Bromine Help

[Zarembad]

Hello

New to the forum, and to hot tub ownership.  We bought a new hot tub, and have followed the recommended water maintenance to a TEE outlined by our dealer.  We are using bromine, and currently have a floater full of tabs.  We are using test strips, and have gotten all levels perfect except the bromine.  The bromine is consistently low.  Opening the floater seems to do nothing.  I figured we had not built a bromine bank when we started, so I continued to shock it until the bromine level went up to 15-20 and held for a day.  Once the bromine went under 10, (2) kids used the tub for 30 min.  The bromine instantly dropped to 0-1 again?  What am i doing wrong.  I have read all the posts i can find, and nothing seems to help.

Thank you in advance for your help

[dlleno]

this is a pretty late reply but hopefully it may help someone.  whenever my notice my hot tub consuming sanitizer faster than normal ( I also have a bromine spa) I have found that this means there is an organic contaminant present.  you will see the term "biofilms" tossed about here and there, in this context, ,but  the bottom line is that something is eating your sanitizer -- this could be a stray spider or it could be a self-supporting colony of biofilms thay are living in your spa, attached to plumbing walls most likely.  Every single time I have had troubles maintaining sanitizer lever, I have cured the problem with a good "purge".  please search the forums here for my other posts and even links to my own blog where I comment extensively on this issue and test several purge products. One point that a great many dealers and some spa owners are simply allergic to, is the fact that a brand new spa can and very often DOES come shipped with contaminants already present.  I learned this the hard way -- brand new Hot Spring Grandee came with biofilms already growing.  Thus, for all new and especially previously-owned hot tubs it is imperative to perform a good "purge".  I had to purge mine more than once before things got better, but in the process I sure learned alot about biofilms...

 

on edit:  the above is based on the assumption that your bromine test is accurate and that following the instructions to a TEE means you set up the bromine correctly.    There is another possibility here other than biofilms or something actually consuming your bromine -- your test may not be accurate.  I am not a fan of the test strips as they can be misleading.  most of the recommendations here, and one which I follow as well, is to get a reliable DPD based drop test such as the likes of Taylor. there is no substitute for accurate measurements, especially if there are confounding factors (for example, pH), and use of a non-chlorine shock like MPS.  Another implication of your post is that the bromine bank is not sufficient.  Personally I am not a fan of bromine pucks ( I use straight sodium bromide to establish the bank, and then use dichlor granules to oxidize), but it could be that if you are shocking with MPS  and you are using test strips, AND you don't have sufficient bromide bank (sodium bromide) that your sanitizer level is in fact not correct.  I apologize for the ramble here, but there is just not enough information for me to make an accurate diagnosis.  my recommendation is to obtain a Taylor 2106 test kit, so that you have an accurate test to begin with.  As for the probability that your bromine bank is no sufficient, the solution to that problem is not to "shock".