Bromine Pool Questions/Confirmations

[mike1016]

Hi There:

I've been reading this forum for quite some time - and I find it most useful. I do just want to confirm some of the information for those of us "stuck" with a Bromine pool.

I have a 35,000 gal in-ground with a vinyl liner nearing end of life ( 14 years ). I run a Rainbow Bromine feeder. I usually use a solar blanket - but it has been off for about a month now. Same for my solar panels for heat. Temp pool temp has been in the mid 80s. Other than being terribly green when I opened it in the spring - it seems to be OK. I do have to scrub algae once every 4-5 days or so - and I have a hard time getting the bromine feeder to get above 2 ppm..but in general things look OK. My question is this: Should I be adding CYA ? Does the CYA Best-Guess table still work for Bromine pools? Will upping the CYA and shocking help cure the algae?

My numbers are :
Br - 2
pH - 7.4 ( lowish - will fix with Borax )
Alkalinity - 60
Hardness - 200
CYA - quite low...close to zero

I have been using the BBB method for a couple of years now and the only other chemicals I have added this year is Poly 60 and a flocc.

Thanks in advance, Michael

[CarlD]

I know very little about bromine but I do know this: I don't believe you can use bleach with it, which is the first of the the B's in B-B-B.
I believe that CYA is useless with Bromine. Bromine may not react to UV the way Chlorine does--by breaking down.

If you want to switch to chlorine, then when you replace the liner is the time to do it. You'll have to flush everything in your system too. If you have a sand or DE filter you'll want to replace the sand or DE and clean the unit carefully.

That's pretty much all my knowledge of bromine. PoolDoc or one of the other pros can probably give you more insight.

[Watermom]

Carl,
Didn't know if you had already done so or not, but I alerted Ben to take a look at this thread.

[PoolDoc]

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.

[CarlD]

That's why Ben's the expert!

So, until you need to replace the liner, you can add bleach to the pool to get good sanitation!

Carl

[mike1016]

Great! That is what I was hoping to hear -- as far as treating Bromine like Chlorine. Good to know I don't need to concern myself with CYA - and I guess I'll keep to the BBB method to keep the pool clear and fun! Thanks again!

Michael