Tub procedure given to me - Bromine - opinions?

[GCS]

Seller of my new tub is encouraging bromine usage vs chlorine.

She gave me this procedure.

1.Flush with system flush if desired and drain, clean with non abrasive cleaner and soft rag. I usually used just plain white vinegar to clean and a cotton rag.
2. Fill and test your water to know the ph and levels of your water prior to adding any chemicals. This helps because you may have hard, soft, high ph water.
3. Add bromine in floater to water
4. Shock with non chlorinated shock oxidizer leave cover off for 4 hours after shock.
5. Add 1 entire bottle of spa sentry
6. Adjust calcium hardness
7. Add stain and scale control it's 4 capfuls for 400 gallons.
8. Next day rinse your filter really good to remove any compounds.
9. Check water levels and adjust ph if needed( you should not need to do this because spa sentry does this and protects from ph bounce.
10. Adjust calcium hardness if needed.

What do you experts think?

 

[cranbiz]

Bromine/Chlorine. Either method is effective. I can't use Bromine due to my wife's Bromine allergy.

Use Ah-Some first to purge the bio gunk. Adjust hardness and then go with your choice of sanitizer. Use the TFP methods to sanitize.

How do I use Bromine in my spa (or pool)?

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

or

How do I use Chlorine in my Spa (or pool)?

If you have a question about any information within this Sticky, please start a new thread for yourself where you will receive very quick responses to your specific questions. Thank you! Introduction There are two main things to consider when maintaining your hot tub water, Water Balance and...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[D.sebens]

From what it seems on here the only complaints with bromine are the smell and they “astronomical” price.
I use chlorine in my pool and bromine in my hot tub. I couldn’t understand their apprehension to it until I read a post that explained what they mean about the cost. Bromine can not be uv stabilized so in a open pool it burns out very fast and would need huge amounts of oxidizer during the day to keep up.
In a covered hot tub this isn’t really a concern though.
It does smell a little bit more but it’s mostly ph intolerant and easier

 

[GCS]

From what it seems on here the only complaints with bromine are the smell and they “astronomical” price.
I use chlorine in my pool and bromine in my hot tub. I couldn’t understand their apprehension to it until I read a post that explained what they mean about the cost. Bromine can not be uv stabilized so in a open pool it burns out very fast and would need huge amounts of oxidizer during the day to keep up.
In a covered hot tub this isn’t really a concern though.
It does smell a little bit more but it’s mostly ph intolerant and easier

well my tub won't be seeing the sun much at all as it will be on a screened porch

I guess more I am just a little confused on the additives (and yes I read through both TFP several times).

Can I ask what products you use for you tub and your process?

 

[D.sebens]

well my tub won't be seeing the sun much at all as it will be on a screened porch

I guess more I am just a little confused on the additives (and yes I read through both TFP several times).

Can I ask what products you use for you tub and your process?

I use sodium bromide as the starter to build up a bromine bank. I also use the 1 inch bromine tabs in a floater. They are mostly chlorine but bonded to sodium bromide. People will say they are a waste of money and they ph is low and you can crash your ph if left on monitored, and they are right.
The problem is that my wife won’t care for the tub the way I would so when she and the kids use the tub without me they at least have some replenishing sanitizer.
When I use it or am around I will test after use and dose around the 1-2 tbs of bleach to activate the bromine.
I’m case you don’t know once a bromine body of water, always a bromine body of water. Unless you perform 100% replacement. MPS, ozone(ozone is a sales gimmick, dont rely on it), and bleach will oxidize sodium bromide into bromine.

I use MA to lower TA and PH. The aeration of the jets will drive ph up QUICK. So when setting up the water for the first fill I will work TA down to 50-60. It’s the same as a pool, add acid to decrease ph to 7 then aerate to bring back up. You can do it in around an hour depending on how high your ta is.

CH isn’t that important in a fiberglass tub. You just want it above 150ish to try and cut down on bubbles when running the jets.

I have iron issues, I just chose to shock the tub and filter out the iron while balancing the water. You have to constantly clean the iron ring that appears on the tub. Once its done it’s gone though. You can sequester but you will have to continue to do that over the life of the water. This step is only necessary if you have metals present in your water.

I have two sets of filters, a hot tub can turn over the water very fast and when setting up you can really fill the filters fast so it’s nice to just switch out on the fly.

 

[GCS]

I use sodium bromide as the starter to build up a bromine bank. I also use the 1 inch bromine tabs in a floater. They are mostly chlorine but bonded to sodium bromide. People will say they are a waste of money and they ph is low and you can crash your ph if left on monitored, and they are right.
The problem is that my wife won’t care for the tub the way I would so when she and the kids use the tub without me they at least have some replenishing sanitizer.
When I use it or am around I will test after use and dose around the 1-2 tbs of bleach to activate the bromine.
I’m case you don’t know once a bromine body of water, always a bromine body of water. Unless you perform 100% replacement. MPS, ozone(ozone is a sales gimmick, dont rely on it), and bleach will oxidize sodium bromide into bromine.

