Brome Testing Kits

[Pamela-Aix]

Hi, Having read the post on Chlorine testing kits, I was wondering what I should be using to test my brome pool with?  Also, how often should I shock my pool?

Thanks

Pamela

[Poolguy]

Golly

I'm curious to know why you would use a Bromide system at all for a pool.

Your asking about shocking the pool, why would you need to if your sanitisation system is working properly.

 

Andrew

[Pamela-Aix]

Hi Andrew

Thanks for your reply. I didn't think there was anything unusual about using brome. However, our situation is that we bought our house with pool a year and half ago. It is inside an enclosed glass veranda and gets very hot in the summer. The person who had been looking after it told us the smell from the chlorine in summer was overwhelming. Also my husband does serious swimming and finds that chlorine pools can make his skin itchy. Anyway we looked at the alternatives and thought we would give brome a try. After a very bad start and many water samples to our local pool shop, we seemed to get a nice clear pool. However, we were told by the pool shop that we should use a brome regenerator every two weeks in summer and once a month in winter to regenerate spent brome. Perhaps this isn't a shock treatment. I am a novice trying to get to grips with this.

I was interested to know the best testing for a brome pool.

Thanks Pamela

[Poolguy]

Pamela

The problem with Briomine is that it cannot be stabilised as with

Chlorine, so therefore its very difficult to keep the levels correct,

and nearly impossible in an outdoor pool. As you have an indoor pool

then its doable but by no means foolproof The testing kit for Brimine

is the DPD3 tablet if your having trouble finding them then PM me and

I'll get some to you. But I am finding it hard to beleive that your

pool shop sold you a Bromine treatment without including a testing kit

- that is just mad.

You may know that Most commercial Bromine Treatements have up to 60 %

chlorine in them as well, but you may not know that Bromine is actually

worse for people with sensitive skin than straight Chlorine. If you

want to regenerate or refreash your Bromine levels then you could add

an ozonator but these are a little expensive, the result will be the

production of a Bromine Ion which stimulates the reactivation reaction.

By far better result to my mind is to increase the effeciency of your

filtration to 1 micron/3 hours full cycle and run a liquid chlorine

system at 0.5 ppm using and automatic doser and if necessary add a Bio

Antialgae. This combination woud produce no smell what so ever no

matter how hot it got and it would mean that you never had a green

pool.  I realise that you may be fed up with changing systems, but

the system you have is no better and perhaps a little worse that your

starting point from a pool maintenance and water quality point of view.

Incidentally, your husbands itchy skin was caused not by chlorine but

by pH being too high, and if there was an overpowing smell of chlorine

that is evidence of too much ammonia and therefore the production of

chloromines (oxidized chlorine), the solution to whcih is to add more

liquid chlorine.

If you need more help then PM me.

Andrew

[Pamela-Aix]

Hi Andrew

thanks very much for all these details. I have to try to take it all in now!  Am in London at the moment but will try to find the testing tablets when I return to France in July. If  I can't find them, I'll be in touch.

Thanks again for yoru help. Pamela