My personal testing of Nova Spa Water Conditioner I work at the Wastewater Treatment Plant in Silverthorne, Colorado and have the ability test my spa water for bacteria. At work, we test the plant effluent (water released to the river) using the Fecal Coliform test to make sure we are meeting the state and federal requirements. The test is an indicator of pathogenic bacteria. Testing water directly for pathogens can be difficult, expensive and even hazardous, so researchers use indicator organisms to assess the possibility of fecal contamination. The test starts with sterile petri dishes. A pad is placed in the dish and saturated with a broth to feed the fecal coliform. A sample is poured through a filter sheet, which is then placed on top of the pad in the petri dish. The petri dishes are covered and placed in an incubator for 24 hours. After 24 hours, fecal coliform colonies present show up as blue dots on the filter sheet. Based upon the size of the sample, the number of colonies are multiplied times a factor to equal a 100 ml sample. Process
heated my spa and set the pH at approximately 8.0. I then added the Nova Spa Water Conditioner and used my spa like I normally would. Typically 3 or 4 times a week. For the purpose of accurate testing, I didn't use any chlorine or shock products during the 30 day testing period. We recommend using a sanitizer or shock product with Nova Spa Water Conditioner because bacteria levels can multiply fast with heavy use. The Test and Results After 10 days I pulled a water sample and took it to work with me. I ran the fecal coliform test, waited 24 hours and read the results. The test came back negative for fecal coliforms. I also ran the Watersafe Rapid Bacteria Test at 10, 20, and 30 days. The Watersafe test kit tests your spa for harmful levels of bacteria including Pseudomonas, Aeromonas, E.coli, species of Salmonella, Shigella, Enterobacter, Klebsiella and many other Coliform and non-Coliform bacteria. The results were negative each time. This quick and simple test only takes 20 minutes. At 30 days, I pulled a water sample from my spa and ran the fecal coliform test. After 24 hours I read the results (shown below). The test returned negative results.
During the 30 days of testing under normal use conditions, Nova Spa Water Conditioner inhibited the growth of bacteria in the spa. No harmful or dangerous levels of bacteria were detected. While the fecal coliform test does not detect the presence of Pseudomonas, the Watersafe Rapid Bacteria Test does test for unsafe levels of Pseudomonas. There is the possibility of low levels of this bacteria and therefore we recommend using a sanitizing system, sanitizing product, or shock product in conjunction with Nova Spa Water Conditioner. |
The B is a base sample and
is the control for the fecal
coliform test.
The 3 and 6 samples were
the tests done on the
wastewater effluent. The
blue dots are fecal colonies.
The Hot tub sample came
from my spa after 30 days
use. The absence of blue
dots indicates no fecal
bacteria present and is a
good indicator of the
condition of the water.
is the control for the fecal
coliform test.
The 3 and 6 samples were
the tests done on the
wastewater effluent. The
blue dots are fecal colonies.
The Hot tub sample came
from my spa after 30 days
use. The absence of blue
dots indicates no fecal
bacteria present and is a
good indicator of the
condition of the water.
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