Bromine problems / Questions

[cody 2468]

I was told I can use bromine as a sanitizer without chlorine. I was using Bacquicil . That was gettting way to exspensive. So I converted to another non-chlorine system (In The Swim Products) The folks at In The Swim said Bromine can be used without chlorine. The problem I'm having now is the Bromine is turning to a yellow-ish gunk which has entered my pool. I don't get a bromine reading when I test my water. What am I doning wrong? My PH is 7.4. and my Alk. is at 90 ppm.

[askalan]

I was just surfing the web, when I cam across this question. It is hard to understand, why no one has answered the question before. You can't use chlorine, with biguanide, because it will decompose it, by oxidation. Bromine will do exactly the same thing and should not be used with biguanide. Whiach you are describing are the decompostion products, due to the addition of the bromine. If you are experiencing recurring mold issues or water quality problems, it is probably because a microorganism has become resistsnt to biguanide. The only pratical solution to to switch to another sanitizer, such as chlorine or bromine. It should be on a permanent basis, or the problem will return. You can miniumize chlorine or bromine usage, by adding an ozonator or a mineral sanitizer.