I read this blog post on http://www.saandalbar.org/ and there was no
way to respond. So I thought I would give my two cents on this very
subject and help this person and anyone else who was having a similar
problem.

The Blog Post
"I have never liked the taste or feel of chlorine in my hot tub.
Bromine was a little better but it still did not feel good on my skin.
At the required parts per million that were recommended for a healthy
hot tub it felt like I was sitting in a pool of bleach. When my hot
tub dealer recommended the hot tub ozonator I jumped at the chance to
reduce the Cl or Br in my water. It took me all of ten minutes
toinstall the Ozonator and most of that was spent in removing the door
over the hot tub equipment panel."

The Response
Here is the thing with hot tub sanitation, it is extremely important
because it has a small bather load. Think of it like a giant bath tub
and imagine using the same bath tub water for everyone in your
houseevery night. I don't know about you but that is really disgusting
to me. So you should santize it of course. But some people will ask
what is the best way to sanitize a small bather load like a hot tub.
Well there are many ways to meet different preferences. Here is a list
of all the different ways you can sanitize your hot tub and at the end
of this post I will tell you what I would recommend.

Chlorine
Good old chlorine is the oldest and most effective way to sanitize
water, but since most hot tubs are indoors and people hate the smell
of chlorine it can be unpleasant. If you were strictly using
chlorinein a HOT spa, the chlorine will oxidize fast and cause that
harsh chlorine smell. However even with the smell it still is the best
way to sanitize hands down

Bromine
The truth about bromine is that it is like the sister of chlorine. The
only real differences between the two are it requires more but doesn't
oxidize and give off that harsh chlorine smell. That is why most
indoor pools and indoor hotel spas use bromine, that and because it's
cheaper than other more effective ways. It is introduced into the spa
the same way as chlorine.

Biguanide
This is the Baquacil of spas. It is a peroxide based sanitizer that is
soft on the skin and provides a non-chlorine like atmosphere. However
due to the manufacturing of some spas, most companies forbid you to
use this in your spa because it can deteriorate some plastics. And
it's expensive

Mineral Systems (Recommended)
Now to the good stuff. This combines the best of two worlds. The
confidence that comes with chlorine sanitation and the lack of a
strong chlorine smell. The way this system works is by providing your
spa with a build up of silver which is an effective sanitizer. But
since silver won't kill instantly you need that little extra backup of
chlorine. So with this system you also need to add only 0.5 ppm
ofchlorine instead of 3.0ppm of chlorine in a normal chlorine spa. So
it reduces the chlorine usage by almost 80%. And the silver product is
cheap, its a plastic device that floats in the spa or in your
spafilter well. The most popular model of this is the Nature 2 by
Zodiac. Check it out or ask your local pool company about it.- A quick
note about Ozonators. Most folks think that ozonators that are
installed in their spa will take over the job of santiation. Well to
answer this posters question, it does not. In fact all an ozonatordoes
is allow water to pass through a tube of ultra-violet light that kills
most bacteria, but once that water enters back into the tub it has be
contaminated again. Ozonators are great but
DO NOT REPLACE PROPER CHEMICAL SANITATION!!!

Posted by http://www.swimuniversity.com
See the original post he http://www.swimuniversity.com/spa_ch...e_hot_tub.html