My spa is quite new (three weeks) and we have chosen to use hydrogen peroxide. At the moment the water is clear. I purchased some H2O2 test strips and "AuqaChek" test strips. I have so far been dosing the tub with 250ml of H2O2 per week and have added 1 tsp of copper sulphate. There is an ozonator which we purchased as well and has been installed. After dosing the tub on Sat.Oct 5/13 with 250ml and then testing on Oct 8 my ph is high 8.4 or greater, total alkalinity is 80, of course nothing is registering on free chlorine and stabilizer is registering as low. Hydrogen peroxide registered as 0. Last night I dosed again with 250ml and just checked and again H2O2 is O. I am not sure why the H2O2 is disappearing. Could it have anything to do with the ozonator breaking it down somehow?
Need help keeping level of hydrogen peroxide in spa
- Thread starter tammyjean1975
- Start date
y_not
0
Hello and welcome to TFP! 
Hydrogen Peroxide is not an approved stand alone sanitizer for spas, nor is ozone, by itself, or with H2O2.
See link for further details and why: using-hydrogen-peroxide-as-a-sanitizer-t54633.html#p449230
Also, thank you for filling out your signature, however we do not require the questions themselves on your Sig line, only the answers. See my Sig as an example, albeit custom formatted, but a good outline as are any Sigs by any of the: mod squad, or special experts.
Hydrogen Peroxide is not an approved stand alone sanitizer for spas, nor is ozone, by itself, or with H2O2.
See link for further details and why: using-hydrogen-peroxide-as-a-sanitizer-t54633.html#p449230
Also, thank you for filling out your signature, however we do not require the questions themselves on your Sig line, only the answers. See my Sig as an example, albeit custom formatted, but a good outline as are any Sigs by any of the: mod squad, or special experts.
Welcome to tfp, tammyjean1975
y_not has given you good advice and the linked he shared is a good one on the subject.
Why do you want to use H2O2 in your spa?
y_not has given you good advice and the linked he shared is a good one on the subject.
Why do you want to use H2O2 in your spa?
Not keen on smell and it seems to be less drying on the skin.
If H2O2 is not to be used as a stand alone sanitizer nor with the ozonator what should be used in combination with them both?
If H2O2 is not to be used as a stand alone sanitizer nor with the ozonator what should be used in combination with them both?
tammyjean1975 said:
There are 4 epa approved sanitizers for spas.
- 1. Chlorine
2. Bromine
3. Biguanide
4. Nature2 for spas (silver ions combined with MPS...this will likely still require a chlorine occasionally)
Biguanide is the only one that uses some H202 but not as a sanitzier. H2O2 is the oxidizer in with the biguanide system. I would recommend against the biguanide approach, if you do a google search on this site, you won't find much positive feedback.
When a chlorine tub is properly maintained, it is not drying to the skin and should have almost no smell (especially if you open the cover a few minutes before your soak).tammyjean1975 said:
Is it possible for me to start using either chlorine or bromine without draining? Is there any benefit or harm I can cause in using some H2O2 when I switch to either or these, since I still have about three liters of the stuff left over?
Chlorine and hydrogen peroxide will react with each other so if you start adding chlorine initially it will get used up until there is no more hydrogen peroxide. After that, you can use chlorine normally. Chlorine requires more maintenance so is best suited when you use the spa every day or two. Ozone does react with chlorine so the daily chlorine demand will be higher if you don't use the spa frequently, but it will be lower when you use the spa.
Currently there is no H2O2 registering in the spa anyways as far as my little test strips tell me.
So, I'm a little confused why the "ozonator" would increase the amount of chlorine required. The main selling point of the equipment was that less chemicals are necessary to run the spa.
How about bromine...do I need to drain or can I start to use without causing any damage or issue.
So, I'm a little confused why the "ozonator" would increase the amount of chlorine required. The main selling point of the equipment was that less chemicals are necessary to run the spa.
How about bromine...do I need to drain or can I start to use without causing any damage or issue.
An ozonator decreases the amount of chlorine (or other oxidizer) needed IF you use the spa every day or two. This is because ozone will oxidize some of the bather waste so that chlorine does not have to. However, ozone will also react with chlorine to deplete it so if there is no bather waste to oxidize first, then ozone will oxidize chlorine instead. So if you do not use the spa frequently, the daily chlorine loss is higher when one has an ozonator, especially if the ozonator is on for a longer period of time per day, usually related to circulation pump runtime.
With bromine, an ozonator can produce more of it from bromide that is usually added initially as sodium bromide but can also build up from the use of bromine tabs or granular bromine products (that are usually a combination of Dichlor and sodium bromide).
You can convert to bromine at any time without side effects -- just add an initial sodium bromide amount and see how much bromine the ozonator provides in between soaks (supplement with bromine tabs in a feeder if necessary) and add an oxidizer after each soak to create more bromine. To convert from bromine to chlorine, however, you need a complete drain/refill of the spa water.
With bromine, an ozonator can produce more of it from bromide that is usually added initially as sodium bromide but can also build up from the use of bromine tabs or granular bromine products (that are usually a combination of Dichlor and sodium bromide).
You can convert to bromine at any time without side effects -- just add an initial sodium bromide amount and see how much bromine the ozonator provides in between soaks (supplement with bromine tabs in a feeder if necessary) and add an oxidizer after each soak to create more bromine. To convert from bromine to chlorine, however, you need a complete drain/refill of the spa water.
Just a side note, Canada recognizes only two sanitizers, Bromine and Chlorine, all others have been proven to be ineffective.