New owner of Hot Tub and new to Bromine

[djdicarlo]

Have a new Nordic Hot Tub and will be using Bromine as a sanitizer. This site has been amazing and have been happy that I found it. I have had no issues with my inground pool where I am using Chlorine, but am a little confused on the Bromine in terms of testing. I have been reading through the forum to find answer and I may have missed it so sorry if this is redundant.

Hot Tub - Nordic Spa (300 gal)
TF-100 Test Kit
Has Ozonator

When we had hot tub delivered, they gave me some FrogEase product which I used till it ran out but hated it as I couldn't really get good test results and didn't trust it was doing what it was supposed to. Have friends that use Bromine and like it and from what I've read, its is a bit more maintenance friendly in terms of not having to check and add chemical every day, so I am going to go with Bromine for now. I read through the forum and the intro post on using Bromine in the hot tub. I added sodium bromide and shock (12% liquid that I use in the pool) and then added a Bromine floater.

I am testing water with the TF-100 and doing the OTO test and the FAS/DPD test. Think I have the conversion down, fill tube to 10ml, add scoop of powder, each drop of R-0871 is .5 x 1.125 to calculate the Bromine (correct I think?)

My question is what to do when the bromine is low? With the Chlorine pool, I use the handy TFP app and it says add this much shock to the pool to get to desired level. What am I doing with the Bromine?

1. Do I need to add more Sodium Bromide?
2. Do I need to increase spread rate in the floater?
3. Do I need to add shock, is it just that the bromide bank needs recharge?
4. Something else?

Thanks for any help!!

Dave

 

[Texas Splash]

Hello Dave! I see you haven't received a reply in a few days, so I'm going to tag @Donldson on this one who should be able to give you more specifics on how to maintain the proper bromide levels in your hot tub. Stand by.

 

[MikeDelta62]

I started with the Frog system but that was quickly replaced with the three step Bromine process as described in this forum's sticky note.
Disclaimer: I have no experience with pools or Ozonators.

The short version of my drain/refill procedure is:
1. Bring tub up to shock level and complete Ahh-Some treatment
2. Remove power, drain, rinse, wipe down, and refill
3. Apply power and start all pumps/jets
4. Add bromine booster (sodium bromide). For my spa it's about 1.75 ounces. Follow directions on your product. You add this once only per refill.
5. Add 2.5 oz of 6% bleach. This takes the bromine level up to about 7ppm.
6. Get the TA and pH levels stable with TA of 50 and pH of 7.7. I start with TA then pH. My tub "settles" best with these values. I use baking soda and dry acid to accomplish this step.
7. I load three or four 1" Bromine tabs in Pentair 335-like dispenser. I set mine on 2.5 or 3 and lock it down. You'll need to experiment.

My replacement water calcium hardness is about 40. The next day I'll bring the calcium hardness up to 150. I've tried adding calcium chloride the same day and the water test results were not reliable. Optionally I'll add borates, Gentle Spa on the third day. Gentle Spa is not pH neutral.

I think of the floater as bromine level maintenance between uses and not recovery. I use bleach for recovery immediately after use.

Last note: As stated I have no experience maintaining a pool. Based on what I have read on this forum and elsewhere you may want to research having a bromine spa and chlorine pool. From pool to spa may be fine - the opposite may not be true. Introducing bromine into your pool may give you problems.