Bromine At 48.6Ppm!

[flyoffacliff]

I was having trouble getting the bromine to dissolve from the floater, but when I heat the tub, it disappears and the levels sky rocket! Now, my water is cloudy, and when I get out, my skin is dry, itchy, and smells like chemicals. The bromine reading from the pool store was 48.6PPM!! They want me to drain and refill. Now I have to keep taking the floater out. Is there someway to calculate how fast the bromine should be dissolving. Keeping it between 2 and 4PPM is a joke, it's hard enough to keep it between 0.2 and 40PPM.

I also just got my new electronic pH meter calibrated. The other day, it said 6.5 before my soak, and 7.3 after. I think it went up because of aeration with the low alkalinity (30 to 70). Now my meter says 7.7, but it said 8.6 at the pool store, I think because of the high bromine.

EDIT: The lady at the pool store also said with chlorine, you don't need the floater, you can just toss some in after using the hot tub. But can't you do this with bromine? Should I?

 

[JVTrain]

Check out the How do I use Bromine in my spa (or pool)?) thread. Once you have been using bromine tablets for a time, you have a residual bromide bank in your spa at all times. You could easily switch over to only sanitizing by adding bleach. Adding bleach (hypochlorite) converts the residual bromide in your spa into bromine. The rule is: Once a bromine spa, always a bromine spa. Even if you add chlorine, it's quickly consumed converting bromide to bromine. If you were to drain and refill, either follow the Bromine sticky thread or you could convert to chlorine at that time, using the Chlorine sticky thread. How do I use Chlorine in my Spa (or pool)?)

As for the pH... I've never had good luck with electronic meters. The pH test available with the K-1000 test kit from Taylor (or any other 3-way test kit) is more than enough and produces much more consistent results, especially when considering calibration maintenance that's needed for electronic meters.

 

[flyoffacliff]

Check out the How do I use Bromine in my spa (or pool)?) thread. Once you have been using bromine tablets for a time, you have a residual bromide bank in your spa at all times. You could easily switch over to only sanitizing by adding bleach. Adding bleach (hypochlorite) converts the residual bromide in your spa into bromine. The rule is: Once a bromine spa, always a bromine spa. Even if you add chlorine, it's quickly consumed converting bromide to bromine. If you were to drain and refill, either follow the Bromine sticky thread or you could convert to chlorine at that time, using the Chlorine sticky thread. How do I use Chlorine in my Spa (or pool)?)

As for the pH... I've never had good luck with electronic meters. The pH test available with the K-1000 test kit from Taylor (or any other 3-way test kit) is more than enough and produces much more consistent results, especially when considering calibration maintenance that's needed for electronic meters.

Thank you! I did the drain and fill, back on track now. But I don't understand the 2 and 3 step process for bromine. I only use tabs in a floater, and non-clorine shock, which looks like the 3 step process, but with 2 steps.