GLB Xchange

[johannafin]

I was nosying around the GLB pool and spa site, and saw a product called Xchange. It is to be used to convert from biguanide to chlorine. According to the site, you can continue to use the pool during the conversion. The basic instructions are:

1. Dilute in a water-filled pail. Use 32 oz. 15,000 gallons of pool water.
2. Place one 3" chlorine tablet per 15,000 gallons into floater or inline feeder.
3. Once tablet dissolves, replace with additional tablet(s).
4. Test biguanide sanitizer level every other day. Once the level is below 5 ppm, shock treat with OXY-BRITE then wait 24 hours and shock treat with chlorine.

Sounds painless, but does it work? Has anyone tried this? I am planning on opening my pool this weekend and doing a conversion from biguanide to chlorine. If this will make it easier I am all for it.

Johanna

 

[JasonLion]

Interesting. The MSDS says it is sodium bromide. I haven't heard of anyone trying it.

 

[johannafin]

I found a website, PoolGeeks.com that sells it. I may give them a call tomorrow. A 32ox bottle is $17.99 plus shipping. Considering the amounts of bleach some people report using for conversion, it may be worth it. I'll update what I find out tomorrow.

Johanna

 

[Guest]

ANY oxidizer will convert biguanide to chlorine, whether you are using plain chlorine, bromine, large doses of hydregen peroxide, mps, or sodium percarbonate. I don't know how effective bromine is. I do know that sodium percarbonate is very effective and so is plain chlorine.The only advantage I can see to their system is that by putting a chlorine tablet in the skimmer you are constantly reactivating the sodium bromide into bromine so the levels would probably stay more level and not drop as quickly so that might help the conversion proceed a bit faster.
My only concern is the amount of sodium bromide being added. It is quite a bit higher than would be used if you were setting up a bromine pool or spa and it would take a LOT of chlorine and time to burn off all the bromine and finally have a chlorine pool after.
If you are looking to convert as quickly as possible then sodium percarbonte, while pricey, is the way to go, IMHO.

 

[svenuti1]

Hi, just adding my 2 cents! I ran across this info, last year, about the uses of sodium bromide in chlorine or biguanide pools:
http://www.patentstorm.us/patents/55275 ... ption.html
or search for "Method for enhancement of polyguanide based sanitizing system"

I have a biguanide pool, and like many other people, the sanitizer worked well for several years and then a stubborn algae problem developed. I've heard that biguanide can become inactive over time (yet still register on the testing strips) which is why it's recommended that 1/3 or more of your water be replaced each year (to help remove/dilute the bad stuff) but that's wasteful and expensive. I'd have to dump out 10,000 gallons, or more, a year from my 30,000 gallon pool! When I researched the problem, I found the above link, and it described how a low concentration of sodium bromide (although not effective as a sanitizer by itself) acted synergistically with biguanide to rejuvenate it's sanitation. It can also be used to slowly convert a biguanide pool to chlorine without clogging your filter, but I wanted to stick with the biguanide system, if possible.
I found some 99% (dry) Sodium Bromide (Phoenix Algae Bomb, $18 per 2 lb container) at a local pool store and added about 1 lb to my pool. The lowest recommended concentration is 1 ppm (1.33 ounces per 10,000 gallons) which would be a 4 ounce dose for my 30,000 gallon in-ground pool but I quadrupled it because I had algae already well established. You could also use the Xchange product but it's probably the more expensive option because they're selling sodium bromide in a solution, not the dry weight of the Phoenix product.
It worked very well and I had crystal clear water and no more algae on the walls and floor in about 3 days, better than it had been in a long time. Adding more sodium bromide, every month or so, when the water starts to lose it's sparkle has kept the pool algae free and when I opened my pool for the season last week it was the easiest opening I've ever had.

- Hope this helps

 

[haze]

Very interesting article.

A slow conversion with continued pool use would be a good alternative for some people, as the swimming season has begun.

Now we just need a someone to try it.

Hmmm, which of my neighbors still uses Baquacil?