In this article, we will provide you what we believe is the recipe for perfect hot tub water!  By "perfect" we mean crystal-clear, hassle-free and healthy.  

LoveYourHotTub.com gives you ultimate ownership of your spa's water quality.  You are the boss of your hot tub water, so be aware:  more is not better and balance is key.

Bromine or Chlorine?  Based on years of field experience, our preferred choice is to pair Ozone with Chlorine.  Chlorine does not live long in hot water.  Chlorine alone would be hard to manage, but when used in tandem with Ozone, we believe the combination is safe and healthy.

Bromine (high levels) and Ozone produce negative results and should be avoided.  If you choose to stay with Bromine, only use 1 PPM when used with Ozone.  Make sure you have low-chlorine, low-bromine test strips that read down to .5 PPM or even 0 PPM (most strips tell you that you need to add more Bromine to achieve the industry standard of 3-5 PPM).  If you rarely use your tub, Bromine might be best for you because it is more stable in hot water.

Chlorine and Ozone are synergistic.  Ozone will kill everything organic (viruses, bacteria, oil) in the water, allowing chlorine to be reduced to a minimal .5 PPM.  However, due to the fast burn off in hot water, you may experience even lower chlorine levels when you get back into your tub.  For regular users, Chlorine and Ozone is ideal.  Make sure your test strip reads 5 PPM and not the standard 3-5 PPM.

What about Salt Generators, UV Sterilizers, and Minerals such as SpaRx?  We are fans of all three!  Ozone works incredibly well with the three systems, and should be always be utilized to keep water chemistry at ease.

Recipe for Perfect Hot Tub Water:

1. Starting with “fresh” water is preferred, but you decide: is your water good enough to start with? If not, dump and refill.
2. SHOCK.  Per manufacturer’s recommendations on the bottle of your choice of chlorine-based or non-chlorine shock, SHOCK YOUR WATER!
3. AFTER shocking your water, install an ozonator*.  Upon introducing ozone for the first time, water often gets cloudy in the first 24-48 hours. This is natural and GOOD.  Clean your filter; don’t shock at this time.  When the water sparkles like a diamond, you’ll know it’s ready for action.
4. If you are a regular soaker, put a little chlorine in after each use.  An example from Natural Chemistry's Spa Chlorine bottle prescribes that after each use, with the pump on, scatter 1/2 teaspoon for every 100 gallons (don't overdo it!).
5. Weekly shock the hot tub water with chlorine-based or non-chlorine based shock.

Ozone has many benefits to hot tub water, but the two most important are:

• Ozone kills 99.99% of ALL known viruses and bacteria
• Ozone micro-flocculates the water, removing the tiniest particulate matter. The result is crystal clear water that is EASY TO BALANCE

Ensure your spa or hot tub is equipped with an operable ozone generator so you can enjoy perfect spa water with fewer chemicals and a lot less hassle.