Chlorine shock a bromine pool

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C

Calais Marie

0
Feb 20, 2017
21
Montreal, Quebec
Pool Size
13000
Surface
Plaster
Chlorine
Liquid Chlorine
Hello TFP!
I'm a first time pool owner in Montreal, Qc, and don't really know where to start. I'm worried about getting in over my head.

My pool is in-doors, in-ground, gunnite,and about 50,000 litres (13,000 us gal). 300# sand filter, 1.5 hp pump, 1.5" plumbing, 25psi. Dryotron dehumidifier original 1998.

The previous owner switched to bromine years ago, will it be a big ordeal for me to switch back to chlorine? There's only a handful of bromine users (pools) in the area so none of the experts I've met locally really have any experience with them. Their usual responses begin with "oh...bromine...uhh"
I've had the pool since June 2016, and have been religiously dipping my little test strips in the pool and then running to the pool store to buy the next 30$ magic potion.
I finally came across your site and realized I could be doing things better.
Although the walls and floor have been stained green and gray since my day 1, I discovered actual algae patches (green slime) this past weekend. I've only recently realized I need to routinely shock the pool and did so on Monday with chlorine shock treatment. The water turned green instantly, then went cloudy and is finally clearing up after 48 hours.
Algae still clinging to the walls in patches, turned brownish.
Readings from strips are proving to be unreliable. Last readings from store spin tester are:
Total bromine 0.61 ppm (consistently low, going through 1lb per week of tablets-getting expensive)
Ph 7
TA 85 ppm
Ca 211 ppm
Fe 0.2 ppm
Phosphate 2004 ppb (has been this high consistently for at least 2 months, despite numerous treatments +200$)

Tried a sand cleaner on the weekend as well, not sure if it worked. Sand last changed in 2008.

Questions:
Do you advise to switch to chlorine?
With either sanitizer, is there a written guide out there somewhere I could start with? I seem to be treating symptoms without knowing what the causes are.
Did I damage anything by using the chlorine shock, and how do I fix it?
What is the preferred testing tool: kit/strip/store?
I much prefer preventative maintenance to disaster recovery.
Thank you for your help!


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Calais Marie said:
Hello TFP!
I'm a first time pool owner in Montreal, Qc, and don't really know where to start. I'm worried about getting in over my head.

My pool is in-doors, in-ground, gunnite,and about 50,000 litres (13,000 us gal). 300# sand filter, 1.5 hp pump, 1.5" plumbing, 25psi. Dryotron dehumidifier original 1998.

The previous owner switched to bromine years ago, will it be a big ordeal for me to switch back to chlorine? There's only a handful of bromine users (pools) in the area so none of the experts I've met locally really have any experience with them. Their usual responses begin with "oh...bromine...uhh"
I've had the pool since June 2016, and have been religiously dipping my little test strips in the pool and then running to the pool store to buy the next 30$ magic potion.
I finally came across your site and realized I could be doing things better.
Although the walls and floor have been stained green and gray since my day 1, I discovered actual algae patches (green slime) this past weekend. I've only recently realized I need to routinely shock the pool and did so on Monday with chlorine shock treatment. The water turned green instantly, then went cloudy and is finally clearing up after 48 hours.
Algae still clinging to the walls in patches, turned brownish.
Readings from strips are proving to be unreliable. Last readings from store spin tester are:
Total bromine 0.61 ppm (consistently low, going through 1lb per week of tablets-getting expensive)
Ph 7
TA 85 ppm
Ca 211 ppm
Fe 0.2 ppm
Phosphate 2004 ppb (has been this high consistently for at least 2 months, despite numerous treatments +200$)

Tried a sand cleaner on the weekend as well, not sure if it worked. Sand last changed in 2008.

Questions:
Do you advise to switch to chlorine?
With either sanitizer, is there a written guide out there somewhere I could start with? I seem to be treating symptoms without knowing what the causes are.
Did I damage anything by using the chlorine shock, and how do I fix it?
What is the preferred testing tool: kit/strip/store?
I much prefer preventative maintenance to disaster recovery.
Thank you for your help!


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Click to expand...
Hello and welcome to TFP!

While I am not too familiar with bromine, I do believe that once you have a bromine pool, you always have a bromine pool, and the only way to easily & reliably convert is to drain & refill.

Adding chlorine to a bromine pool only re-activates the bromine already in the pool. Eventually the bromine will get diluted out of the pool water, but that would most likely take a long span of time.

Hopefully one of our more knowledgeable members will be along shortly to add to or correct my statements. Take this welcome as a free bump ! :bump:
 
I found this thread:

Can I change from bromine to chlorine next year?

