are pioneering a non-chlorine sanitizer in Costa Blanca.

You can study the Bromine vs Chlorine for comparison of the two systems.

If you have a "problem" pool (with heavy bather load), a community facility or would just prefer not to swim in chlorinated water, the Bromine System could be the answer.

For Pool Professionals: Bromine is a far more efficient sanitizer than Chlorine, slightly more complicated in use and slightly more expensive. However, your labour is the most expensive element in any pool plan. Once you become familiarised with the use of Bromine you would most certainly find that the frequency between visits can be reduced dramatically and those time consuming problem-solving visits eliminated completely.

If you need help or advice regarding the use of Bromine in Costa Blanca please contact CB-Swim. clean@costa-blanca-clean.com

The Bromine Annual Schedule

PLEASE NOTE -

All dosages given are for 45,000 - 60,000 litre pools. For other sizes, consult the product instructions or contact CB-Swim.
Under normal circumstances the dosage of CB-BromoBase and CB-Algaecide should never be increased. Both products remain resident in the water.

EARLY SPRING (Feb to March). TWO VISITS.

FIRST VISIT -

Restore the Bromine Bank: Add 1 litre of CB-BromoBase into the return jet stream. (or, if you are starting the pool with bromine or it has been drained -)
Establish the Bromine Bank with 2 litres.
NB: For several weeks after adding the product the Chlorine demand may be high, this is quite normal.

Restore the level of Algaecide: Add 1 litre of CB-Algaecide.

Adjust the Total Alkalinity (Explained below).

Adjust the Free Bromine Level (Explained below).

Add Flocculent (Explained below).

SECOND VISIT -

Shock the Pool (Explained below)

REGULAR VISITS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

The frequency of these visits obviously varies but should not be less than every 20 days from November to April, every week during the Summer or whilst the pool is in use.

1. Adjust the Free Bromine Level (Explained below).

2. Adjust the pH and or Total Alkalinity (Explained below).

5. Add Flocculent (Explained below).

6. Observe the Water Quality (In case you need to shock, explained below).

That is really all you need to do! More details of the different tasks are provided below.

1. Understanding Bromine Chemistry -

The Bromine Bank is always present in the pool water but remains "redundant" until you "initiate" or oxidise it. This can be done with any Chlorine Product or CB-OxoShock.
Sufficient oxidiser needs to be added to produce 2 - 5 ppm (which can be varied, as with Chlorine, according to season and bather load).
The Free Bromide is measured with an OTO test kit. Some brands of OTO Kits have a calibration for Bromine as well as Chlorine, if not the scale is 2.2 to 1 (i.e. Showing 1 of Chlorine indicates 2.2 of Bromine, 2 = 4.4 etc.).

Chlorine reacts with bather waste to form Chloramines. Bromine is the same but Bromamines are formed.
Chloramines are smelly, cause irritation and are poor sanitizers, so we have to regularly shock Chlorine Systems.
Bromamines have little smell, do not irritate and are excellent sanitizers. Consequently there is no need to shock regularly. Unfortunately, unlike Chloramines (Combined Chlorine), there is no easy way to detect Bromamines (Combined Bromine) but this is not important.
The best way is to add flocculants regularly and carefully observe the water quality and, as soon as it looses its sparkle, it is time to shock.

The shocking procedure is the same as with Chlorine Systems in that Breakpoint has to be achieved and this is 10 times the amount of Combine Bromine (The same as Chlorine). When a chlorine pool is shocked the chloramines are broken apart and the chlorine disperses into the air as a gas. When a bromine pool is shocked the bromine rejoins the Bromine Bank for reuse.

To shock with CB-ClorShock add 5 litres in the evening. To shock with CB-OxoShock add 600 grs (50,00 litre pool) or 720 grs (60,000 litre pool) at any time.

2. Adjust the Free Bromine Level -

The procedure is exactly the same as with chorine systems but just remember that, if you use a chlorine product to oxidise the bromine, the free chlorine is converted to free bromine.

You should already have established the optimum level for free bromine. This should be between 2 and 5 ppm, depending on bather load and/or the time or the year.
Unless you have a photographic memory, you should keep records to refer back to.

FIRST test the water
- THEN add sufficient product to restore the required free bromine level.

If you are familiar with chlorine "lento and tablets" procedure (CB-ClorBase and CB-ClorTabs) then you will already understand. For pool professionals or those who require the least frequency between maintenance tasks, we recommend this procedure -

If the level is stable - add the same number of tablets as the last time.

If the level is falling - add sufficient quantity of CB-ClorBase, CB-QuickBase, CB-ClorShock or CB-OxoShock to restore the level and one more CB-ClorTab than the last time.

