My water is clear. My cc is 0. But I failed the olct test. I went down 1.5 FC. 14 to 12.5 On a normal shock how many days does it take? Today is my day to do my weekly pool test. Should I do them or wait till shock is complete. I test cya, TA, Borates, once a week.
How long does shock take?
- Thread starter zeroturn
- Start date
- May 4, 2011
- 634
The pool (your test, actually) will tell you when the shocking process is complete. I don't think there is a standard time frame. Assuming that you have a very minimal problem, I'll bet it's possible for the process to be complete within a few days.
The abrupt answer is "as long as it takes". 
There is no normal shock period. You do sound like you are close to the end, however....probably another day or two.
Testing stable items like Borates and CYA once weekly is unnecessary...monthly is adequate but sometimes folks like the increased reassurance
There is no normal shock period. You do sound like you are close to the end, however....probably another day or two.
Testing stable items like Borates and CYA once weekly is unnecessary...monthly is adequate but sometimes folks like the increased reassurance
Guess that is why I couldn't find the answer. Thanks. I hope the pool gets it together soon. My hubby and kids might kill me soon. :lol:
Next door uses puck and throws shock product in once a week. So they don't understand the concept of staying out for shock. Since next door never has to stay out.
Next door uses puck and throws shock product in once a week. So they don't understand the concept of staying out for shock. Since next door never has to stay out.
Sooner or later your neighbor will likely build up so my CYA using pucks that they will get an algae bloom that they can not kill no mater how much "shock" they put in the water, and will end up having to drain and replace their water.
Ike
Ike
I thought I've read here you can swim up to shock levels for your pool....zeroturn said:
That is what I told the old man. I gave her all my puck a few days agos. Told her why I don't use them. Plus the differnce in my water is already amazing. picture one is a few days ago. Picture two is a few mins ago.
zeroturn:
The shock process cannot be time-boxed, as others have already stated. There are so many variables that impact how long the shock process will actually take that I hesitate to throw out a time estimate out of concern that someone may interpret that as a “De Facto” standard and run with it.
The shock process definition of “Done” is:
1. CC is 0.5 or lower;
2. An overnight FC loss test shows a loss of 1.0 ppm or less;
3. And the water is clear.
With that said, there are some actions you can take during the shock process to speed it up:
1. Maintain the FC at the target shock level according to the CYA level of the pool until you have met the three conditions above. All other factors being equal, the more diligent you are in maintaining the target FC shock level, the sooner you will meet the criteria of “done”.
2. Remove as much debris (leaves, grass, bugs, dirt, etc.) from the pool as possible. The fewer organic matter that is in the pool, the quicker the FC will do its job of sanitizing.
3. Brush the entire pool at least once a day, paying particular attention to ladders and other "nooks and crannies" (algae love to hide there even when the rest of the pool looks clean).
4. Run the pump 24/7 until the shock process is complete. Be sure to keep an eye on the filter pressure and clean/backwash as needed.
The shock process cannot be time-boxed, as others have already stated. There are so many variables that impact how long the shock process will actually take that I hesitate to throw out a time estimate out of concern that someone may interpret that as a “De Facto” standard and run with it.
The shock process definition of “Done” is:
1. CC is 0.5 or lower;
2. An overnight FC loss test shows a loss of 1.0 ppm or less;
3. And the water is clear.
With that said, there are some actions you can take during the shock process to speed it up:
1. Maintain the FC at the target shock level according to the CYA level of the pool until you have met the three conditions above. All other factors being equal, the more diligent you are in maintaining the target FC shock level, the sooner you will meet the criteria of “done”.
2. Remove as much debris (leaves, grass, bugs, dirt, etc.) from the pool as possible. The fewer organic matter that is in the pool, the quicker the FC will do its job of sanitizing.
3. Brush the entire pool at least once a day, paying particular attention to ladders and other "nooks and crannies" (algae love to hide there even when the rest of the pool looks clean).
4. Run the pump 24/7 until the shock process is complete. Be sure to keep an eye on the filter pressure and clean/backwash as needed.
Sounds like I'm doing everything right. Just need to lean to be paitent. Or rather the hubby and kids. Passed 2 out of 3 test. Just waiting on that olct to be spot on. I would post a picture but file is to large and croping it smaller didn't help. So it is to big. Funny when the water was cloudy it worked fine.
harleysilo said:
It's safe to swim as long as your at or below shock level based on your CYA reading.
Granted the bather load with extra sun screen might make the shock process take longer because some of the chlorine will go to fight the newly added contaminants.
Isn't that the way it always seems to work?zeroturn said:
BTW, should have added this to my previous post regarding whether to swim or not during the shock process. Probably to the chagrin of your hubby & the kids, I would vote for not swimming during the shock process. You can make me be the "bad guy" if that gets you off the hook.
My reasons are:- 1. The lower the bather load, the easier it is on the FC to sanitize whatever organic matter is in your pool that caused you to shock. The less work your FC has to do, the quicker you will get though the shock process.
- 2. The owner's manual for my Polaris states that it should be removed from the pool when shocking. If it's not considered safe enough for the Polaris to be in there, then my friends/family shouldn't be in there either.
Once you have completed the shock process and the FC drops below shock level, than jump in!
Yeah, we are not going to swim while shocking. I have a feeling that since we pass 2 out of 3 test. we will be back in on Sat or sunday. Plus this give me time to figure out how to keep some of the dirt out of the pool. We have a mud field in the back yard due to the pool install. Which is part of my water issue.
With being this close you could probably somewhat safely drop below shock level for the weekend in order to swim and then start it back up to finish things off the first part of next week. This may cause a setback on time and amount of chlorine needed to finish off the shock process, but my guess is it would probably not add more than one more day to the process.
Ike
p.s. I think sometimes we get a little too hung up around here on shocking pools with as little chemical use as possible and as quickly as possible, not taking into consideration other factors like free time to swim on weekends, etc.
Ike
p.s. I think sometimes we get a little too hung up around here on shocking pools with as little chemical use as possible and as quickly as possible, not taking into consideration other factors like free time to swim on weekends, etc.