I use MA to lower TA and PH. The aeration of the jets will drive ph up QUICK. So when setting up the water for the first fill I will work TA down to 50-60. It’s the same as a pool, add acid to decrease ph to 7 then aerate to bring back up. You can do it in around an hour depending on how high your ta is.

CH isn’t that important in a fiberglass tub. You just want it above 150ish to try and cut down on bubbles when running the jets.

I have iron issues, I just chose to shock the tub and filter out the iron while balancing the water. You have to constantly clean the iron ring that appears on the tub. Once its done it’s gone though. You can sequester but you will have to continue to do that over the life of the water. This step is only necessary if you have metals present in your water.

I have two sets of filters, a hot tub can turn over the water very fast and when setting up you can really fill the filters fast so it’s nice to just switch out on the fly.

Well since this is used purchase the tub will be drained for the move so I choose to move from bro to chlo now is the time.

Guess I need to decide in the next day or so in order to have a test kit and chemicals on hand for the weekend once we bring the tub home on Sat.

Appreciate the info.

Thanks.

 

[Newdude]

The best part about the hot tub is that you’re draining every 6 months or so either way. If whatever you chose was tricky, you can start over next time. Maybe you like the change, maybe you go back to the lesser of 2 evils, but having the easy option to switch is nice.

 

[D.sebens]

The switch isn’t too bad with a hot tub. It’s just like 300-400 gallons. You just need to suck out the water also.
Also I would recommend an ahh-some purge also like cranbiz noted. It will require filling the tub and then draining after but like I said that’s not really that much water. It will get any residual biofilms out and will help start out with a nice fresh tub.

The thing about bromine is that it is effective at sanitizing up and into the 8.0 ph range whereas chlorine starts falling off. They say the broamines are effective sanitizers also (the equivalent of CC). Most people are happy with bromine in their spa that I know of. It seems most people complaining about sensitizing to chemicals end up being other stuff like MPS.

 

[D.sebens]

Another thing. With this being a new acquisition I would fill it and do an ahh-some purge like noted but leave it with water overnight. Set the temp, bleed air from everything and leave the side panels off. Check for leaks. It’sa sad moment when you get it all balanced and looking great and then see a leak coming out from it. Last time I borrowed enough water tanks to hold the water so I didn’t have to waste my hard work lol

 

[GCS]

Another thing. With this being a new acquisition I would fill it and do an ahh-some purge like noted but leave it with water overnight. Set the temp, bleed air from everything and leave the side panels off. Check for leaks. It’sa sad moment when you get it all balanced and looking great and then see a leak coming out from it. Last time I borrowed enough water tanks to hold the water so I didn’t have to waste my hard work lol

yep first thing I was going to do after placing and wiring it up was fill and ahhsome the heck out of it.

Good idea on leaving it full overnight with panels off to leak check it. It has been checked over for this at the location already but anything can happen in transport (praying nothing does of course). After overnight check then start balancing levels etc?

Its coming with a bunch of chemicals and a new filter which I will install instead of using the one that is in there.

 

[GCS]

Another thing. With this being a new acquisition I would fill it and do an ahh-some purge like noted but leave it with water overnight. Set the temp, bleed air from everything and leave the side panels off. Check for leaks. It’sa sad moment when you get it all balanced and looking great and then see a leak coming out from it. Last time I borrowed enough water tanks to hold the water so I didn’t have to waste my hard work lol

Proper test kit for bromine tub?

Amazon.com : Taylor K-2106 FAS-DPD Bromine Complete Test Kit : Swimming Pool Liquid Test Kits : Patio, Lawn & Garden

 

[D.sebens]

Don’t forget you have to drain the tub after purging. I would recommend purging until the foam is done and then let it sit over night with the purge water in it. When doing this it is recommended to turn the tub off to keep it from stirring up more ahhsome and making a sticky mess. But I would want to leave it on. It’s possible to leak when cold but not when warm. Also possible the other way around.

So as a revision to my start up recommendation would be to fill with water then let sit over night and see. The next day run an ahhsome purge. If no leaks drain and fill then start balancing. Ahhsome is safe for plants and grass so you can drain it there.

Now moving on from that, there’s a competing forum that I won’t mention. Both this forum and that forum are very knowledgeable. On the other is some updated posts from the user waterbear about chemical care of pools and spas on how to start up. He seems as knowledgeable as joyful noise and I would trust either.
There’s another post from a user named nitro over there about spa decontamination that basically stated to chlorinate to 50 ppm while running a purge. Do not drain this water on your yard due to high chlorine.
If you search for nitro and decontamination you will find it.

