethos promotes complete customer care at all stages of the sale, and also, most importantly, the service process. We are unusual and ahead of the game, in that we now boast a team of highly experienced and qualified service engineers, and installation staff.

We have won a variety of United Kingdom Awards in recent years, from both the hot tub and pool sectors. Back- up service and recommendations are hugely important to us. Interestingly enough, much of our business is through referrals and recommendations from numerous existing happy customers.

Insulation and Energy Efficiency

 Unlike our competitors who use full or partial foam for insulation, we use our own Double Thermal Shield Insulation system. Better insulation means better energy efficiency, and our system is the only one on the market to be certified carbon neutral and to meet the rigorous standards of the California Energy Commission.

Ease of Maintenance

We are provided by the only manufacturer that offers self cleaning models of hot tubs and swim spas that change 100% of the water every 15 minutes. For service, all four sides of the cabinet can be removed, a feature that is rare among our competition.

Massage and Hydrotherapy

There is no question that water-based therapies work. For centuries people have used water to improve their health, believing that water could not only relieve pain, but could also heal various illnesses. Today, hydrotherapy focuses on relaxation and releasing tension as a way to achieve better mental and physical health. With the customizable massage jets in hot tubs, you will enjoy the many benefits of full-body massage, right in your own home.

Exercise. An added benefit of the Swim Spa is the element of exercise. Water-based exercise is ideal for anyone, but especially for those who may need a gentler workout than traditional aerobic or weight training. The Swim Spa can deliver you a healthier physique while also offering you the relaxing properties of a hot tub.

Your pool represents a real investment in your family’s health, leisure and lifestyle and, like all investments; it’s a good idea to make sure that you are getting the most out of it.

If your pool is even just a couple of years old, you might be surprised at how many new products there are available that can improve your experience of running and enjoying your swimming pool. There are innovations that can reduce running costs and make your pool more environmentally friendly, there are products to make maintenance easier and there are retrofit products that can add to the fun and improve your leisure time.

There is a host of ideas splashed over these pages. Which of them most appeals to you?

Pool Covers

A pool cover can keep your pool safe and secure as well as helping to cut running costs. If you have a cover already, perhaps you should upgrade? Solar covers simply retain heat in the pool and cut down water loss through evaporation. Heat retention covers go that bit further to reduce heat loss. Winter debris covers will keep debris out during the winter months. Safety covers are designed to keep your pool safe and secure. Automatic slatted covers are a “push- button” cover that will retain heat and make your pool safer, plus, they can be solar powered.

Heat Pumps

A heat pump is one of the most efficient options available for heating your pool water. Some of them actually multiply the amount of heat that can be produced from each kWh of electricity by drawing warmth from the air to put into your pool.

LED Lighting

LED lighting is the most energy efficient lighting option available. Spectravision lights can also be digitally controlled to produce an amazing range of mood-lighting effects that will transform the look and atmosphere of your pool at night.

Automatic Pool Cleaners

Would you believe that cleaning your pool could be easy? In fact, it can even be fun. Suction cleaners are easy and efficient to use, electric powered cleaners will almost do the job for you and we have a Zodiac 4 wheel drive model that will climb the pool wall to your feet when the work is done.

Solar Heating

Incredibly eco-friendly, once installed a Sunburst solar heating system for your pool has little or no running costs. The panels have a long life expectancy and a system should payback the installation costs in somewhere between 2 and 5 years. A solar heating system really comes into its own in the UK when it is used in conjunction with a traditional heating system, topping up your pool’s heat just at the time you are most likely to want to use your pool.

Automatic Chemical Dosing

Make testing and dosing your pool water easier with an Etatron automatic chemical dosing system. A complete package of equipment provides simple and reliable dosing and control for chlorine or pH.

If you are lucky enough to live in the Valley of the Sun and own a swimming pool, here are some pool maintenance tips for keeping your pool sparkling clean, inviting, refreshing and ready for use every day. The key is just staying on top of it. This will save you from making mistakes that could cost you a great deal of money. Routine pool maintenance may also prevent frustration and will minimize the need to make emergency runs to the pool store for chemicals or other additives.

