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Did the pool store set you up with a chlorine sanitizing system or a bromine sanitizing system. If you are going to use bromine you need to add sodium bromide with each fill to establish the bromine bank in the water, shock with either chlorine or MPS, and then put the floater with the tabs in to maintain your bromine levels.
Well, they sold me this kit that has everything from shock (that I mentioned) pH down, clarifier, vinyl cleaner, scum reducer, anti foaming agent, but no sanitizing agent which I thought odd. Well after I brought it all home, the soft tub guy came by to give us the hot tub school 101. He looked at the "shock" and said, oh, you just use this, once cupful after you use the tub or once a week if you are not using it. So we poured a couple cups in to start and then I tested the water... 0.0 bromine or chlorine, so I read the label and it says to add bromine or chlorine and then use the shock, ok, so instead of going back to the expensive pool store I went to home depot and bought bromine tablets and a floater and thats where I am now. I keep hearing bromine is better in tubs since it lasts longer in hot weather and I guess cholorine doesnt work well with ozoniators.
If you are going to use bromine tablets in a floater you need to add sodium bromide to the water on each fill to establish a bromine reserve in the water
Is Sodium Bromine the stuff that comes in 2 parts. A liquid B powder.
Well my bromine levels are coming up but my pH level keeps going up up up.
I keep adding Ph down but it doesnt seem to help that much. Can i add muriatic acid?? I'm scared its such a small body of water, I dont want to add too much. Also the water is dull, not as sparkly as the pool (they both have the same exaclt liner) is that how the hot tub will always be cause of the heat, or will it clear up once the bromine levels get up to the right level. Right now its at 1.5-2.0ppm on the bromine.
Your water is not clear because the sanitizer is too low....bromine should be about 6 ppm. If you do not add sodium bromide to the water first it will take a long time to get the bromine levels up with just tabs! Several companies make sodium bromide to be used when the spa is filled each time. sometimes it is a liquid, sometimes a power. There are also 2 part bromine systems that use sodium bromide and an ozidizer and dont use tabs. IMHO, the best oxizider to use is bleach. It works as well or better than MPS to convert the bromine ions into hypobromous acid!
I have the bromine tabs in there now, didnt I read somewhere that it is dangerous to mix chlorine and bromine together??
there is chlorine IN your bromine tabs...it is a necessary part of the bromine chemisty. you don't want to mix bromine and trichlor tabs together but bleach is probably the best oxizider to reactivate your bromine bank.
How about adding a topic for hot tubs? I see bits an pices of the topic all over?
It's becoming apparent to me that spa stores are as bad or worse than pool stores. Since my dad's wife has sensitive skin, they have ALL suggested different miracle cures like Nature2 or Aquaguarde (a new one I can find no specific info on). I keep telling him all of these silver ion or other products do is reduce the demand for chlorine and NONE of them eliminate it's need to be maintined at 3-5 ppm.
Everything I've read on this site and others suggest the following
FC 3-5 PPM
If bromine - bank to 6-9 ppm and maintain by adding chlorine when it drops
Alk 150-180
CA 100-200 mg/l
pH 7.6-7.8
Note I listed ranges so that it is not too difficult to maintain within range. My guess is he will need only bromine, chlorine, and baking soda and occasionally a pH reducer powder (rarely needed). Generally he will need to increase alkalinity becasue of aireration and pH - because of the addition of chlorine - hence the baking soda.
As far as his wife's sensitivity, told him to have her try a bromine spa at her daughters' and then not shower for an hour. If she has no reaction, then bromine should be OK. Whether bromine or chlorine, told him she should always shower afterward and moisturize with her favorite moisturizer. If she does this, I would doubt either would ever bother her.
Have seen chlorine calculators on this site. Since the spa is only 440 gallons, could you use the same calculator for bromine since both are ppm measurements?
Is there any advantage to scale inhibitors? My guess is that if maintin any one of the scaling indices - puckorius, Ryzner or Langlier in the neutral to slightly descaling range you should be OK. Do the above ranges stay in the neutral to slightly descaling mode?
Has anyone investigated Aquaguarde?