hudler Posted August 10, 2011 Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 First my disclaimer, I have not bought a Taylor test kit yet. I am going to get one next week in the US. I am currently testing with two types of test strips and one drop based kit that tests PH and BR. Tub is new it is a Jacuzzi 470 with ozone and fill volume of 415 gal or 1571 l. Four days in and the bromine is low every morning and Ph is high. When filling I added liquid bromine to create a bank. I am still adjusting the floater and starting to get the setting closer. I have shocked the tub every day and it brings the tub up to around three on the bromine scale. Usually when I check the next day bromine is gone and I shock again. I am using Spalife chlorine free oxidizer. It contains potassium mono persulphate. I use three tablespoons to shock and it goes from Close to 0 to 3. Today I had a reading of 1 in the tub when I started so I am getting closer with the floater setting. I have also had to lower Ph every day I add 60g of spalife Ph minus which is alot, but it takes my readings from 8.2 to 7.8 I have read that airation increases Ph and my tub has plenty of that, air in the jets, ozone, waterfall, etc. Not sure how to deal with this problem. Hardness is around 250. Alkalnity started at 110- 120 and now is 70-80. Last night the tub had a strong Sanitizer smell, but not as badtoday. I am really most concerned about the Ph level always high and when I add Ph minus it also lowers ta. I was going to wait a week to shock the spa hard and bring br levels above 10 since I will then have the floater adjusted better, maybe that is the wrong thinking(I didn't want the tub smelling like Chemical Alli had just visited.) Any advice on how to handle the high Ph problem would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbear Posted August 10, 2011 Report Share Posted August 10, 2011 I am currently testing with two types of test strips and one drop based kit that tests PH and BR. Test strips are not reliable for balancing water and do not have the necessary precision to do so. Period! Tub is new it is a Jacuzzi 470 with ozone and fill volume of 415 gal or 1571 l. Four days in and the bromine is low every morning and Ph is high. When filling I added liquid bromine to create a bank. Did you shock the tub after adding the sodium bromide? If not why not? I am still adjusting the floater and starting to get the setting closer. I have shocked the tub every day and it brings the tub up to around three on the bromine scale. That is not shocking, that is two step bromine and is just as much work as chlorine. Usually when I check the next day bromine is gone and I shock again. I am using Spalife chlorine free oxidizer. It contains potassium mono persulphate. I use three tablespoons to shock and it goes from Close to 0 to 3. Today I had a reading of 1 in the tub when I started so I am getting closer with the floater setting. Once again, you are not shocking. Shocking is bringing the bromine up above 10 ppm. I have also had to lower Ph every day I add 60g of spalife Ph minus which is alot, but it takes my readings from 8.2 to 7.8 I have read that airation increases Ph and my tub has plenty of that, air in the jets, ozone, waterfall, etc. Not sure how to deal with this problem. Lower the TA. Hardness is around 250. Alkalnity started at 110- 120 and now is 70-80. IF you are using strips these readings are not reliable. Last night the tub had a strong Sanitizer smell, but not as badtoday. IF you have a strong chemical smell that is probably bromamines that formed from low sanitizer levels and incomplete oxidation of organics. Shock the spa. I would suggest chlorine bleach over MPS for shocking. I am really most concerned about the Ph level always high and when I add Ph minus it also lowers ta. I was going to wait a week to shock the spa hard and bring br levels above 10 since I will then have the floater adjusted better, maybe that is the wrong thinking(I didn't want the tub smelling like Chemical Alli had just visited.) Any advice on how to handle the high Ph problem would be appreciated. Lower TA to reduce the speed of pH rise. As low as 50 ppm is not uncommon in some tubs. Have you read the post on how to do three step bromine? If not read it and follow it. It works if you do. It doesn't if you don't or just try bits and pieces of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark SC Posted August 11, 2011 Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 Also, you said you used "liquid bromine" to establish your bromide bank. Did you mean liquid sodium bromide? As waterbear's post says, "Make sure that you get sodium bromide in either powder or liquid form that is sold to start the bromide reserve or 'bromide bank' and not a one step bromine product that is a mixture of mostly dichlor and a little blt of sodium bromide. READ THE LABEL! It should only contain sodium bromide (and water if in liquid form)." If you did use sodium bromide, check the concentration of the liquid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hudler Posted August 11, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 11, 2011 Also, you said you used "liquid bromine" to establish your bromide bank. Did you mean liquid sodium bromide? As waterbear's post says, "Make sure that you get sodium bromide in either powder or liquid form that is sold to start the bromide reserve or 'bromide bank' and not a one step bromine product that is a mixture of mostly dichlor and a little blt of sodium bromide. READ THE LABEL! It should only contain sodium bromide (and water if in liquid form)." If you did use sodium bromide, check the concentration of the liquid. HI Mark, thanks for the heads up, I did read the label and got 35% sodium bromide. I noticed the other stuff with dichlor and a small amount of sodium bromide so at least I did that right...I shocked the spa last night and will check it later today. Thanks for all the advice, I really appreciate it, I think when I first added the shock and got the water to register that the sanitizer was in range I was happy to keep it there and got away from the 3 step bromine plan alittle bit, lesson learned. I hope to get a good test kit while in the US next week, that will also help out alot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoolSpaNewb Posted August 14, 2011 Report Share Posted August 14, 2011 Dont mean to hijack but my question also relates to the OP's issue. It is mentioned that one is to use granular or liquid bromine to create a reserve. Could a product like the link below be used to do that? It says thats what its for but we all know how midleading advertizing can be. h**p://www.poolgeek.com/HTH-Spa-Brom-Start-P3887.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Even Further Posted August 14, 2011 Report Share Posted August 14, 2011 What I do is balance the water first, then move on to sanitizer after its PH stable. Are you doing both at the same time? Where your at with the tub currently, I would drain and refill. Really all I've done is followed instructions on this site. I'm new to this too. Also I bought: Granular Sodium Bromine (Spa Choice) (For Bromine bank) Color Q Pro 7 water test kit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbear Posted August 14, 2011 Report Share Posted August 14, 2011 Dont mean to hijack but my question also relates to the OP's issue. It is mentioned that one is to use granular or liquid bromine to create a reserve. Could a product like the link below be used to do that? It says thats what its for but we all know how midleading advertizing can be. h**p://www.poolgeek.com/HTH-Spa-Brom-Start-P3887.aspx This is exactly the right stuff! (There are other brands also but this one is just fine.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PoolSpaNewb Posted August 15, 2011 Report Share Posted August 15, 2011 Dont mean to hijack but my question also relates to the OP's issue. It is mentioned that one is to use granular or liquid bromine to create a reserve. Could a product like the link below be used to do that? It says thats what its for but we all know how midleading advertizing can be. h**p://www.poolgeek.com/HTH-Spa-Brom-Start-P3887.aspx This is exactly the right stuff! (There are other brands also but this one is just fine.) Awesome. Thanks Waterbear. The only reason Im going with this stuff is because I believe that same site has really good prices on winter and solar covers. They also have free shipping which is nice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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