Hi Michael;

Actually, you can use any form of chlorine you like with a brominated pool.

What happens is that when bromine you've added is 'used up' it becomes sodium bromide. But, chlorine will convert the bromide back to bromine . . . at least until all the bromide is gone.

Stabilizer has little or no effect on bromine, so as long as some bromide (from past bromine use) remains in the pool, you will have an UNstabilized bromine pool . . . even though you are adding chlorine.

When testing, you can even pretend that it's chlorine, and simply try to maintain good 'chlorine' levels. After all, your testkit doesn't know the difference -- really -- between chlorine and bromine.

Carl's advice about switching when you replace the liner is a good one, in the sense that that will be the first time you can be sure you are running a chlorinated and stabilized pool. But, meanwhile, you can 'pretend' . . . and it will still be cheaper than buying more bromine.

One caution: flow rates for bromine feeders are different than flow rates for trichlor feeders, so you can't just clean out your bromine feeder and dump trichlor in. However, you can put trichlor tabs in your skimmer to allow you to have a continuous chlorine / bromine feed.

There is -- apparently -- evidence that over time bromide will be converted to a form that does not regenerate (bromate) and that once that happens you will actually be able to run a chlorine pool. But, I have no proof that that happens, and no info on how fast it might occur.

Also, every time you backwash and refill a little, you reduce your bromine / bromide a little.

I'd recommend that you relax, pretend that you are running a chlorine pool, and accept that -- at least for now -- your chlorine usage will be higher than normal.

Ben

PS: Bleach is fine, too.