The lower the percentage of Sodium Hypochlorite typically the longer the shelf life...with the caveat that some "cheap" bleaches that are lower also have poor shelf life (or are sitting on the shelf somewhere long before being bought).
Bleach Equivalents to "Shock"
- Thread starter Mithel
- Start date
Here are some chemical facts the pool store didn't tell you. These facts are independent of concentration of product or of pool size:
For every 10 ppm Free Chlorine (FC) added by Trichlor, it also increases Cyanuric Acid (CYA) by 6 ppm.
For every 10 ppm FC added by Dichlor, it also increases CYA by 9 ppm.
For every 10 ppm FC added by Cal-Hypo, it also increases Calcium Hardness (CH) by at least 7 ppm.
So your continued use of Trichlor and Dichlor has increased the CYA level making chlorine less effective and allowing algae to grow. There is no mystery as to why you are having problems with your pool. It's not just about using bleach instead of Trichlor -- it's about knowing what you are putting into your pool so that it can be properly managed. Bleach and chlorinating liquid do not increase CYA nor CH so are generally best to use as the primary source of chlorine. That doesn't mean you can't use Trichlor pucks when on vacation or if you have a lot of water dilution and need the CYA level higher.
For every 10 ppm Free Chlorine (FC) added by Trichlor, it also increases Cyanuric Acid (CYA) by 6 ppm.
For every 10 ppm FC added by Dichlor, it also increases CYA by 9 ppm.
For every 10 ppm FC added by Cal-Hypo, it also increases Calcium Hardness (CH) by at least 7 ppm.
So your continued use of Trichlor and Dichlor has increased the CYA level making chlorine less effective and allowing algae to grow. There is no mystery as to why you are having problems with your pool. It's not just about using bleach instead of Trichlor -- it's about knowing what you are putting into your pool so that it can be properly managed. Bleach and chlorinating liquid do not increase CYA nor CH so are generally best to use as the primary source of chlorine. That doesn't mean you can't use Trichlor pucks when on vacation or if you have a lot of water dilution and need the CYA level higher.
{smile} This is amusing because the pool store suggested that I *stop* using liquid chlorine a couple weeks ago while I was battling the cloudy water issue. They never once mentioned the high CYA issue (other than once they suggested I could empty the pool and start over).
Well it is rather nice of them to do free testing. {smile}linen said:Yeah fun dealing with that pool store advice isn't it
Even if it isn't accurate and misleads you into doing the wrong thing for your poolMithel said:
It's more accurate than "test strips".linen said:Even if it isn't accurate and misleads you into doing the wrong thing for your poolMithel said:
And they have this cool new machine that spins the water and does multiple samplings... etc.. etc...
Mithel said:It's more accurate than "test strips".linen said:Even if it isn't accurate and misleads you into doing the wrong thing for your poolMithel said:
And they have this cool new machine that spins the water and does multiple samplings... etc.. etc...
I've got a cool toy that spins mine too!
[youtube:15oh3xh6]4_EJknrPjYE[/youtube:15oh3xh6]
Don't gotta change from my bathing suit to use mine either.
I've got one too.
But really I would definitely use the BBB method. My friend thought I was crazy when I told him about the BBB method and he even asked the pool guy about it. The pool guy said most people that try that go back to doing it the right way. (Whatever) I broke down and just paid the maintenance guy to come by and do it. I tested a few days later and no FC and the pool was cloudy. I've been on BBB for a few weeks now and its crystal clear.
But really I would definitely use the BBB method. My friend thought I was crazy when I told him about the BBB method and he even asked the pool guy about it. The pool guy said most people that try that go back to doing it the right way. (Whatever) I broke down and just paid the maintenance guy to come by and do it. I tested a few days later and no FC and the pool was cloudy. I've been on BBB for a few weeks now and its crystal clear.
Mithel said:
We do try to help people and show them a better way, and we appreciate it when someone tries hearing what we say. Good to see you at least checking it out and hopefully seeing there is another way to treat a pool.
tcat
Silver Supporter
- May 30, 2012
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- CircuPool Edge-40
Shocked my pool twice in the past year. Once with powder I had from the previous owner because I had some green showing up on white fittings; and once with an extension cord that accidentally slipped into the pool while I was using a shop-vac on the deck. BBB is the way to go! (although I've ever only used "B" and "M"... but who wants to say they use the "BM" method)
Well, so far so good. Eight gallons of bleach and it seems to have "shocked" the pool okay. I definitely need to buy a good test kit (the store is nice but it's a waste of time to drive there), from test strips and my "good" test kit all I can tell is that I've got the chlorine "off the charts" (so hopefully that was enough to "shock" the pool). I'm draining water and replacing with nice fresh well water so that should be lowering the CYA (but I need to test to see if I can actually determine if I've got it below 100 yet).
tcat, what is "M"? (I guess I haven't read enough yet)
tcat, what is "M"? (I guess I haven't read enough yet)
Oh, thanks. It's pretty rare that I've needed to lower pH. pH almost always tends to be low in my pool and thus I add a lot of pH+ (no doubt this is because of using diChlor and triChlor and their lowering of pH?).Leebo said:
