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Liquid chlorine is weak and cumbersome, but seems to be the safest solution as it seems to just add salt. Also raises PH as it has a value of 13.

Dichloroisocyanuric Acid and Trichlorisocyanuric Acid have Cyanuric acid, which with continued use will be too high and require a water exchange. These are also acidic and lower ph.

Calcium Hypochlorite will eventually add too much calcium, which can cause scaling and also require either a Reverse Osmosis filter or an exchange of water. This has a high ph.

I don't know much about Bromine, but I think it is only used in indoor pools.

Is there any way to use the powder form stuff without oversaturating the water with calcium or cya?

Vigrond
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    I think unfortunately you're looking for a solution to a problem that has been investigated for years. IF there was a solution that was either economical or without risk, it would be commercially available. Short of going to analytical grade anhydrous sodium hypochlorite(bleach),or pure gaseous chlorine, nothing comes to comes mind. – BrownRedHawk Apr 08 '16 at 00:01
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    It's clear you're thinking about this a lot, but you're asking specific questions without asking the general question that would explain the context of your specific one. What's your goal? Save time? Save money? Make your pool greener? Abolish chlorine? Make it more healthy? etc. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Apr 08 '16 at 01:22
  • Please read the post: http://blog.poolcenter.com/article.aspx?articleid=6211 as to why salt water generators are NOT good. Ozone and UV wioll recycle the chlorine and bromine from "bromine" or calcium hypochlorite pools. Salt water pools cause corrosive problems and require much more maintenance than ozone or UV. – Ben Welborn Apr 09 '16 at 22:38

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You don't say much about the type of pool (in-ground,above ground, lined, concrete, etc) or the environment (is freezing an issue) but our in-ground vinyl lined pool in the southern United States uses a salt water chlorinator and the water has not been replaced (aside form evaporative losses) in the 5 years since the pool was installed. It doesn't get much safer (just add salt) or easier. We get the water tested at the pool supply store and have to add a bit of this or that from time to time, but overall it is hassle-free.

Jim S.
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  • The saltwater pools are old and forgotten for good reason. For salt chlorinators to work properly they must be regularly cleaned. If they are too big, the chlorinators run at too high a level, the sodium hypochlorite (bleach-chlorine) will become too high, they must only maintain a low level of chlorine. At best they are adequate, but still require water replacement because salt build up! Salty water has corrosive effects on pool decks and equipment. – Ben Welborn Apr 09 '16 at 22:24
  • UV and Ozonators are the best way to recycle and reduce chorine loss. – Ben Welborn Apr 09 '16 at 22:31
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Its not clear if your goal is to avoid strong chemical pool treatments (for their obvious problems) or avoid the cost (monetary or ecological) of doing treated water replacement, but there is one approach that you haven't considered that might suit your needs. It's called Salt Water Chlorination, it uses a catalyst to turn salt water into chlorine very very slowly, to alleviate having to keep chlorine on hand. It does trade up-front cost (the systems are not cheap) for less chemical maintenance and less risk of contaminating the whole pool with a specific chemical that is hard to remove.

Here is an article explaining several aspects: http://blog.poolcenter.com/article.aspx?articleid=6211

Jeff Meden
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  • I guess you didn't bother reading your own link: http://blog.poolcenter.com/article.aspx?articleid=6211 (which reiterates all the reasons that salt water generators are a thing of the past) or the other persons post which is the same as this one. – Ben Welborn Apr 09 '16 at 22:33
  • @BenWelborn sorry but you're blatantly pushing an agenda and that's not really the point of any SE site. The link I posted had several good AND bad aspects of salt water chlorination, to properly inform the reader, and no pool care method is perfect. – Jeff Meden Apr 09 '16 at 23:08
  • @JeffMenden Ozone and UV are compatable with calcium hypochlorite or bromine pools. Salt water pools are yellowish and corrosive. It's old tech being replaced by Ozone and UV. Sorry, but I have a degree in chemistry and a chemistry oriented job; I have also been employed as a pool builder, mainenance guy, and life guard. I was on a swim team for 7 years as a child, and I have always had a pool. I know about pool chemistry! The "stongest" pool treatment is salt water, which is being turned into sodium hypochlorite (same thing as household bleach). It is the most problematic pool treatment. – Ben Welborn Apr 11 '16 at 12:25
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Too much cyanuric acid (stabilizer) will keep chlorine from being available to sanitize, so you'll need to monitor its level and switch from dichlor/trichlor if the level gets too high.

Using calcium hypochlorite to raise chlorine level will increase calcium levels. You want to keep calcium hardness high enough that the water doesn't leach minerals from the pool hardware, and low enough to keep from getting scale deposits.

You can reduce the likelihood of scale forming by lowering the pH and therefore the Langelier saturation index.

You can remove high levels calcium hardness (where calcium is precipitating and causing cloudiness) using calcium carbonate and a flocculent, then vacuuming (to waste).

But yes, eventually you'll need to replace a portion of your water. Or if you're as lucky as I am, your pool will spring a leak, doing half of the work for you.

Robin Daugherty
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Not sure what you mean by liquid chlorine, but Sodium Hypocholrite (household bleach) will make the pool water yellow and your bathing suit white.

My only comment about Dichloroisocyanuric Acid and Trichlorisocyanuric Acid is that these are by far the most dangerous pool chemicals... mixing them with other pool chemicals is the most common recipe for disaster.

"Bromine" is actually the common name for 1-bromo-3-chloro-5,5-dimethylhydantoin (or something very similar); which is a mixture of bromine and chlorine bound to hydantoin (again, or something very similar); it does get used outside, but I never liked how the first symptom of needing more "bromine" is bacterial slime. You must stay on top of the maintenance for bromine pools, which is more complicated than using calcium hypochlorite.

"Bromine" is primarily used inside is because calcium hypochlorite (inside) can cause issues like bleached walls and hypochlorite has greater possibility of generating toxic chlorine gas in a house (accidents happen), and bromine is not as stable (actually, it's the chlorine that is released more easily) as calcium hypochlorite, leading most people to opt for calcium hypochlorite outside.

Ultraviolet and or ozone systems are very helpful to maintain "bromine" pools... actually, I would say that they are almost necessary (pardon my opinon). As for maintaining "bromine" pools, I think it would be best for you to read up about it (elsewhere) if you are interested... but besides wanting to clarify a few pool chem basics, my ulterior motive was to mention the UV and ozone systems which are also useful for extending the life of calcium hypochlorite, which helps avoid calcium deposits, due to over-use of chlorine, due chlorine losses.

Now, have you considered ultraviolet and/or ozone systems to reduce your chlorine loss?

Ben Welborn
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