Any one today who thinks ozone is a hoax, is not using it properly.

In my class I teach bromine and ozone, because it is very effective, and least expensive.

Ozone is a gas created from oxygen. Out in the upper atmosphere it is
created by the high intensity of sunlight.

Normally oxygen is a diatomic structure, with two atoms. When ultraviolet light strikes oxygen, it breaks apart, and then the atoms come back together with an extra atom, called O3. It is sort of a "super" oxygen which is now a blue gas and does effect the color of the sky.

It is an effective sanitizer, because all sanitizers "oxygenate" bacteria to kill it. Ozone gas is used in hospital air ducts, and water treatment plants, as well as water supplies.

In order for it to work the best in a spa. 1. It has to have a dedicated ozone jet in the bottom of the spa. 2. Jets in the spa have to be pointed at the ozone cluster of bubbles. 3. The ozonator bulb must be in good shape. 4. The ozone must be rated to the volume of water in the spa. 5. Run the low speed pump for at least 8 hours per day.

Ozone is not as effective with tiny circ pumps. In my opinion small circ pumps verge on consumer fraud. All those tiny pumps do is recirculate the same water over and over directly in front of the filter area. This leaves almost stagnant "dead spots" without circulation and water movement.

All the customers I have talked to, who own those types of spas, have trouble with dirt in the spa, and they use way too much chemicals trying to clean up the water. Ozone is like bromine, it is circulation dependent. If it doesn't get to the little "bugs" it can't kill them. Small circ pumps fail at doing that. That is why the "dog dish" company only recommends chlorine. They also have a "10 minute" button to run the jets on high after people get out. Why run the therapy jets in an empty spa? Who are we giving therapy to? It is the only time the spa gets any action through the filters. If you own a "dog dish" or other low flow pump spa, you must run the jets to get clean water!

Bromine is more circulation dependant. Chlorine works like a "shotgun", the reason why all bromine tabs have chlorine mixed in them. Bromine is more stable in hot, highly agitated, water. It is much more effective at high or low pH. Bromine is about 96% effective at a pH of 7.5.

Long before non-chlorine shock, people would shock with chlorine in their spas. It still is a good way to shock. Get the chlorine levels to about 8 to 10 PPM and if "fries" all the bugs and organic matter in the water. After about an hour the levels drop to below 3 PPM. You want to shock at a pH of 7.2 for most effectiveness. However, I prefer and recommend the non-chlorine shock with potassium peroxymonosulfate.

Bromine and ozone raise your pH. Chlorine (dichlor) lowers pH. The products called "granulated Bromine" are about 50/50 chlorine and bromine, and are almost neutral in pH.

Bromine tabs in a floating feeder, is the most economical way to use bromine. The feeder must be placed away from the filter, and not in direct flow of the jets, otherwise the bromine dissolves too fast. By keeping the feeder away from the filter, the bromine doesn't build up in front of the filter and harm the equipment.

The levels can get as high as 30 to 40 PPM and then go straight into the equipment, helping it to corrode. I have always disliked the weir door feeder or feeders inside the filter housing for that reason. My Sun;;;ce customers complain that the tablets dissolve too fast, and they can't maintain a steady level of bromine. It just goes up and down. Co;;;an finally stopped making spas with a filter bromine feeder for the same reason.

You want to keep a residual amount of bromine in the water at all times, with chlorine, this is impossible. it bounces all over the place in hot , highly agitated water. You can keep a good residual of bromine with a floating feeder kept away from too much water flow.

If you have the Taylor test kit, the booklet tells how to calculate the number of days between drain and refill. What happens in spa water is similar to taking sugar and adding it to a jar of water. If you keep adding sugar, eventually the sugar stops dissolving and remains solid in the bottom of the jar.

In a spa, the water starts to have a "slow response" to the powders we add. For instance, you might look up in the table and it says to ad two tablespoons of pH down. After you add the pH down, the pH doesn't change as much as it "should". If the water doesn't respond it needs to be changed. In an average spa the time between changes is from three to six months.

There are other methods besides bromine which we will cover in other issues of Spa Care Tips.