Re: Bromine or clorine

[Brewman]

Dichlor- Easier and Cheaper.

[Vinny]

It actually is. Put in a known given amount to a known tub volume and it will give you x PPM. It's that easy, Shock once a week with 10 times that amount and it'll give you 10x PPM reading. Decide to use MPS instead of chlorine to shock ... still no problems.

AND at $30. 00 for 5 lbs, it is the cheapest sanitizer you can get. 1lb of dichlor = 72 teaspoons ... that's an awful lot of dosing and shocking!

The ONLY thing that bromine has over dichlor is that once you get the proper opening on the feeder then you only have to worry about bromine once a week ... but it seems most people go from bromine to dichlor so that probably isn't an advantage.

[luvmytub]

I've only had my tub since Feb, but our dealer started us out on the bromine.  When we changed our water last month, I switched to dichlor.  I am loving it.  It just seems to be easier to regulate for me, I think my skin is happier, and my water is beautiful.

[marks]

I use Dichlor and have had good luck.  But I have the same issue that Vinny has mentioned in other threads, leave the tub alone for 2-3 days and you have cloudy water.  I am thinking of switching to Bromine floater on my next water change because of this.  What are the disadvantages of Bromine?  What would do people use as a shock with Bromine?

[Vinny]

I haven't been on vacation yet or have left my tub for too long but try using a little dichlor every other day. For me this keeps my tub looking great.

My tub is actually in a state of chlorine lock as I write ... My dichlor stays for a long time ... I shocked Sun or Mon with 7 1/2 PPM, yesterday afternoon I still had 1.5 PPM of chlorine.

For me, I have the best of both worlds - I use dichlor and it lasts as long as bromine!  Maybe that's not a good thing ...

[Vinny]

I use a Taylor K2005 kit. It is what's called a DPD test kit.  You can also buy a OTO test kit that'll test pretty much the same, the Taylor will test for free chlorine seperately from total chlorine.

[orlandoguy]

I use bromine in a floater and fill the tablets twice a month.  I shock with mps and never have cloudy water.  If there is a disadvantage, I am unaware of it.

[Gomboman]

I use bromine in a floater and fill the tablets twice a month.  I shock with mps and never have cloudy water.  If there is a disadvantage, I am unaware of it.

I haven't tried Bromine yet but one of the disadvantages is that you're soaking in a chemical bath--so I've heard anyway.  

[LtDan]

I use bromine in a floater and fill the tablets twice a month.  I shock with mps and never have cloudy water.  If there is a disadvantage, I am unaware of it.

I'm with you. I go camping for a long weekend, on vacation for ten days, come back to perfect water.  I started out on chlorine, took more time than the bromine floater. If I'm soaking in a chemical bath, it sure feels nice.

[Brewman]

The problem I had with bromine was that I could never get the level regulated to my satisfaction.  Even using the sodium bromide starter packets on clean water, I'd go days with no bromine reading, then all of a sudden the reading would be off the scale, etc... Seems no matter what I set the floater to, it wasn't right.
Plus, bromine and MPS were dragging my Ph and alk levels down, and I had to add Ph and alk increasers a LOT more than I do now using just dichlor.  
I just toss in a couple teaspoons of dichlor when we get out of the spa- just as easy to me as when I had to babysit the bromine floater.  

Shock once a week or so with a mega dose of dichlor.
How much easier can it get?

I've gone from bauqa spa to bromine to dichlor.  Dichlor wins for me hands down.
YMMV

For bromine, you can use dichlor to shock, or MPS.
For whoever asked that question above.

[orlandoguy]

"If I'm soaking in a chemical bath, it sure feels nice. "



Classic!  My chemical bath is in a similar tub to yours LtDan.  Might be a Jacuzzi thing?

I was told a while ago that bromine is better suited for hot water and also hate measuring out granules all the time so I ain't switchin.

[Brewman]

I wouldn't have switched either if I'd been able to get the stuff to work.  Then again, I'd probably still be on Baqua Spa if I could have figured out how to make IT work.

[MarKee]

Both will work fine, I prefer bromine

[anne]

Seems that I hear that bromine is supposed to cause less skin irritation, but when I wet tested tubs with bromine, or sat in friends' tubs with bromine, I was itchy for days. I started with chlorine, have never tried anything else, but dont think I will, either. Super easy.

[Brewman]

 You can use dichlor in such a way that when you use the spa there is no or extremely little chlorine in the water.

We usually use our spa at night, so just after we get out I toss in my dichlor, it does it's job and is pretty depleted by the next use, so we don't ever really soak in the stuff.  Bromine is always there.  Other than that slight bromine odor on our skin when we got out, the smell didn't really bother us.