Looking foward to learning more about my pool

[Kpare]

Hello All,

I have a inground pool in Canada that is 38 x 18 that is bromine based(have a offline chemical injector) and have been a pool owner for 25 years, I found this forum when searching for an issue I was having an I found some of the info very intrigued, I have been getting tied of the chemical cost I have been paying over the years (cost of chemicals in Canada are ridiculous). The last couple of years I have been dealing with chlorine demand and based on the pool store’s recommendation have had to place 13kg of granular chlorine to get rid of it, bought their Burnout 3 the first time, this time to save some money bought it from Costco. Just finished it this Tuesday, pool is still cloudy today. Any idea what could be causing this chlorine demand and is what they have recommended the proper course of action? Looking forward to becoming more self sufficient when it comes to my pool. Thanks,,

 

[JessBlount617]

Hi @Kpare and welcome to TFP!

What sort of test kit are you using? We have some recommendations which can be found here:
Test Kits Compared

If you have cloudy water and you're seeing your Free Chlorine get eaten up we'd want to see a full run of chemical tests posted to help more accurately diagnose the issue!

Chances are you'll need to SLAM - I encourage you to become very familiar with this - read the article as many times as it takes (don't be embarrassed - I actually printed it out, laminated it, and kept a dry erase marker with me the first few times)
SLAM Process

Ask all the questions - don't be shy! We're a community built on helping one another have healthy, enjoyable pools, that make you friends and family jealous for years to come!

 

[TinFoilHat]

It sounds like you are a prime candidate for a SLAM per the directions in Pool School. You are likely seeing algae from a lack of chlorine in the past. Stay away from pool stores and pool services as they will lead you to spending tons of money on panaceas that won't work. Moving away from Bromine is a good idea and will allow you to properly and easily sanitize your pool with chlorine now. I also recall that you might need to drain the water to lessen the effect of the bromine you've been using.

 

[Newdude]

Hey Kpare and Welcome !!

With a Bromine pool you have a different animal to tame than our usual rodeo. @Mdragger88 or @Donldson may have thoughts.

 

[Mdragger88]

How are you adding bromine/bromide to the pool?
Tell us all the exact products you are using.
Pics of the packages’ ingredients are fine too.
Is this an indoor or outdoor pool?
If outdoor, is it covered?
Do you have an ozonator or uv system?
Please share your latest test results
Br
Ph
Ta
Ch

The short & sweet answer to your converting to chlorine question is you can’t.
You must exchange all the water to rid yourself of bromine & use chlorine as your sanitizer.
Once sodium bromide is in the water all the chlorine you add will simply become Total bromine up to the bromide reserve level you have.

Sodium Bromide - Further Reading

www.google.com

 

[Kpare]

Hello,
I have chlorine demand in my inground pool again, my local pool store want me to put 20.5kg of BioGuard Burnout 3 at a cost of $600 Canadian, can anyone suggest another course of action or a cheaper chemical to use to break this demand?

Thanks

Keith

 

[Eauclaire]

Can you not drain and refill? What does your pool water look like? It would be helpful to know what equipment you have, so please add this to your signature. Any idea why the chlorine demand is high? Are you using a stabilizer (cyanuric acid)?

 

[Mdragger88]

Lets not do that! Thats alot of chlorine.
What are your latest test results?
Fc
Cc
Ph
Ta
Ch
Cya
Salt (if applicable)

How are you currently testing?
How are you currently chlorinating? (Trichlor, liquid chlorine, swcg)
How does the pool look? (Visible algae,cloudy?)

 

[HermanTX]

Hello,
I have chlorine demand in my inground pool again, my local pool store want me to put 20.5kg of BioGuard Burnout 3 at a cost of $600 Canadian, can anyone suggest another course of action or a cheaper chemical to use to break this demand?

Thanks

Keith

BioGuard Burnout 3 shows to be 58% Cal-Hypo That adds calcium in addition to chlorine to your pool
Use of plain liquid chlorine would be better. It appears you have algae. Can you show a picture of your pool?
How do you chlorinate your pool now?
Have you tested your water yet? What are the test values.
We recommend following SLAM Process

 

[Kpare]

Thank-you for your quick replies, my pool is 29000 gallons with a liner, it is bromine based, being fed by an offline Hayward chemical feeder, the pool is cloudy now because I placed 14kg of hth max( got it from Costco, much cheaper) last Tuesday to try and break the demand, but before that it was clear with no visible algae growth. I cannot give some of those numbers request because I do not have a proper testing kit(I saw recommendations for two on this site, which I will buy one of them). I have been using testing strips and checking my bromine and ph levels. These are the numbers I was provided from the pool shop today.

Ph-7.8
Bromine-0.7
Calcium-363(assuming this is due to the 14kg of chlorine I used)
Alkalinity-163
CYA-5

I add 1.8kg of chlorine and 216 ml of liquid algacide every week.

This issue has just been this season and the last two, 23 years before not a problem with maintaining chemical balance. I am a rookie here, always depending on pool companies, looking to break the Cycle of dependency. In the last three years I have been sanding the wooden deck around my pool to get rid of the stain, normally do that when the winter safety cover is on, not sure if that is part of the problem??

