bromine build up

[Delph]

Hello,

i noticed that the couple times I haven't used my hot tub for a week or more, the bromine levels build up and go from 3ish to 7-8...and that's without shocking or doing anything. I use bromine tablet and a dispenser. it is then hard to bring the levels down, and I usually end up removing the dispenser completely for a while. Is that normal? I always read that you need to shock at least once a week even when not using the tub, but wouldn't that bring the levels up to the roof? Am i missing something? PH was a bit high and TA a bit low, so I adjusted that.

[MPurcell]

The dispenser usually has some sort of adjustment for the amount of bromine released. The ideal is to set it so that the bromine reading remains the same from day to day when the tub is not in use. If yours won't adjust down that far, then you may have to take it out for a bit from time to time.

"Shock every week" is pool store speak for "buy my expensive products." Actually, if your tub is properly maintained, you should not have to shock at all, or at least not often. When I was using bromine, I think I shocked it twice in a 6 month period between drain and refill. Your floater should replace the daily bromine demand of the tub, and then when you use the tub, you should add enough oxidizer to exactly compensate for bather waste. If you follow those requirements, and never let the bromine level go below 2ppm, then you should never have cloudy water or any other problems.

For reference, you could read the sticky thread at the top of this forum about bromine use. Incidentally, the best oxidizer for a bromine tub is regular household bleach, not to mention also being the most economical.

[Delph]

thanks! I can adjust my dispenser, and it is set at 3, which was working fine as long as we were using the tub....i tried changing the setting to a lower number but it didn't affect the bromine level and I ended up removing it for a while

thanks for the advice