First, I'm surprised no one picked up on the cost of the ozonator, and the payback time. Curious.
Chem Geek.
The pool may have had some bromine in it. No way for me to tell.
My first year I did a terrible job of testing, using only an AquaChem kit that tested chlorine and pH. I also was using testing strips, which you all know are not reliable. Last year, when reporting here I did a better job. This year, I've not done much testing, which is just plain lazy and unscientific.
I buy chlorine bleach from Aldi's. I think they're gallon jugs, but they could be 96 oz. I'll check next time I'm there, don't have any in reserve right now.
The pool is open to the air 24 hours a day from opening to closing. We put the pool cover on in late September to keep out the "Fall", and to hold in some ground heat in the winter, since we don't drain the pool, and I don't keep the pump running. Most NC people keep the pump running during winter to prevent freezing. I drain the pump and filter and lower the water level, but Fall and Winter rains just fill it back up.
So, in answer to the direct sunlight question, yes it does get a few hours of direct Sun light. The Trees shade it for another few hours in the morning and evening. The tall pines are starting to shade the south end as the Sun is lowering -- approaching the Autumnal Equinox.
My practices have been rather sporadic, other than running the AquaBot every two or three days to keep the pool swept -- debris build up, including sand and dirt from rain wash.
Right now, I have turned off the Ozonator, and fully opened the by-pass valve so essentially no water is sucking air through the venturi port. I am going to see if the floatron will be able to successfully build the copper level up to .3 ppm. I want to maintain this setup until close this year.
I believe there had been some plating of the copper onto the stainless steel latter, but perhaps not because I was able to wipe it off. There may be some staining at the joints of the fiberglass panels, but I have not good way of knowing. I may find out when I close and drop the pool level way down this year so that I can recaulk all the joints -- fiberglass to cement, fiberglass to fiberglass. It is my understanding that staining really doesn't become an issue until the copper has a much higher concentration. When I have dropped the water level, I will try using some CLR and "clean" what may be copper stains.
The last two years, I replaced a lot of the water in the pool, so sodium, calcium, CYA, and ?bromine? levels would have fallen a lot.
If the OTO chlorine test tests for bromine, then I can be sure I have none, since it does register the chlorine when i add it, but I have let it fall to zero on many occasions. I know, this is not advisable.
The current experiment is this:
I super chlorinated with 8 bottles of bleach to be sure I've killed all resident algae in the pool, and in the joints where it is hard to brush.
I am running without the ozonator, and working on building up copper ion levels.
I put in 1 trichloro-s-... tablet to provide some CYA and maintain a very small residual chlorine until the copper level builds up.
We have had a slight metallic aftertaste in the water, and a dusty smell. I'm thinking it is the metal oxides doing this.
I want to see if the algae stays under control.
I want to see if the water looses its "sweetness"
I want to see if the aftertaste changes -- you can't help but get some water in your mouth after all.
I have some calcium hypochlorite (chloride?) that I will use if I need to add some chlorine in the evenings.
I did measure the pH recently after a few days with the tablet in, and used the POOL Calculator to determine how much baking soda to add to raise the pH back up -- it had fallen to 6.8. It is currently running about 7.4 to 7.6, depending on color interpretation and the pH test used (AquaChem vs. Red Sea aquarium test kits).
Is this enough?
So, as mentioned many times before. Ozone can help, but it depends on when it is added, where it is added, and how long it can be in contact with the water. Even so, it is definitely not a cost effective measure when compared to other systems. It also is not a standalone system for swimming pools. It is a very effective sanitizer for drinking water, which is why is it used in the bottled water industry, but that is a whole different circumstance.
The most cost effective system, to date, is BBB with CYA and maybe some muratic (sp?) acid.
But, the boron in the borax is also a toxic element that can sterilize soil, and cause aquatic issues down stream.
Plus it is toxic to insect life -- good to help keep mosquito populations down, bad for bees that drink from the pool, bad for dragon flies that eat mosquitos.
The borax works to help stablize the pH against the sodium bicarb pull. I don't think there is anything else that would work as well.
Copper + Silver + Zinc ionizers work best in indoor pools. These are also controlled toxins to downstream aquatic life. So, if you want to use it, you should dump the water into the lawn/landscaping, not down a storm sewer.
Many grasses can handle higher sodium "salt" levels. But a lot of flowers -- roses -- don't so well. Draining a BBB pool into your landscaping could spell disaster over time. Boron is supposed to be an essential nutrient to help sugar metablism in the plants, but enough kills many plants. In fact, I have found that borax + the right RoundUp will kill Yucca plants, which are otherwise impossible to be rid of.
So, if you use Bleach and Baking Soda + some CYA, you can dump the water down the storm sewer without too much issues, and keep your pool in great shape. SWG also work well.
As far as Ozone is concerned. You get it because you don't mind spending the extra money for the extra oxygenation in the water and some additional anti-microbial action at the mix point, however implemented. It is NOT a sound economic decision. it is not very compatible with mineral ions, and only helps to reduce some chlorine or bromine requirement.
All sanitization methods ultimately require some amount of chlorine, even if only once per week. That is what I have found in reading, and in practice.