Soon to be first time pool owner

[MoonrakerElite]

New to the forum as of today. Was told to introduce myself so here i am

I'm from a small town in northern Ontario, Canada. We just purchased a house with an outdoor, in ground pool in May and moving in mid July. Since then I've been researching pool care/maintenance like crazy and it's been fun! Although not nearly as intimidated as I was in May, obviously there is still some hesitation just because it's all brand new to me. The most unique thing that I've learned with my new pool is that it is bromine, and not chlorine - so that is the most intimidating thing right now. Stumbled across this forum today and I trust that it will help me in the future

I know that the pool is currently serviced by a local company, as the soon to be previous owners are a bit older and choose not to maintain it themselves. In the interest of my wallet, I ideally hope to reach a point where i am comfortable with opening, closing and everything in between.

 

[Peppercini808]

Welcome, I am also new here. I've been lurking here since last year but only made an account the other day. I am into my 3rd season with a pool and this website is responsible for everything that is going right I don't have the appropriate test kit yet but will be purchasing as soon as budget allows. Best of luck!

 

[TFP-Guy]

Welcome! I moved into a home with a Bromine pool this year as well. So take what I say below with a grain of salt as it's still relatively new for me too!

My pool is indoors, so I think Bromine works well in this case. I made the mistake of going to the Pool Store the first chance I got, and ended up leaving with $130 worth of Chlorine Shocks, Pucks, PH increasers/decreasers, etc. So I'm slowly using that stuff up, but applying the TFP's methodology in a sort of hybrid approach until I've used up all of the pool store stuff. Then I'll switch over to liquid chlorine, baking soda, and borax as needed. Those three chemicals are much cheaper to use to maintain your pool (Bromine as well).

I've done a bunch of reading and it looks like you can continue to maintain a Bromine pool using the Chlorine chemicals (bleach, pucks, etc) so I'm using those as it's cheaper than the Bromine discs and shocks.

You will need to decide if you are keeping your pool as a Bromine pool or switching it over to Chlorine. Bromine isn't best suited for outdoors as the sun's UV rays will quickly destroy the Bromine. Unlike Chlorine, there is no way to stabalize the Bromine against this. That is why most people use Chlorine as a sanitizer for outdoor pools. If you do decide to switch your pool to Chlorine, the only way to do that is to drain your pool completely and refill with fresh water (check your local water tables to make sure your pool is not below the water table). Once a pool has Bromine in it, it will always maintain the Bromine. Any Chlorine added to the pool after that, will get converted to Bromine.

The first thing I would suggest you buy is a good test kit. As everyone says, get the TF-100 or the Taylor K-2006. Se here: Test Kits Compared. If you are going with a Bromine pool, though, get the Taylor K-2106. There is no point in testing FC and CYA in a Bromine pool so the K-2106 Test kit is more appropriate for your needs there.

 

[livelox]

Welcome, I am also new here. I've been lurking here since last year but only made an account the other day. I am into my 3rd season with a pool and this website is responsible for everything that is going right I don't have the appropriate test kit yet but will be purchasing as soon as budget allows. Best of luck!

Welcome to TFP !
I believe you have read the ABCs of pool and had a deep look at the TFP ebook.
If you did , then get on the board with the kits asap.

Cheers mate

 

[MoonrakerElite]

Welcome! I moved into a home with a Bromine pool this year as well. So take what I say below with a grain of salt as it's still relatively new for me too!

My pool is indoors, so I think Bromine works well in this case. I made the mistake of going to the Pool Store the first chance I got, and ended up leaving with $130 worth of Chlorine Shocks, Pucks, PH increasers/decreasers, etc. So I'm slowly using that stuff up, but applying the TFP's methodology in a sort of hybrid approach until I've used up all of the pool store stuff. Then I'll switch over to liquid chlorine, baking soda, and borax as needed. Those three chemicals are much cheaper to use to maintain your pool (Bromine as well).

I've done a bunch of reading and it looks like you can continue to maintain a Bromine pool using the Chlorine chemicals (bleach, pucks, etc) so I'm using those as it's cheaper than the Bromine discs and shocks.