The only reason I’m recommending another forum is his post is very thorough and easy to follow.

 

[D.sebens]

Proper test kit for bromine tub?

Amazon.com : Taylor K-2106 FAS-DPD Bromine Complete Test Kit : Swimming Pool Liquid Test Kits : Patio, Lawn & Garden

Yep but ifyou already have the 2006 kit or the tf kit all you need is the bromine R-0872 c reagent. The fasdpd powder is the same.

 

[GCS]

Yep but ifyou already have the 2006 kit or the tf kit all you need is the bromine R-0872 c reagent. The fasdpd powder is the same.

don't have any kit our old pool kit is long gone at this point so will just get new and this should have me covered.

Not sure I want to read anymore as my brain is already swirling around enough, lol. I am sure I will get it just don't want to screw it up and have a fight on my hands like I did when we got our first ahem pool (can you call those things inflatable things pools)

 

[D.sebens]

Yes and if you get a pool again or want to switch to chlorine you will just need R-0871 and R-0003 to do chlorine.

 

[GCS]

Modifying my steps a little

Setup tub, wire it, wipe it down good fill it and check for leaks etc over 24 hours. Give it the ol' ahhsome experience next

1. After ahhsome drain, wipe it down again, fill and raise to temp
2. Test water to for ph, TA, Calcium levels prior to adding any chemicals.
3. Add one bottle of Spa Marvel
4. Add bromine tablets in floater to water - 2 I think??
5. Shock with non chlorinated shock oxidizer leave cover off for 4 hours after shock. - Spaguard Shock Oxidizer (non-chlorinated shock or so it says)
6. Add one bottle of Spa Marvel
7. Adjust calcium hardness accordingly
8. Add stain and scale control it's 4 capfuls for 400 gallons.
9. Next day rinse your filter really good to remove any compounds.
10. Check water levels and adjust ph if needed, adjust calcium hardness if needed.

 

[D.sebens]

Modifying my steps a little

Setup tub, wire it, wipe it down good fill it and check for leaks etc over 24 hours. Give it the ol' ahhsome experience next

1. After ahhsome drain, wipe it down again, fill and raise to temp
2. Test water to for ph, TA, Calcium levels prior to adding any chemicals.
3. Add one bottle of Spa Marvel
4. Add bromine tablets in floater to water - 2 I think??
5. Shock with non chlorinated shock oxidizer leave cover off for 4 hours after shock. - Spaguard Shock Oxidizer (non-chlorinated shock or so it says)
6. Add one bottle of Spa Marvel
7. Adjust calcium hardness accordingly
8. Add stain and scale control it's 4 capfuls for 400 gallons.
9. Next day rinse your filter really good to remove any compounds.
10. Check water levels and adjust ph if needed, adjust calcium hardness if needed.

Personally I wouldn’t mess with spa marvel. A lot of people are happy with it but there’s only three approved sanitizers: chlorine, bromine, and baquacil. I highly discourage baqua as you WILL end up with floating mold eventually. and Hot tub foliculitus can be bad and will take a while to eradicate. I would stick with traditional sanitizers. You also need to purchase sodium bromide to build your bromide bank. That is poured in during initial balancing. Without that it would take a while for you to have a bromine tub.

If you are using a floater get a 1 inch adjustable height one. Fill it full of tabs and start work a 3 or 4 and re test water the next day.

You should plan on shocking once a week to over 10ppm bromine. A pool is cool and has a large reserve of fast sanitizers. A spa is hot and the volume of water is much smaller. It’s very easy to deplete the sanitizers, especially if you have kids in there. You should always try to test after soaking in case you need to boost the sanitizers up. That’s why it’s advised to shock, weekly, plus this will burn off any combined broamines.

 

[D.sebens]

Also, I wouldn’t use mps(non chlorine shock/oxidizer). It’s a known sensitizer, chlorine will activate the bromine the exact same way. Both are almost instantly consumed by activating the bromine. Theres really no need for MPS.

 

[GCS]

Also, I wouldn’t use mps(non chlorine shock/oxidizer). It’s a known sensitizer, chlorine will activate the bromine the exact same way. Both are almost instantly consumed by activating the bromine. Theres really no need for MPS.

ok so use the regular spaguard enhanced shock instead Amazon.com : SpaGuard Enhanced Shock (2 lb) : Garden & Outdoor

And yeah no way am I using baquacil have heard lots of bad stories about it for sure

 

[D.sebens]

Spaguard is just dichlor. You can just use household bleach or pool chlorine for much cheaper