Building the bromine reserve back up

[hrfox]

Unbeknowst to me, a group of kids who were in the spa at our BBQ tossed out the floater containing our bromine tablets. We then went away on vacation for a week and came back to a very cloudy, not so great spa. I have retrieved the floater from our garden and put it back in the water, but I am not sure how to quickly bring up the reserve so we can start using it again. We have already drained and filled it twice in the past four weeks in preparation of parties (one child had brought her root beer into the spa and spilled it - that was fun :-(, ), so I am hoping to balance it with existing water. It has a very slight greenish tint to it, though. Can I still use it?
At this time, the measurements for my 500 gallon spa, with ozonator, using the Taylor test kit are:
TA=100
pH=7.8-8.0
CH=60-70
FC=1.0
CC=0
I wasn't sure if the measurements for bromine are equivalent to those for chlorine using the test kit.
I am a convert to the BBB method for our pool and spa, but want to use up the many $$$ worth of existing chemicals we have in the house We have all SpaGuard chemicals. I am planning to lower my pH a little using pH decreaser according to the rates on the cannister. I also believe I have some Calcium Hardness increaser. If I don't, is there a generic ingredient I can use or do I have to get it from the spa store? After that, I am not sure what to do. Should I just put some new bromide tablets in the floater and assume they will go to work? I thought it takes a long time using tablets. Should I add 1-1/2 cups of bleach (I got this recommendation from the primer posted first on the forum)? Or should I use up some of the spa shock I have in a cannister (it is called SpaGuard (I have two cannisters so want to use them up this season). A long time ago, I had some concentrated bromine but that is gone. Is it worth buying another to build the reserve quickly? Thanks so much. You folks are a Godsend.

 

[mckay]

Ive debated going to bleach for our hot tub but the brommine is so easy I think Im staying with it.
I add a whole packet of this stuff http://www.poolgeek.com/Leisure-Time-So ... -P355.aspx
then add spa frogs or tabs in your case.
Im sure you can find the reserve packs at your local pool store, juts run in and close your eyes and ears to everything they tell you. I bought a case of them so I dont visit often.

I dont use the TF110 kit for my pool on my tub, I use the little blue box with PH and Chlorine/Bromine tester. You will notice that the chlorine/bromine test tube is marked in both types of chemicals.

 

[chem geek]

You probably have a decent bromide bank since you've been using bromine since your last water change. So unless that water change was recent, just shock the spa with 6% bleach and that will create bromine for you as well as help clear up the spa in a hurry. After that, just have the bromine tabs to maintain the bromine level. If you use the spa infrequently, then set the bromine tab feeder for a low background dose and add 6% bleach when you get out of the spa after a soak to handle the bather load. If you soak every day or two, then you can instead set the bromine tab feeder to just handle the bather load on average -- unless you don't like to soak with that high a bromine level.

 

[hrfox]

Thank you for your feedback!