Water Match · free ZIP lookup
What’s in your hot tub water?
Matched to the water from your hose — Soft, Balanced, or Hard.
Generic start-up kits assume average fill water almost nobody has. Water Match reads your ZIP against local utility data, names your profile, and explains how that water behaves on fill day — before you open a single packet.
Three profiles
Soft · Balanced · Hard
Same five dry formulas in every box — pH Lock, Mineral (if included), ALK−, ALK+, CAL+. Your profile only changes the counts.
Soft
Lower calcium / alkalinity fill — we add what’s missing. Soft water can bounce on pH and foam when oils and lotions hit the surface. Fill-day adjusters raise calcium and alkalinity toward target, then a borate buffer helps hold the band.
Calcium under ~80 · alkalinity under ~45
Often the Pacific Northwest, New England, and many mountain systems
Kit lean: More ALK+ and CAL+ · spare ALK+
Balanced
Near target — light adjusters + pH Lock. Your hose water is already in a workable range. A small alkalinity trim (if needed) and borate setup keep fill day short and the weekly ritual focused on oxidizer + enzyme, not chasing numbers.
Calcium 80–200 · alkalinity 45–110
Many mid-Atlantic and Southern utilities
Kit lean: Light or zero ALK− · spare ALK−
Hard
Higher calcium or alkalinity — we bring TA down, then lock. Hard fill often drives pH up once jets strip CO₂. Staged dry-acid steps lower total alkalinity first; then borate carries the buffer so you’re not fighting carbonate rise every soak.
Calcium over 200 or alkalinity over 110
Often the Southwest, Texas, Florida, and much of the Midwest
Kit lean: More ALK− · spare ALK−
How the lookup works
An estimate you confirm
Today’s lookup uses regional utility patterns by ZIP prefix. A utility-level lookup comes next. Low confidence still may show a best-guess chip — strip-confirm before trusting counts. Wells, blended utilities, and missing alkalinity data are the usual reasons.
- 1
Enter your ZIP
Estimate from local utility data. ZIP only — not a precise location, and not a lab assay.
- 2
Get your profile
Soft, Balanced, or Hard, with a short why and a packet-count teaser. We don’t invent a hardness score or a fake ppm readout.
- 3
Confirm with a strip
On fill day, dip a strip before adding anything. If alkalinity is more than 30 ppm off the card, use or hold the spare packet.
Fill day
Confirm with a strip on fill day
Before adding anything, dip a strip in your fresh fill water. If your alkalinity reads more than 30 ppm higher than the estimate on this card, add your spare ALK− packet per 200 gallons. If it reads more than 30 ppm lower, hold one back.
Same rule applies when the card shows a spare ALK+ on Soft kits — confirm first, then decide.
Why fill day fails without a match
Most bottled kits dose one recipe for every hose. High-alkalinity fill can push pH above a comfortable soak band within an hour of jets. Very soft fill can foam and bounce. Water Match exists so packet counts follow your water — Soft, Balanced, or Hard — not a national average.
When Cycle Box ships
What Cycle Box counts next
When Cycle Box ships, your Water Match result drives packet counts for that water change. Checkout is not live yet — no in-stock prices on this page.
ALK− / ALK+ / CAL+
Only the adjusters your profile needs.
pH Lock
Borate buffer at a real dose (~50 ppm).
Weekly Clear + enzyme
Oxidizes sweat, oils, and lotions; breaks down scum-line residue.
Line Flush
Flushes buildup from plumbing before you drain.
Strips + card
Fill-day confirm and weekly checks.
Every ingredient listed. We’ll publish our test data when beta logs are public. Radical transparency when we can measure it.
Sanitizer is not in the box. Hold ≥3 ppm free chlorine (or 4–8 ppm bromine) with your own registered product whenever the tub is in use. Weekly Clear is a non-chlorine oxidizer alongside sanitizer — not a replacement.
FAQ
FAQ
What does Soft / Balanced / Hard mean?
Soft = lower calcium and alkalinity fill. Balanced = near target. Hard = higher calcium or alkalinity (or both). Labels come from ZIP→utility estimates and get confirmed with a strip on fill day.
How accurate is the ZIP estimate?
It’s a utility-based estimate, not a lab assay. Strip-confirm on fill day is part of the product — especially if you are on a well, a multi-utility ZIP, or we lack alkalinity data.
Does Water Match replace my sanitizer?
No. Nothing in Cycle Box replaces sanitizer. Keep free chlorine ≥3 ppm (or bromine 4–8 ppm) with a registered product.
Will this tell me my exact hardness in ppm?
We show a profile and honesty about confidence — not invented gauges. Precise numbers come from your strip on fill day.
What happens after I save my result?
You can notify for a matched Cycle Box when it ships. Guides below explain pH rise, lowering alkalinity, hard-water start-up, and foam — so you understand the chemistry either way.