Best cleaning system?

[boobunnies]

We're about to purchase our spa, and the dealer said we can have any cleaning system we choose.  

Bear in mind, this is foreign to me, but which cleaning system works best and is easiest & most cos-efficient-- chlorine, bromine, or ozone?

[boobunnies]

BTW, I don't know if it makes a difference, but we're in a hot climate-- 90's-100'-110's during the summer, 40's to 50's in the winter.
Thanks for any input!

[Brewman]

 So far, I'm on my 3rd chemical routine- I've been a spa owner for the past 3 1/2 years.

I started on Baqua- hated the stuff.  Plus it was rather expensive.

Then I switched to bromine- better than baqua, but still not what I liked.  The bromine and MPS shock kept pulling down my PH and alk readings, so I had to keep adding stuff to the water to offest.  Plus I could never get the floater dialed in.  One day, no bromine reading, next day, off the charts, etc....

After reading a lot of posts here I switched to dichlor.
Best move I've ever made since I bought the spa.  
Dichlor is about as inexpensive as it gets- and can be bought all over the place.  Dichlor is also more Ph neutral, so I don't have to keep adding adjusters to the water.  Water stays clean.  

I don't have ozone, but understand that it doesn't replace sanitizers like bromine or chlorine- it may reduce the need for those substances, though.  

On my spa the CD ozone option was a couple hundred bucks, so I passed.  Plus I started on Baqua, and it was suggested that using Baqua and ozone wasn't the best idea.  

Of the three systems I've described, I'm am a firm believer in dichlor now.

[Spatech_tuo]

 Of the three systems I've described, I'm am a firm believer in dichlor now.

Brewman,
You can take solice in the fact that it took Goldilocks 3 tries to get it right as well.

I'm a big fan of a dichlor based sanitizing sytstem and would even take it a step further and incorporate ozone and Nature 2 to further it's effectivity.

[hymbaw]

chlorine, bromine, or ozone?

Ozone WITH chlorine or bromine, not instead of chlorine or bromine.

[Mendocino101]

Ozone WITH chlorine or bromine, not instead of chlorine or bromine.

YES....and if someone tries to tell "chemical free" because they have ozone...walk out they are telling a bold face lie...I mention this only because we get people in our store who are told this....sounds great today but you won't be happy tomorrow....

[Chas]

YES....and if someone tries to tell "chemical free" because they have ozone...walk out they are telling a bold face lie

Yes, if they say the whole tub will be 'chemical free,' it is not correct.

But I used to say, "you can soak chlorine free."

I meant it, and still do. But I have had to go way overboard to be sure people know that they will be adding MPS regularly, and a chlorine shock once per month or after a crowd gets out will be part of the deal. However, other than right after a shock, the tub will be chlorine free if you have a good ozone system, and something like Nature2 working for you.

I also recommend Dichlor - I really like my Baqua factory rep - but we are NOT sending Baqua out on startups any more, and sales are about even. That's not a good sign since several dealers around me have dropped Baqua altogether, and we have picked up their customers.

[Mendocino101]

Chas...yes that is correct and as you know you really have to explain to people exactly what you mean...but ...well you know.....some people do not tell the real story and well......

[Chas]

One other thing that would be helpful in this discussion:

Using Chlorine in your new spa at home doesn't have to have the heavy odor associated with the spa at the health club, hotel, or condo complex. Those commercial bodies of water usually have FAR too much chlorine - because they never know when a large group of people may jump in. So, your suit turns white and falls apart, and your hair turns green.

Not too worry - if you are shopping for a spa, you will not have to put up with that.

So if anyone reading this is hoping that the spa they buy will not have a heavy chemical odor, I still say go with Chlorine (Dichlor to be specific) and add a small amount after each use. You should be able to keep a sparkling clean pool of water, with very little or NO chlorine odor.

[boobunnies]

My concern with the DiChlor is that horrid spa chlorine smell in the pool- I'd like to avoid that!

Our dealer (I think) said that ozone is a different system unto itself and is an option if we choose. Can we get that and then add the dichlor or bromine, or is the ozone just an extra step in the sanitizing process?

Even he had not much good to say about the Baqua-- just that it would be a last resort if we didn't like the other two.

[Brewman]

Brewman,
You can take solice in the fact that it took Goldilocks 3 tries to get it right as well.

I'm a big fan of a dichlor based sanitizing sytstem and would even take it a step further and incorporate ozone and Nature 2 to further it's effectivity.

Actually, you were one of the posters who convinced me that dichlor was the way to go.  As for ozone, I've thought about it, and so far don't care to commit the bucks to get it installed.  Sundance makes a cartridge call Sunpurity, or something.  Is that a re-branded Nature 2 thing?  

Any inkling on how complicated it would be to retrofit my 2003 Optima with ozone?  
Might be something to consider for the future- I think before that I might be cover shopping so that's likely where my next spa outlay might go.

[The_real_Clown_Shoes]

They are all decent products if you use them correctly.

I love bromine floaters.

I love the feel of biguanide water.

I love the cost-effectiveness of dichlor.

Nature2 is great.

It really all depends on what you want and what fits into your lifestyle the best.  I'm a firm advocate of dichlor/bromine with ozone, but I will sell biguanides to customers because they request it- I just make sure they know what they have to do with it.

[Brewman]

My concern with the DiChlor is that horrid spa chlorine smell in the pool- I'd like to avoid that!

Our dealer (I think) said that ozone is a different system unto itself and is an option if we choose. Can we get that and then add the dichlor or bromine, or is the ozone just an extra step in the sanitizing process?

Even he had not much good to say about the Baqua-- just that it would be a last resort if we didn't like the other two.

My dichlor spa doesn't have any nasty chlorine smell.
I think that all that's needed to cure that would be to shock the spa.  
Bromine left a slight odor on us when we got out of the water, which didn't bother us, and Baqua made us cough so damn bad we might as well have been smoking.  

If you consider dichlor, you can easily transfer to another sanitizer system without dumping the water, which I had to do to get off Baqua and Bromine.

[boobunnies]

Ok, so what is the purpose of the Ozone then? Is it the actual cleaner or just a supplement?

Can we get the ozone as the main sanitizer for the spa (Sundance) and then use dichlor as a supplement?

If I understand right- we can get the regular cleaning system which will support dichlor, bromine or Baqua, or we can get the ozone system instead... am I way off base?

[The_Bends]

Ozone, is a gas made by the hot tub which oxidises any contaminates.  Ozone, nature, pristine blue, silver copper ionisation, MPS or 'non chlorine shock', etc, are all considered secondary sanitizers.

Chlorine, and Bromine (which contains chlorine) are forms of primary sanitizers.  

You will ALWAYS need some residual of primary sanitizer in the water.  

Just because the water is clear, doesn't mean it is sanitized.

Since Bromine contains chlorine in it, you can go from Chlorine to Bromine without changing the water.    

You cannot go from Bromine to Chlorine without changing the water.

Hope this helps!