Swimspa...can I do BBB?

[Dewdrops3]

I have lost faith in our pool store staff. Our hydro pool swimspa has always been maintained using Bromine but not very well I must admit. It is very difficult to keep the Bromine levels up. We run the swimspa at 84 degrees in the summer, 104 degrees in the winter and in the spring and fall we usually run around 70 degrees. I completely drain and and refill two to three times a year.

The swimspa gets full sun for a good 10hours a day for the spring and summer months. We have a hard top that we use if the outside temp is dropping significantly overnight or if there is rain in the forecast otherwise I use a solar blanket on the swimspa when it is not in use.

Given the higher temperatures and sun exposure, should I switch over to BBB with Bromine? I'm making an assumption that I need to maintain my chemical levels as per your guideines using the appropriate amount of chemicals for our 4100 gallon swimspa.

I would appreciate your advice before I drain and start things up again this season.

Be well.

I haven't included and chem levels because I'll be starting from scratch.

 

[Richard320]

You can certainly do your own testing. If this spa is public or semipublic, there are probably regulations you'll need to follow, including what kind of testing you need to do. You might even need to be certified! Start by looking at the county health department website. It would also be a huge help if you put your location and what equipment you have. pool-school/read_before_you_post

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

You already seem to be at the conclusion that Bromine isn't really practical for outdoor pools. Yes I would switch - not to mention the BBB method is ALOT cheaper....

 

[Dewdrops3]

Thanks for your feedback. Ours is just a family swimspa and i was concerned about the chlorine at the high temperature we keep the swimspa at during the winter months. I'm going to give BBB a go this year and see if my pool headaches will subside.

 

[X-PertPool]

I use bleach and baking soda in my hot tub year round. It's not exposed to much sunlight but I find chlorine to be easier to maintain. You don't have to worry about bromine reserves and all that jazz. I did add some stabilizer to the tub as well to keep the bleach from being too strong.

 

[Dewdrops3]

I realize that I forgot to mention that we have an ozonator. Does that push me back to using Bromine as the sanitizer

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

No, not at all.