Thanks in advance for any help and advice you can provide!!

Keith

 

[AUSpool]

Geday Kpare and welcome to TFP and the forums.

That seems a lot for a big bucket of cal hypo that you don’t really need. I would use liquid chlorine.

Chlorine demand is a bit like break point, doesn’t really apply. All pools have a chlorine demand depending on how much you need or use. I would use the Overnight Chlorine Loss Test but I’m not sure how this applies to a bromine pool.

I would refer to your historical data but I don’t have a lot of confidence in pool store testing or test strips. Particularly from a pool store that tried to sell you $600 of cal hypo when your calcium is already at ~360ppm.

That’s a lot of algacide. I’ve never used any in 15years.

 

[Mdragger88]

We’ll try to get your two threads merged.

Tell us all the exact products you are using.
Pics of the packages’ ingredients are fine too.
Is this an indoor or outdoor pool?
If outdoor, is it covered?
Do you have an ozonator or uv system?

 

[Kpare]

Hello,

Here are the products that I use. The cal-boost and Alk-boost are from when I first open the pool. It is an outdoor pool and during the pool season I use a clear solar blanket, in the off season I cover it with a mess safety cover. I do not have a ozonator or uv system.

Thanks

Keith

 

[Mdragger88]

@Kpare ,
Algaecide is only a preventative at best. It won’t help in this situation.
You can use that for winterizing if it is polyquat - which I believe it is although not sure of the concentration. We recommend polyquat 60%.

You have a vinyl pool so unless you have a heater you’re in a “no add” category for calcium.

If you wish to continue using bromine as your sanitizer,
To clear your pool you need to raise Total Bromine to shock level (20ppm Total Br)
using liquid chlorine as your oxidizer/activator (discontinue use of cal hypo)
& maintain that shock level as often as possible (multiple times per day)
until the pool is crystal clear,
you have no recurring algae (Dead or alive)
&
you have 1ppm or less Total Br loss overnight.
I would leave the cover off at night to allow for offgassing.
This is essentially the
SLAM Process but bromine style with 20ppm Total Br as your slam level.
You will at the very least need an fas/dpd test to accomplish this as the strips are easily bleached out by high sanitizer levels.
While you’re doing this you will need to scrub all the things as described in the slam article - cover, any ladders (inside & out) every nook and cranny.

lets tag a few smart guys @JamesW @Donldson @JoyfulNoise ….
to confirm what shock level should be as I have seen both 10ppm & 20ppm Total Br referenced in the past & to be sure we’re on the right path here & not missing anything.

Also, have a read of these

How do I use Bromine in my Spa or Hot Tub?

Originally Posted by waterbear There is a lot of misinformation on the proper way to use Bromine so I hope this primer is helpful. First, you need to establish a bromide reserve in the water. Bromine tablets can do it by themselves but it can take literally weeks until enough dissolves. Some...

www.troublefreepool.com

Sodium Bromide - Further Reading

www.google.com

And a more recent thread

How to Maintain a Bromine Pool

Can anyone give me the "skinny" on maintaining proper water chemistry with bromine? I am starting to help with an indoor condo pool that uses bromine and have never mainatined a bromine pool. What are the bromine levels I want to maintain? Do I do all the same tests that I would do on a...

www.troublefreepool.com

Notes*
This is a chlorine based forum so there’s not alot of folks around who sanitize pools with bromine as we really recommend using chlorine as the sanitizer, especially for outdoor pools. But we’ll do our best to help get you cleared up!

*As mentioned in your other thread, to switch to using chlorine as your sanitizer you must completely exchange all your water.

** if it has been quite some time since you have exchanged water you may need to do so before proceeding with slam due to DMH build up.

 

[Kpare]

@Mdragger88, thank-you for the feedback, can you recommend a liquid chlorine to use? You provided me with some points to think about, I only have 5 weeks left in the season and I will think about draining the pool and just let the fall and winter rain and snow fill it back up and switch to chlorine. I have never drained my pool completely before, is there anything I have to worry about in regards to the liner? Should I scrub the liner once it is empty?

 

[Mdragger88]

@Mdragger88, thank-you for the feedback, can you recommend a liquid chlorine to use? You provided me with some points to think about, I only have 5 weeks left in the season and I will think about draining the pool and just let the fall and winter rain and snow fill it back up and switch to chlorine. I have never drained my pool completely before, is there anything I have to worry about in regards to the liner? Should I scrub the liner once it is empty?

You want to use plain liquid chlorine- dedicated pool versions are a safe bet.
Looks like canadian tire sells a couple brands.
Use PoolMath to calculate amounts.
For simplicity purposes each 1ppm fc =2ppm br
You never want to drain a liner pool lower than 18 inches remaining in the shallow end or you risk the liner shifting.

The best solution is to do a no drain water exchange exchanging a little more than your total volume to ensure you have gotten rid of the bromine.

Draining - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com