If the level is rising - just add one less CB-ClorTab than the last time.

If the level has been continually rising over two visits or more and in danger of going too high - add just 1/2 tablet (or none at all and wait for the level to drop). This could easily happen at the end of summer or when bathing has stopped (for example) when you are lowering the level.

ALTERNATIVELY - any chlorine product or CB-OxoShock can be used without the tablets but obviously the time between checks will be shorter.

3. Adding Flocculent -

Under normal circumstances it is good practice to add just a little flocculent into the skimmer every time the pool is serviced. The flocculent lies on top of the sand in the filter and draws together the microscopic particles (which would otherwise pass through the sand). It is important that only a little is used, and the correct amount is a small hand-full. Any more than this could result in a layer being formed on top of the sand which would prevent proper filtration.

4. Correcting the Total Alkalinity, Adjusting the pH -

This applies to both chlorine and bromine systems. With chlorine the pH is critical and should be kept within the range 7.2 to 7.6. Bromine works well between 7.0 and 8.0. There are two other considerations: Comfort for bathers and the health of the pool. With these in mind we have to consider the Calcium Hardness, the Total Alkalinity and the pH -

Calcium Hardness - Can generally be disregarded as Costa Blanca water (both natural and tap) is ideal - that is as long as the pool is not filled or continually topped up via a water conditioner (which removes all calcium).

Total Alkalinity - Should be regularly adjusted to 120 ppm as this provides a stable pH and is neither corrosive nor scale forming (and protects the pool and purification plant).

The pH - Tears are actually pH 7.2 but around 7.5 is ideal for bathers and for chlorine systems.

The pH and Total Alkalinity go "hand in glove" and it is always best to get the TA right first, with secondary consideration to what is happening to the pH.
To test the TA you need a DPD test-kit and the ones supplied by Taylor Technologies are the best as they provide a simple chart explaining how much chemical is required but what Taylor don't tell you -

To lower the TA - The only simple way is with the quantity (specified by the Taylor chart) of pH-MinusLiquid. This should be poured carefully into the deep end of the pool, in a single column and with the motor off. The motor can be run after 10 - 15 minutes.
For a minimum of 2 days the pool should be left to settle then the Ph checked and, if necessary, adjusted to the range 7.2 to 7.6 with pH-Plus (Soda Ash), pH-MinusLiquid or pH-MinusDryAcid as appropriate.

To raise the TA - it is first necessary to decide if the pool has a tendency towards a high or low pH and -

Use pH-Plus (Soda Ash) if it tends to be LOW.

or pH-Plus (Bicarb) if it tends to be HIGH.

Once again use the quantity specified by the Taylor chart and add the product slowly into the return-jet stream.
For a minimum of 2 days the pool should be left to settle then the Ph checked and, if necessary, adjusted to the range 7.2 to 7.6 with pH-Plus (Soda Ash), pH-MinusLiquid or pH-MinusDryAcid as appropriate.

PLEASE NOTE (If you are not familiar with TA): After balancing the TA the pH is very stable and less than the normal amount of pH+ or pH- product is required. If the pH is fairly good then leave it alone otherwise just add small quantities because you can't take the product out again if you overdose.

5. Shocking -

Whereas it is absolutely vital to shock a chlorine pool on a regular basis it is not so important with bromine. This is because bromamines, unlike chloramines, are excellent sanitizers.
We do recommend that a bromine pool is shocked before the start of the Summer season and, although we have thoroughly field-tested the bromine system, we have never needed to shock as the water has always remained crystal clear.

Shocking is inconvenient for bathers as the pool cannot be used until the sanitizer level has dropped but this is very easy with chlorine systems.
With CB-ClorShock (the chlorine level drops after 4-5 hours of strong sunlight) and with CB-OxoShock (swimming can continue after 20 minutes).
However there could be a problem with shocking a bromine pool because there could be residual CB-ClorShock or CB-OxoShock after the Bromamines had been oxidised and this residual would produce a surplus of free bromine that could take days to disappear.

Consequently, if the problem is simply a little cloudiness, it is always better to resolve it by other means than shocking e.g. add a large handful of CB-DryFloc into the skimmer or 1/2 litre of CB-LiquidFloc into the return jet-stream, run the filter for 24 hours and then backwash thoroughly.
Only, if after repeating this procedure 2 or three times without improvement, should shocking be considered during the period that the pool is in use.
Obviously, if there is a free period of a week or so when there will be no bathing, then it would be well worth while to shock - especially if there is normally a heavy bather load.

are always interested in our products users comments and, of course, we are anxious to assist in the case of problems or queries.
More than anything we are interested in user's experience with our Bromine product and if these instructions are easily understood.
In either case please feel free to contact us by email.