Dom is correct...........have to change 100% of the water. I would also change the sand. Most of the time sand NEVER needs to be changed but I believe this is the one time you should. You want all of the bromine GONE!

Oh here is another thread about it! I like this one:

Change bromine pool to chlorine?

Just in case there is a reason you cannot drain your pool.

Let us know what you want to do after doing some reading.

Kim:kim:
 
Calais Marie said:
Questions:
Do you advise to switch to chlorine?
With either sanitizer, is there a written guide out there somewhere I could start with? I seem to be treating symptoms without knowing what the causes are.
Did I damage anything by using the chlorine shock, and how do I fix it?
What is the preferred testing tool: kit/strip/store?
I much prefer preventative maintenance to disaster recovery.
Thank you for your help!


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Click to expand...

Seems like bromine is more the rage in Canada than here in the US. It's not a bad choice as a sanitizer for an indoor pool (never use it for an outdoor pool) but it does require a lot more attention to detail and it helps a lot if the indoor pool has a UV and/or ozone system. But, to your questions -

Switch to chlorine?

Yes, I certainly would. It's cheaper and easier in the long run. Only way to do it quickly and easily is to drain the pool. It will take forever to try to just dilute it away.

Guidelines?

Just stop what you're doing (chemical yo-yo treatments and chasing after symptoms) and slow down. Read through the TFP Pool School. Figure out if the TFPC Method of pool care is something you want to do. We are, primarily, a do-it-yourself pool forum so you have to be ready to accept that level of pool ownership responsibility before half-heartedly trying the methods we describe.

Shock?

No, you did not damage anything. All the chlorine did was reactivate the bromine. But it will all dissipate fairly quickly if you have an active algae bloom going.

Testing?

This is where being Canadian is a downer - there is only one company in ALL of Canada that is allowed to resell Taylor Technology brand test kits and chemicals. Because they have a monopolistic lock on that market, the standard kit we recommend (the Taylor K-2006) costs over 500 $US :shock: Here in the States, you can get the commercial grade K-2006C for about $150. If you are close to border, people will sometimes order these kits to be delivered to a US address and then pick it up and drive it back in (don't worry, the border patrol won't send you to Guantanamo Bay for bringing a test kit into Canada).

We always recommend you test your water yourself and that you get the most reliable kit on the market - either the Taylor K-2006C OR the TFTestKits.net TF-100. You'll just have to figure out how to get that into Canada. Pool store testing is useless as are strips. The fancy ColorQ digital testers are all NOT worth the markup in price and won't help you clear that pool of algae.

Give the site a good read and let us know if you think what we teach will work for you...

Good luck.
 
The green and gray stains are almost definitely copper from a gas heater heat exchanger.

Long term bromine tab use adds dimethylhydantion. It binds to bromine and makes it much less effective.

Your current water chemistry makeup will make successful management very difficult.

When you added chlorine, part of the color reaction was due to elemental bromine, which is yellow.

The other part could be from iron, copper or other metals.
 
Thanks, JamesW.
As far as I know, there's never been anything but electric heating for the pool. How do I get rid of the stains? Do I really need to?

- - - Updated - - -

When I drain the pool, I'll clean the stains. There seem to be a few chips/pits in the pool floor as well as some black and red stains. Should the pool be painted? Sandblasted? Recoated with cement? I've heard of acid washing as well...I'm not sure what would be necessary or simply esthetic.
 
What heater do you have?

Can you post some pictures of the stains?

Also, be aware that draining the pool can cause problems, such as floating the pool out of the ground. So, be careful.
 
Thank you James.
Here are a couple of pictures of the stains. There is an air heater in the ventilation system, but the water is actually heated by the Dryotron DS10 dehumidifier. I can't get any pictures of the inner workings of the unit.
I've spoken to a few people locally and I should be ok with the drainage of the pool. I'll likely hire the manufacturer to do it.



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Welcome to TFP Calais. It's always good to see indoor pool folks join the forum. My Mom's family is in Montreal. My Grandmother lived in Westmount and later in NDG. My aunt and uncle just downsized from Longueuil to a condo near the port.

My pool was bromine when I got the house last summer. I had it resurfaced, so the water was drained and I've been using the TFP method ever since. Not only is it truly trouble-free, but my monthly chemical expenses this winter have been under $15 per month! (and it's only been that high because the new plaster was raising the pH) I was shocked when I saw how much the previous owner was paying for bromine at the pool store.

It sounds like you have a lot going on, but I'll look forward to hearing more about your dehumidification and heating setup.
 
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