I just read How to use Bromine in a spa-2 questions

[Sjde]

Is it normal for the bromine level to go to a zero reading after one use so that you have to add a little MPS or Dichlor after every use?

I thought our bromine floater should bring the level back up and I don’t know how long it is supposed to take , but after 24 hours the bromine level was still reading zero . Maybe I don’t have the floater open wide enough or don’t have enough tabs in it? I did start with a bromine bank.

TIA!

 

[Sjde]

I just read How to use Bromine in a spa. It was concise and very easy to understand! But I have 2 questions-does shock by definition mean adding high levels of sanitizer and then waiting for it to come down? I have only been adding enough to get it in the 4-6 ppm range.

Might this be why my bromine levels seem to drop to 0 after use? The floater isn't doing its job it seems. So I'm having to add MPS or dichlor or both to get the bromine in the correct range after each use.

Thanks.

 

[splashpad]

@Sjde, it definitely seems the estimated bromine level is lower then the bather (user) load requires.

 

[Blacklisted]

I just read How to use Bromine in a spa. It was concise and very easy to understand! But I have 2 questions-does shock by definition mean adding high levels of sanitizer and then waiting for it to come down? I have only been adding enough to get it in the 4-6 ppm range.

Might this be why my bromine levels seem to drop to 0 after use? The floater isn't doing its job it seems. So I'm having to add MPS or dichlor or both to get the bromine in the correct range after each use.

Thanks.

I use 3 step bromine in my tub and once a week I "Shock" it and let it run with the cover off. I use 12.5 liquid chlorine and use 3oz. Also after you use the tub you should do the same thing to burn organics. There is a post of how much to use after you get out per bather per hour but not sure where it is. I normally go 1oz per person per hour of soak time. This seems to keep the water good for me and the level seems to keep around 1-2ppm when I test once a week before I shock.

This is from the How to use bromine thread.

You still need to superoxidize (shock), usually about once a week to destroy organics in the water whether you choose the 2-step or 3-step method.. I prefer plain, unscented laundry bleach (5.25%) for shocking a bromine spa. 1 cup per 250-300 gallons is about right. If you use Ultra bleach (6%) then you need about 3/4 cup. You can also use 12.5% pool chlorine at half the ultra bleach dose. They are all sodium hypochlorite, just in different strengths. If you do not want to use a liquid shock you can also use calcium hypochlorite granules (slow dissolving and will cause your calcium levels to rise), Lithium hypochlorite (very fast dissolving but very expensive, however my first choice for a granulated shock since it really has minimal impact on your water just like the liquid does), or MPS--potassium monopersulfate, also called non chlorine shock (will lower your pH and TA and add sulfates to your water). There is no advantage to using dichlor (stabilized chlorine) for shocking a bromine system but it probably wouldn't hurt. CYA (stabilizer) does not stabilize bromine.