Chlorine use in a spa
Chlorine is the basic chemical sanitizing system for any type of body of water. Pools, Spas, Water treatment centers, all use chlorine to sanitize water. Here at National discount pool supplies, we try to stay away from Chlorine only sanitizing in a spa because chlorine is not stable in high temperatures, so if you are not consistent about checking your chlorine level, your spa may go unprotected.
So what chemicals can you use besides chlorine, or with chlorine, to make things a little bit easier??? (After all, you got your spa for relaxation, right?)
The #1 alternative to Chlorine is the BaquaSpa chemical system. Baqua Spa is a 100% Chlorine & Bromine free chemical system. It is formulated with Hydrogen Peroxide and Polyhexamethylene Biguanide (To make it easy, we call it Biguanide or PHMB, after all, easy is what were going for here) Biguanide is extremely safe (used in cosmetics, surgical scrubs, etc.) and is very stable in high temperatures and does an excellent job at killing bacteria. In my opinion, the best part of the Baqua Spa system is……….. You only add it once a week!!!!!! Yes, once a week, no more adding chlorine after you get out of your spa, or going out to your spa, when its cold and rainy outside (yes, its still cold & rainy here, Wisconsin weather, can’t beat it) just to make sure you have chlorine in your spa water.
Now, the Baqua Spa system may not be for everyone. If you are using well water, which means you more than likely have a high level of Metals in your water, Baqua Spa is not the right fit for you. (baqua spa doesn’t react well with metals like copper in your water) Another great alternative would be the Brilliance system. The Brilliance for Spas 3-part chemical system is made with 100% Bromine. There is no other Bromine system like this one. Most bromine chemicals are still made with part Chlorine, but not Brilliance. Bromine is not as harsh as chlorine, and is more stable in your high temperature spa water. And just like the Bauqua Spa, it is only added once a week!!!!
This is starting to get a bit lengthy, but I’d like to hop on out of here with the FROG spa sanitizing system. Frog is a mineral system, that uses copper & silver to kill bacteria. These two minerals do an excellent job at killing bacteria. You can use the Frog one of two ways: A mineral stick that sits in your filter, and then you manually add chlorine to the spa. Or a mineral floater that has a Bromine floater along with it. Normal Chlorine/Bromine levels should be at a 2-4 ppm range but with the frog, your range is 1 ppm or below.
Spa Chemicals can be found here: Spa Chemicals & Supplies at National
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By: Maggie @ NDPS
National Discount Pool Supplies 
Good info to know – thanks for the info! I was thinking about switching to BaquaSpa but we have well water! I suppose I should have our water tested as I might possibly be able to switch yet. I’ve just switched to the Frog system but still feel like I’m still using alot of chemicals & wish there was some way around it.
All well water is different. We couldnt use Baqua Spa in ours because we have a high level of metals, and even if you use metal remover, we still had a hard time keeping a clear spa. What we use instead is the Brilliance. Very Very easy. Only adding chemicals once a week. Whats nice too is that it’s 100% bromine and there is absolutely no chlorine in the spa, so it doesn’t have that harsh smell and feel of chlorine.
Brilliance is what I use now & I tend to break out in a rash if I use my spa 2-3 days in a row. That’s why I was hoping to find something else. PH & Alkalinity all read fine. I suppose I just need to take some water in & have it tested locally, its just that we live over an hr from the nearest spot. Don’t think I have much other choice.
Make sure your Brilliance bromine level isn’t too high. That may be whats causing irritation to your skin.