Bromine question - shocking & switching to tablets

[miketunes]

New hot tub owner here, still trying to figure out this process.  I have Leisure Time's Brominating Grandular - I find I need to add about a tsp/day to keep the bromine levels accurate.  I've only used the hot tub 3 times and have not shocked it.  I was reading different things - either only shock it only after it's been used for awhile and is dirty, shock it with the initial fill, or shock it 15 min before you get in each  time.  I would use the same Brominating Gradular to shock - 3 tsp instead of 1.  

I actually just emptied it and refilled it yesterday, I've only added the 1 tsp of bromine so far, should I add 3 more to shock it?  
If I need to add 1 tsp every day - would it be easier to switch to a floater/tablets?  I had read the grandular is better, but I'd rather not have to manually add it every day.  

[RDspaguy]

Been getting alot of this lately. This is copied from another thread I posted in. It is my recommended system to all of my customers and what I do in my own spa.

Fill spa. Test alkalinity.

Balance alkalinity to 80 to 120ppm , 100 being ideal.

After alkalinity is adjusted and stable, at least 24 hours, test ph.

Adjust ph 7.4 to 7.6.

You should not have a chlorine or bromine reading in your spa except right after you add chlorine. Which should only be dichlor. Do not add liquid chlorine or any type of tablet. You are not concerned with what that reading is for now. 3-5 ppm is health dept requirement for PUBLIC spa. Unless you have constant use by everyone in the neighborhood, YOU DO NOT NEED THIS, it is only causing problems.

Add 4 tsp of dichlor only AFTER ALK AND PH ARE BALANCED. 

Use it and enjoy. After each use add 1tsp plus 1/2 tsp per person in the spa of dichlor. Leave cover open for 30 minutes after to help prolong your cover life.

Once each week check alk and ph, balance as needed. Check free cl and total cl, and shock as needed with dichlor. If free cl and total cl are the same or zero, you do not need to shock.

You may add the nature 2 stick whenever you choose. I would leave it out for now to help eliminate it as a source for your discomfort.

Rinse filters monthly. Clean them throughly every 3 to 6 months. Drain and refill yearly.

Do not use other chemicals. Scents, mps, conditioner, ph stabilizer, foam remover, none! 

To avoid foaming, do not wash your suit in soap and fabric softener. Do not get oil, lotion, hair conditioner or makeup in the water.

Hard water, meaning high calcium, is not feasible to reduce. Keep your alkalinity where it belongs and your hard water will not be a problem. If alk is high, calcium will come out of solution causing a sandpaper feel and white staining in your tub.

A "clean cycle" just moves water through the filter and runs your ozone if you have it. It is meaningless to your spa maintenance. Filter cycles are what count. You want at least 2 hours twice per day minimum! Run a clean cycle after you add chemicals or before use if you like.

[miketunes]

So don't use any bromine or do any initial shocking, get rid of the Leisure time products and just use straight dichor instead?  Then just add it each time after we get out?   I think my filter runs all the time when the heat is on, which is pretty much always.  

[RDspaguy]

Thats what I do. Because dichlor is ph neutral you will not be fighting your balance every week. But it is still important to check it weekly, small problems get big fast in a hot-tub, and ph is the leading cause of hot-tub repairs.

[miketunes]

Just getting back to this, so dichor would switch this to a chlorine based hot tub instead of bromine based one?  I wanted to keep it bromine based, I think I just need to buy a floater and figure out when it's supposed to be shocked.

 

[RDspaguy]

Fair enough. Bromine has been the way to do it for a long time, all the way back when I used to ride a brontosaurus to the job.😉 I have switched to dichlor because it makes everything else so much easier for me. But that's me.

Bromine is recommended for spas because it maintains it's residual at high temperatures and is still an effective sanitizer as bromide.

I don't know how much research you have done, or want to do, so I won't link a bunch of articles. But if you want the chemists explanation of how it works, let me know and I will.

Otherwise, watch your ph obsessively (bromine ph4), start with sodium bromide and shock with dichlor to activate your bromine, then with dichlor or mps weekly. Put 1 or 2 tablets in your floater and open it a penny's width, and don't let it near your skimmer. A mineral purifier is a good choice, so you only need 1-3ppm bromine (manf says .5, but that little is gone before your butt gets wet). Spa frog makes a combo floater that works pretty good, if you like to overpay for bromine 

Anything else you would like to know, you know where we are...

 

[miketunes]

What mineral purifier would you recommend?  It looks like they are mostly sticks that wouldn't fit in my filter.  Here's my filter:

https://smile.amazon.com/Intex-PureSpa-Cartridges-Filters-29001E/dp/B00PUZW3N2

 

[RDspaguy]

Ahh, an inflatable, huh? Spa frog floater with overpriced bromine it is! Spa care products are not really designed for those type of spas. They are fairly new to the market and have not really been a focus of chemical manufacturers that I am aware of as of yet. They are gaining a market share so I imagine someone will turn their attention that way in the near future.

[dlleno]

bromine is easy peasy -- Ive never understood why it seems so complicated.  the only difference between a bromine spa and a chlorine spa (maintained with granular dichlor) is that you add bromide salts at startup.  you can certainly shock with dichlor at first -- thats always a good idea.  After that, add the bromide salts and voila you have a bromine spa.  every time you add dichlor you will generate bromine. 

[BeamMeUp]

I have a bromine salt generator. I have lots of liquid chlorine on hand that I use to shock my pool. Can I shock my hot tub with liquid chlorine or do I have to buy dichlor?  I don’t know if dichlor is pure, would have to believe it has some inert ingredients— I’m trying to avoid calcium as my water is hard enough and can be a prob with the salt generator. TIA

[RDspaguy]

Dichlor has cya, a chlorine stabilizer, not calcium. You should start your own thread so people know it is a new issue, not just a reply to an old thread that was already resolved. I almost didn't even bother to read it.