You will need to decide if you are keeping your pool as a Bromine pool or switching it over to Chlorine. Bromine isn't best suited for outdoors as the sun's UV rays will quickly destroy the Bromine. Unlike Chlorine, there is no way to stabalize the Bromine against this. That is why most people use Chlorine as a sanitizer for outdoor pools. If you do decide to switch your pool to Chlorine, the only way to do that is to drain your pool completely and refill with fresh water (check your local water tables to make sure your pool is not below the water table). Once a pool has Bromine in it, it will always maintain the Bromine. Any Chlorine added to the pool after that, will get converted to Bromine.

The first thing I would suggest you buy is a good test kit. As everyone says, get the TF-100 or the Taylor K-2006. Se here: Test Kits Compared. If you are going with a Bromine pool, though, get the Taylor K-2106. There is no point in testing FC and CYA in a Bromine pool so the K-2106 Test kit is more appropriate for your needs there.

Thanks so much for this. Everything you've said is consistent with what ive read about bromine pools, but i haven't decided yet on how i want to proceed. Per my original post i haven't moved into the house yet so i'm not sure what will be left there for me re: supplies. If you're saying though that i can still use chlorine, then that might be the route i choose. If i am understanding correctly, using chlorine products still makes it a bromine pool but because the sun will eat up the bromine faster due to the lack of a stabilizer i will be using more chlorine in the end (compared to switching to chlorine system via complete pool drain)

 

[TFP-Guy]

Thanks so much for this. Everything you've said is consistent with what ive read about bromine pools, but i haven't decided yet on how i want to proceed. Per my original post i haven't moved into the house yet so i'm not sure what will be left there for me re: supplies. If you're saying though that i can still use chlorine, then that might be the route i choose. If i am understanding correctly, using chlorine products still makes it a bromine pool but because the sun will eat up the bromine faster due to the lack of a stabilizer i will be using more chlorine in the end (compared to switching to chlorine system via complete pool drain)

Yep, I believe that's what will end up happening. When I went to the pool store, they said I had no Chlorine in my pool at all (they said it would be the same as Bromine), so I figured I would start fresh as a Chlorine pool. However, based on what I learned afterwards, there's still a high chance it is a Bromine pool. Unfortunately, there really isn't any way to test if it's one or the other (from what I know).

I would say to keep the pool as is, and start following the TFP recommended method of testing daily, adding liquid bleach, and doing an overnight FC evapouration test. With that info over a few weeks, it should point you in one direction or another. There must be a reason why the previous owner went with a Bromine pool, as it's pretty rare for an outdoor pool from what I see and hear.

 

[MoonrakerElite]

Yep, I believe that's what will end up happening. When I went to the pool store, they said I had no Chlorine in my pool at all (they said it would be the same as Bromine), so I figured I would start fresh as a Chlorine pool. However, based on what I learned afterwards, there's still a high chance it is a Bromine pool. Unfortunately, there really isn't any way to test if it's one or the other (from what I know).

I would say to keep the pool as is, and start following the TFP recommended method of testing daily, adding liquid bleach, and doing an overnight FC evapouration test. With that info over a few weeks, it should point you in one direction or another. There must be a reason why the previous owner went with a Bromine pool, as it's pretty rare for an outdoor pool from what I see and hear.

Yeah, i agree. Everyone that i've spoken to has been a little confused by it too. Apparently bromine is "easier on the skin" but not sure how much truth there is to that. I haven't spoken to any pool service people yet though so don't know what their opinion is. Once i move in i will probably call the company to see what info they can provide and most likely cross reference with TFP.

 

[TFP-Guy]

Yeah, i agree. Everyone that i've spoken to has been a little confused by it too. Apparently bromine is "easier on the skin" but not sure how much truth there is to that. I haven't spoken to any pool service people yet though so don't know what their opinion is. Once i move in i will probably call the company to see what info they can provide and most likely cross reference with TFP.

It is well documented that Bromine is easier on the skin. There are some people who get allergic reactions to Chlorine, but appear to be fine with Bromine. I suspect most pool service people will recommend you switch to Chlorine, for the simple fact that this is what they are used to working with. But definitely would be worth trying to track down the company who is currently servicing the pool to get some sort of history and reasoning. I think after hearing their recommendations and their costs, you'll be more than happy to do it yourself.