Can I Add Microbubble Therapy to an Ella Walk-In Tub I Already Own?

No. Infusion Microbubble Therapy is built into the shell of an Ella walk-in tub at the factory, so it is chosen when the tub is ordered and cannot be added to a tub you already own. The dedicated pump, pressure vessel and single port are part of how the tub is made, not accessories that attach later. The therapy itself is described in What Is Infusion Microbubble Therapy on a Walk-In Tub?, and this page explains why it is an order-time decision, what that means for the tub in your bathroom, and what can still be chosen or added now.

Why Microbubble Therapy Cannot Be Retrofitted

Microbubble therapy is not a single jet that screws into a hole. It is a complete system: a dedicated 1 HP water pump, rated 7.3A on most spec sheets, together with a pressure vessel and an agitator valve, all mounted under the tub and plumbed to an intake and to one port in the shell. The pump draws bath water through the intake, pressurizes it with air in the microbubble tank and releases it through the port as billions of oxygen-rich bubbles smaller than 50 microns. That intake and that port are openings in the shell, the plumbing runs beneath the tub, and the Micro button on the deck has its own switching. On the LayDown tubs the bubbles arrive through one jet switched by an air switch, which is the same idea with a different control.

Every Ella therapy system is built this way. Air jets, hydro jets, extra jets and microbubble each come with their own dedicated pump, plumbing and switches built into the shell, so none of them is added after the sale. The rule runs in both directions: a jetted tub cannot be turned into a soaker, and a soaker cannot be jetted. It also applies between therapies. Air jets cannot be added to a hydro only tub, extra jets in a specific spot such as the lumbar area cannot be added to a tub that is already built, and an in-line heater cannot be added to a soaking or air only configuration because there is no hydro loop for it to heat. A tub you already own is used with the package it was built with. The wider list of what can and cannot change after the sale is in Can I Add Air Jets, a Heater or a Heated Seat to My Tub Later?.

What This Means for the Tub in Your Bathroom

• You own a soaking tub. A soaker keeps the same door, seat, faucet, hand shower and drain hardware as the jetted version of the model, but its interior is smooth with no jet openings and nothing installed under the shell. There is no opening for a microbubble port and no plumbing for a pump to join. The soaker version of this question is covered in Can Hydro or Air Jets Be Added to an Ella Soaking Tub Later?.
• You own an air only or hydro only tub. The same rule applies. Your tub was molded and plumbed for the package on your order, and the microbubble pump, tank, intake and port were not part of that build.
• You own a clearance or fixed unit. Units such as the Deluxe are sold as configured and are never modified, so plan on using them exactly as they came.
• You are not sure what your tub has. Your order is the record of what the tub was built with. If the tub is installed and the paperwork is not at hand, a photo of the control cluster on the deck lets the team confirm the package from your serial number.

If Your Tub Has Not Been Built yet

Because the therapy is fixed at the factory, the time to ask for microbubbles is before the tub is built. Tell your Ella dealer or the team at (800) 480-6850 now so it is written into the order. Infusion Microbubble Therapy is offered on the Elite, Petite, Royal, Ultra, Capri, Monaco, Front Entry, ShaK, Big4One, Transfer32, Transfer60 and TransferXXL, on the Standard60 through its combined H2 and microbubbles system, and on the LayDown60 and LayDown72.

Two planning points matter once it is on the order. Combined packages that include microbubbles need two dedicated GFCI 20A/120V lines, so your electrician should plan for that second circuit from the start rather than after the walls are closed. And some smaller tubs lack room under the shell for three therapies together, so on those models the choice is one pairing or another rather than everything at once. The Transfer60 is a good example of how the choices are printed: its current spec sheet lists seven jetting choices, including Air + Hydro + Microbubble and Hydro Massage + Microbubble alongside the Independent Foot Massage packages described in Can I Run Only the Foot Jets on the Transfer60 Without the Seat Jets?. Whatever combination you pick, your order paperwork becomes the record of what the tub has.

What Can Still Be Added to a Tub You Own

Not everything is locked in at the factory. The accessories that mount on the wall or plumb on their own valve are the ones that can go in long after installation:

• A slide bar for the hand shower. Every Ella tub with the 5-piece fast-fill faucet includes a pull-out hand shower, and the slide bar is a wall-mounted holder for it. Because it attaches to the wall and uses the hose you already have, it can be fitted on the day the tub goes in or years later with no change to the tub.
• A wall-mounted shower head or rain system. A rain system on its own valve is independent of the walk-in tub, so a licensed plumber can add one whenever you like.
• The Ella rain shower column. This riser mounts on the tub and is plumbed with it, so it is far simpler to fit before the tub is enclosed. If your tub is already installed, the team can tell you whether the column can still be added to your model and what access your plumber would need. The options are compared in Does a Walk-In Tub Come With a Shower Head?.

One more path exists for a different kind of tub. For a conventional bathtub, rather than an Ella walk-in tub, Ella offers a universal microbubble retrofit kit. That kit is for standard bathtubs and is not a way to add the system to a walk-in tub that was built without it.

What Microbubble Therapy Does Once It Is on Your Tub

If you order the package, the therapy is a skin treatment rather than a massage, and it is popular with people who have dry or sensitive skin. The product video shows the whole routine: one touch of the Micro button starts the system, the water turns from clear to cloudy white as the bubbles fill the bath, and one touch of the same button turns it off. The product video also notes the water carries up to 70 percent more oxygen than regular tap water. Cloudy white water is the therapy working, not a water-quality problem. Always fill above the port and the intake before pressing Micro, because running the pump dry damages it. If the pump buzzes but the water stays clear, or the bubbles come out large instead of as a fine cloud, open a ticket at ellasbubbles.com/support or call (800) 480-6850 with your serial number.

Watch: MicroBubble Therapy Infusion: Top Voted Walk-In Tub 2020 | Ella's Bubbles with chapters and a full transcript.

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