A few thoughts about CYA

[aylad]

It's strange to me too, that you aren't losing all your chlorine to the sun, but if it's worked for you so far, then I don't see any reason to "fix what ain't broke". If they can add the bleach at the same frequency that you do, then I don't see where the pool will know the difference............

Janet

[gordyjamz]

Hi there, I originally started this thread last week. I was thinking of trying no CYA next year after a full drain/refill after liner replacement. I was talking to a friend of mine down in AZ yesterday, and he was telling me I should consider bromine. He said he uses it and has had far less problems than when he had chlorine. He also said that bromine doesn't require stabilizer, and that CYA has no inhibiting factors to it. I told him that I thought they only use that stuff on spas and jacuzzis. HE said they do, but a lot of people use it for pools also. Would this be an alternative to bleach? Maybe just another crazy idea poppin in my head, as I am skeptical about it. Any thoughts?


Ken

[waterbear]

advantages of bromine over chlorine in an outdoor pool:
1. none

disadvantages of bromine over chlorine in an outdoor pool:
1. cannot be stabilized against lost from UV light so chemical use is much higher and often there is no sanitizer in the water when it is needed most during the heat of the day because it has burned off (THIS is why bromne doesn't require stabilizer. It can't be stabilized! Hot tubs are kept covered to keep the heat in so they are not exposed to sunlight for long periods of time and indoor pools, well, obviously!)

2. more expensive requires more chemicals (sodium bromide to create the bromide bank, an oxidizer--usually chlorine, and bromine tabs, which normally contain organic bromide and an organic chlorine source.

3. bromine is a known sensitizer

4. Does not eliminate the use of chlorine since chlorine is the usual oxidizer in bromine pools. MPS can also be used but is much more expensive and MPS is also a sensitizer.

5. Bromine has a decided 'chemical' smell. Bromamines have a 'fishy' smell but are not eliminated since they are considered to be effective sanitizers, unlike chloramines. However there is some debate on this.

6. If pH drops low the formation of toxic elemental bromine is very likely and dangerous. Bromime tabs ARE acidic (like trichlor) so this is a possibility of you do not keep watch on TA and pH on a regular basis. I have seen it happen more than once!

There are some advantages in hot tubs and possibly in indoor pools (but indoor pools are also a subject of debate).

I still don't understand why you have this aversion to CYA. If you use an unstabilized chlorine and just add the proper amount of CYA to bring it up to 50 ppm you will not have any problems from overstabilization. Higher CYA levels can actually translate into less chlorine usage in many instances. The key is learning and understanding what you are doing and it's not really hard.


Also understand that I have a much better knowledge of bromine chemistry than the majority of people out there and have written guides for it's use on some other forums and have been quoted and referenced on at least one hot tub site (that I know of).
Also realize that lots of people using bromine are using it wrong (just like the number of people using chlorine that are using it wrong).

The key is education about the sanitizer you are using._

Hope this clears up some confusion.