I need to shock my pool, but I have no idea how much Hydrochloric acid to use? My pool is approx 11,500 gallons. Can anyone please help me?
How much Hydrochloric Acid to shock?
- Thread starter snl2
- Start date
Where on earth did you get the idea to use that????? We recommend plain old bleach. Use the pool calculator in pool school to determine how much to use AFTER you read up on shocking your pool. Do you have testing numbers we can look at? Welcome.
A: None.snl2 said:
Hydrochloric acid is not a shock product. Well, I'm sure it can be quite shocking for a lot of things, but it's not what you want to use for shocking your pool. It can drop your pH in a hurry, though.
Welcome to the forum 
We recommend bleach/liquid chlorine (sodium hypochlorite) for shocking.
Post a full set of water test results & tell us how you got them.
Also, tell us how your water looks. Then we can help more.
You can get started in Pool School. Big white button, top right.
We recommend bleach/liquid chlorine (sodium hypochlorite) for shocking.
Post a full set of water test results & tell us how you got them.
Also, tell us how your water looks. Then we can help more.
You can get started in Pool School. Big white button, top right.
Well, glad I asked. Thank you all. And I got that from my pool builder...they said muratic acid/hydrochloric acid and gave me several bottles?
If PB gave you several bottles of MA, it sounds like a new plaster pool in need of (brushing and) keeping pH under control? Tell us more about your pool! New build? Plaster?snl2 said:
Give us all the facts and we can help!
See http://www.troublefreepool.com/pool-school/pool_plaster_start-up for plaster pool startup.snl2 said:
You should probably check with the PB for clarification!
Yes, it is new. Not plaster...pebbletech and it does require brushing.
My chlorine and free chlorine levels (as read from test strip) were low last week so I added more chlorine tablets as instructed and they came up just fine. And I did that again this week, but the guy at the pool supply store and the info booklet given to me by my PB said I need to shock every couple of weeks anyway due to extreme heat (in TX).
I did try to call my PB for some clarification, but haven't heard back and I wanted to shock tonight so it was usable for the weekend.
Thanks everyone for trying to help me!
My chlorine and free chlorine levels (as read from test strip) were low last week so I added more chlorine tablets as instructed and they came up just fine. And I did that again this week, but the guy at the pool supply store and the info booklet given to me by my PB said I need to shock every couple of weeks anyway due to extreme heat (in TX).
I did try to call my PB for some clarification, but haven't heard back and I wanted to shock tonight so it was usable for the weekend.
Thanks everyone for trying to help me!
You may need it to drop the pH. Is this a new pool? Plaster? If so, the new plaster will cause the pH of the water to rise a lot in the early stages, and you will need to add acid to manage it. This is still different from shocking, which is a chlorine thing.
[edit]I see new Pebbletek. That will also need pH maintenance.[/edit]
FWIW, you would be way better off dumping the test strips and getting a quality test kit. Strips seem designed to make money for pool stores and chem companies.
[edit]I see new Pebbletek. That will also need pH maintenance.[/edit]
FWIW, you would be way better off dumping the test strips and getting a quality test kit. Strips seem designed to make money for pool stores and chem companies.
How "new" is your pool? It is not recommended that you shock until the pool is thirty days old.
You really need a good test kit. The fav around here is the TF100. Best bang for the buck and the best investment we made in our pool. Link in my sig.
You really need a good test kit. The fav around here is the TF100. Best bang for the buck and the best investment we made in our pool. Link in my sig.
With a fresh pebble finish you should be testing and adjusting the PH daily for the first month. To know how much acid you need to add to adjust the PH, you need to know what your current PH level is.
Ditto...and welcome to TFP
FWIW... a pebble tec surface pool is a fancy plaster finish. To protect that investment, please do spend the extra few $s and invest in a TF100 or Taylor K2006 (I prefer the TF100) and read through the plaster pool start-up link. Also, start reading pool school (button on upper right of this page)
FWIW... a pebble tec surface pool is a fancy plaster finish. To protect that investment, please do spend the extra few $s and invest in a TF100 or Taylor K2006 (I prefer the TF100) and read through the plaster pool start-up link. Also, start reading pool school (button on upper right of this page)
Yep, I'll jump in here also. If you purchased a pebble tec surface, spending a $100 or less on a test kit is a no-brainer. If you aren't adjusting your pH yet, it's high already. The one thing I wished I did when I had built my pool was to buy the test kit before the water entered the pool. For those building a pool, get your test kit way prior to completion so you can stay ahead of the game. As soon as that water hits the plaster, you'll be needing to check the water levels daily for a while.
Shocking is certainly a process after you begin reading all the threads within. You simply need to add chlorine to the pool to maintain good chlorine levels. You don't need to shock your pool weekly if you are maintaining a good chlorine level. I've had my pool since last August and I haven't once shocked my pool yet and it is sparkling each and every day. I do have an SWG which maintains the correct chlorine level full-time which just gives me more time to do all the landscape work. Read on and you'll quickly get comfortable knowing you're following good advice. This site is invaluable.
Shocking is certainly a process after you begin reading all the threads within. You simply need to add chlorine to the pool to maintain good chlorine levels. You don't need to shock your pool weekly if you are maintaining a good chlorine level. I've had my pool since last August and I haven't once shocked my pool yet and it is sparkling each and every day. I do have an SWG which maintains the correct chlorine level full-time which just gives me more time to do all the landscape work. Read on and you'll quickly get comfortable knowing you're following good advice. This site is invaluable.
If your pebbletec finish is anything like my Luna Quartz finish you should be adding quite a bit of acid. I went through about 4 gallons a week during the first month.
After a couple of months I would let the pH get up to 8.0 or so before bringing it back down to 7.2 or so and I developed some scale, in large part because my CH rose to 675 due to the SE Tex draught and the frequent topping off with 150 CH tap water.
You need the TF-100 kit to accurately test for CH. The pool stores consistently and significantly under reported my CH levels which led to some scale formation. Fortunately, I caught it early and it does not look too bad.
My pool is just over 8 months old and I'm still going through slightly less than one gallon of acid each week.
After a couple of months I would let the pH get up to 8.0 or so before bringing it back down to 7.2 or so and I developed some scale, in large part because my CH rose to 675 due to the SE Tex draught and the frequent topping off with 150 CH tap water.
You need the TF-100 kit to accurately test for CH. The pool stores consistently and significantly under reported my CH levels which led to some scale formation. Fortunately, I caught it early and it does not look too bad.
My pool is just over 8 months old and I'm still going through slightly less than one gallon of acid each week.