Tips For Keeping Your Home Swimming Pool Sparkling Clean and Healthy To Use

1. Check pool chemistry 2-3 times per week during the summer and once per week in the winter.
2. Clean out skimmer basket(s) weekly, or as needed if conditions exist.
3. Clean hair and lint pot in the pump every couple of weeks or as needed. Turn off pump to do this.
4. Check and monitor water level at least once per month, adjust as needed. Water level should be at the center of the tile or skimmer.
5. Check Deck-Chlor/Inline Chlorinator at least once per week for proper adjustment.
6. Clean your filters. This may be necessary after a heavy storm or once every few months depending on conditions in your pool. It would be best to clean them about every 4-6 months. Just remind yourself to do it each time you come back from the dentist, or each time you change the air filters in your home, which should be about the same frequency. If you have an extra set of elements it is a much easier and quicker job. Soak dirty filters in a 10% solution of muriatic acid or a solution of TSP (trisodium phosphate). Use a rubber trash can. Wear gloves and eye protection. Be careful! Always add acid to water, NOT water to acid. Rinse until clean and let them dry. Put your supplies away until your next swap-out.
7. As you are monitoring your pool, take note:

      – Are your returns very weak?

– Is the in-floor cleaning system not working very well?

– Is the water clarity starting to look bad?

If any of these conditions exist, it is likely time to clean the filters. Most pools should only need this done a couple of times a year. There are exceptions though based on bather load (pool usage).

1. Wipe/clean tile line weekly. This will reduce build-up.
2. If you have a salt water chlorine generator than you will need to check and clean the blades in the unit about every 30 days. If the red flow light or flow meter is on or reading less than normal, then the blades are likely calcified and producing little to zero chlorine. Turn the pump off, bleed off any pressure, undo the unions and clean the blades per the manufacturer’s recommendations.

10  Always keep chemicals stored out of direct sunlight. Keep them in a cool dry place. Do NOT store acid and chlorine right next to each other.

1. Your pool should not need to be shocked on any regular basis if you have an ozone system. If you need to do it, do it at night. Use non-chorine based shock if you plan on swimming any time soon. Another way to shock your pool would be to run your pump for 24 hours using your ozone system. This works great! If you are on 24 hour circulation (2-speed or variable speed pump) than you should be just fine.
2. If you start seeing any cracks around the perimeter of your pool between your deck and your tile, caulk it with a small bead of clear silicon. Do not allow the water to migrate from inside the pool in and under the deck through cracks at this joint.
3. Keep vegetation, animals, chemicals (like fertilizers and ironite) away from and out of the pool. Nitrates from bird droppings and waste from animals and people are food for algae. Don’t feed the algae! 

Optimal Swimming Pool Chemical Ranges

Keep your pool’s chemical readings in these ranges:

PH: 7.2 to 7.8

Alkalinity: 80 to 120 ppm

Calcium Hardness: 250-450 ppm

Chorine residual: 1.0 to 1.5 ppm; upt to 2.0 in the summer with ozone, 3.0 without

Adjust down PH with muriatic acid. Never add more than a pint at a time. Re-test than add again as needed. As you add acid to adjust down the PH this should in turn cause the alkalinity reading to come down. Read your test kit guide; it has plenty of useful information and tips. Call your local pool store if you have any questions.

The temperature has a drastic affect on your swimming pool. In the Phoenix desert, the extreme summer temperatures mean that you might have to pay more attention to your water chemistry and the clarity of your swimming pool water. It should be crystal clear all the time and swim ready.

We have just returned from The 2012 World Hydropool spas & swimspas convention in Puerto Rico.

We are delighted to tell our customers we won a highly prestigious Hydropool Worldwide Platinum Award for Excellence in Marketing, Sales & Customer Service!