I have an ozone pool which has been running very well for about 5 months now. I have two very large (22gm/hr) units and do not use supplemental sanitizer (yet). The pool is covered almost all the time and has very low phosphate levels (~300ppb). I have not had any algae problems and the water is very clear. The only problem I have had is that the Ph is quite high (7.8-8.0) and I have difficulty lowering it (even with 1.5qts MA/day). The TA is ~80.
My ozone system has a flash mixer, a serpentine contact pipe, an air-water separator and an ozone destruct unit. Despite the large amount of Ozone produced, there is no outgassing in the pool (even small concentrations of gaseous O3 are easily detectable by smell). Dissolved O3 in pool temperature water has a half-life of ~10minutes (http://www.ozoneapplications.com/info/ozone_properties.htm), thus ozonated water is able to spread throughout the pool and kill any bugs that get in. I have measured a positive DO3 residual in the pool, though there is none in the infinity edge overflow tank. As an added measure, the pool cleaner is fed from the ozone loop and it travels throughout the pool.
The system runs 11hrs/day (in two 5.5hr shifts) @45gpm (I installed a flowmeter) on a separate loop from the heater (hot water reduces both O3 solubility and half-life) turning over the pool water once per day.
Is my pool safe? I have tested for bacteria a few times and haven't found any. People take baths together in water with no "chlorine" residual for hours at a time. Hmmm. My solution is most definitely not economical, the units were very expensive, and they consume a fair amount of electricity. It is worth it to me though, because I really, really, really hate chlorine. Sorry guys, I know you love miss Cl, but she's just not for me. When I get out of the pool, I just towel off and get dressed. No post swim shower required.
Well unfortunately my experiment is coming to an end. One of my Ozone units had a pump seal failure, and they were installed such that both have to be shut down to stop the leak. The new pump won't be ready for three weeks, so I need to have a sanitizer until it is repaired (and replumbed so I don't have this problem again).
My current plan is to add Sodium Bromide and MPS, but I'm not entirely sure how to do it. From what I have read normally, you add lots of NaBr (30ppm?), and then control the amount of MPS to adjust the Bromine levels. However, once my Ozone system comes back on line, the O3 will activate all of the NaBr and I'll have too much Bromine.
Also, is it true, that If I add NaBr, I'll have Bromine in my pool forever? Maybe I just bite the bullet and use Chlorine because I know the O3 will oxidize it out of existance once repairs are complete.
Thanks in advance -- Bob
My ozone system has a flash mixer, a serpentine contact pipe, an air-water separator and an ozone destruct unit. Despite the large amount of Ozone produced, there is no outgassing in the pool (even small concentrations of gaseous O3 are easily detectable by smell). Dissolved O3 in pool temperature water has a half-life of ~10minutes (http://www.ozoneapplications.com/info/ozone_properties.htm), thus ozonated water is able to spread throughout the pool and kill any bugs that get in. I have measured a positive DO3 residual in the pool, though there is none in the infinity edge overflow tank. As an added measure, the pool cleaner is fed from the ozone loop and it travels throughout the pool.
The system runs 11hrs/day (in two 5.5hr shifts) @45gpm (I installed a flowmeter) on a separate loop from the heater (hot water reduces both O3 solubility and half-life) turning over the pool water once per day.
Is my pool safe? I have tested for bacteria a few times and haven't found any. People take baths together in water with no "chlorine" residual for hours at a time. Hmmm. My solution is most definitely not economical, the units were very expensive, and they consume a fair amount of electricity. It is worth it to me though, because I really, really, really hate chlorine. Sorry guys, I know you love miss Cl, but she's just not for me. When I get out of the pool, I just towel off and get dressed. No post swim shower required.
Well unfortunately my experiment is coming to an end. One of my Ozone units had a pump seal failure, and they were installed such that both have to be shut down to stop the leak. The new pump won't be ready for three weeks, so I need to have a sanitizer until it is repaired (and replumbed so I don't have this problem again).
My current plan is to add Sodium Bromide and MPS, but I'm not entirely sure how to do it. From what I have read normally, you add lots of NaBr (30ppm?), and then control the amount of MPS to adjust the Bromine levels. However, once my Ozone system comes back on line, the O3 will activate all of the NaBr and I'll have too much Bromine.
Also, is it true, that If I add NaBr, I'll have Bromine in my pool forever? Maybe I just bite the bullet and use Chlorine because I know the O3 will oxidize it out of existance once repairs are complete.
Thanks in advance -- Bob