Bromine tests in hot tub are…orange?

[LukeG]

I’ve not added bromine to my hot tub in several weeks. The brominator is empty. But for several weeks now, my bromine tests come back looking like this: a deep yellow or even orange.

I left the hot tub open for a day and the levels did not come down. I added about 20 buckets of pure water, and the levels did not come down.

I tested for FC today and it was about 9.5, which makes no sense to me since the last time I added chlorine is when I added a cup to activate the bromine—probably 7 or 8 weeks ago.

Help!

 

[Mdragger88]

If you are referring to the Taylor comparator in the top pic as fc - it doesn’t differentiate between free & combined - it only reads total chlorine (free chlorine + cc) or total bromine - if you have a bromine tub then the reading is total bromine of +10 as any chlorine is converted into bromine when added.
Have you added anything else to the tub like MPS or dichlor that could activate the bromide bank?

 

[Mdragger88]

Note * if you are using fas dpd fc test w/ regeant r0871 just multiply results by 2.25 to get the bromine result.

using a taylor k-2006 for bromine

Can someone please walk me through using my chlorine reagents to test for bromine? I have R-0870, r-0871, and R-0003. Thank you in advance!

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[LukeG]

If you are referring to the Taylor comparator in the top pic as fc - it doesn’t differentiate between free & combined - it only reads total chlorine (free chlorine + cc) or total bromine - if you have a bromine tub then the reading is total bromine of +10 as any chlorine is converted into bromine when added.
Have you added anything else to the tub like MPS or dichlor that could activate the bromide bank?

No. I’m not referring to that at the FC. I used another test kit for that. The two pics here were to test for bromine. (I thought maybe something was wrong with the first one, so I tried a different one.)

I’ve not added either of those chemicals to the hot tub.

 

[Mdragger88]

No. I’m not referring to that at the FC. I used another test kit for that. The two pics here were to test for bromine. (I thought maybe something was wrong with the first one, so I tried a different one.)

I’ve not added either of those chemicals to the hot tub.

What kit do u have? Once bromine is in the tub all chlorine added gets converted to bromine- there is no fc.

 

[Mdragger88]

It sounds like your initial bank was too high.
If you wish to lower the total bromine level you should replace some of the water. To lower by 1/2 you would replace 1/2 the water.

If you wish to switch to chlorine & start over you will need to replace all the water.
Here’s some guides about both methods of sanitation

How do I use Bromine in my Spa or Hot Tub?

Originally Posted by waterbear There is a lot of misinformation on the proper way to use Bromine so I hope this primer is helpful. First, you need to establish a bromide reserve in the water. Bromine tablets can do it by themselves but it can take literally weeks until enough dissolves. Some...

www.troublefreepool.com

How do I use Chlorine in my Spa or Hot Tub?

If you have a question about any information within this Sticky, please start a new thread for yourself where you will receive very quick responses to your specific questions. Thank you! Introduction There are two main things to consider when maintaining your hot tub water, Water Balance and...

www.troublefreepool.com

Most here including myself use the chlorine method (dichlor then bleach)

Here’s some info on proper test kits to maintain your spa
Test Kits Compared

Filling out your signature helps everyone help u quickly & give you specific advice

Create Your Signature - Further Reading

www.google.com

 

[LukeG]

What kit do u have? Once bromine is in the tub all chlorine added gets converted to bromine- there is no fc.

To test for bromine, I have two kits (both shown). The first is a Taylor 3-Way OTO Test Kit. The other is Koikido Pool & Spa 3-Way Test Kit.

I’m aware chlorine is converted to bromine, but I read around in this forum and saw some chit chat about how these colors on these test kits indicate FC. I thought, “Ok, what the heck. I’ll test for that.” So I used the TF-100 kit to test for FC. That’s how I got the 9.5 number on that.

 

[LukeG]

It sounds like your initial bank was too high.
If you wish to lower the total bromine level you should replace some of the water. To lower by 1/2 you would replace 1/2 the water.

If you wish to switch to chlorine & start over you will need to replace all the water.
Here’s some guides about both methods of sanitation

How do I use Bromine in my Spa or Hot Tub?

Originally Posted by waterbear There is a lot of misinformation on the proper way to use Bromine so I hope this primer is helpful. First, you need to establish a bromide reserve in the water. Bromine tablets can do it by themselves but it can take literally weeks until enough dissolves. Some...

www.troublefreepool.com

How do I use Chlorine in my Spa or Hot Tub?

If you have a question about any information within this Sticky, please start a new thread for yourself where you will receive very quick responses to your specific questions. Thank you! Introduction There are two main things to consider when maintaining your hot tub water, Water Balance and...

www.troublefreepool.com

Most here including myself use the chlorine method (dichlor then bleach)

Here’s some info on proper test kits to maintain your spa
Test Kits Compared

Filling out your signature helps everyone help u quickly & give you specific advice

Create Your Signature - Further Reading

www.google.com

What do you mean by my initial “bank” being too high? I want to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

 

[Donldson]

Welcome to TFP!

The OTO and FAS-DPD tests both measure chlorine or bromine. Since you have a bromine tub, then using a 0.5 ml edit: 10 ml (typo) sample means that each drop equals 1.125 ppm Br.

So if it took 19 drops then your Br level is 21.4 ppm.

 

[Mdragger88]

What do you mean by my initial “bank” being too high? I want to make sure this doesn’t happen again.

You used to much bromine initially or what was in your dispenser dissolved too quickly making the level too high.