I was told to only shock the pool once every two weeks or every week if it's been hot, rainy or the pool has been used a lot. My question is, what's the best way to maintain the chlorine level between shocks? Right now I'm using the 3" slow dissolving chlorine tabs (Trichlor) that the previous owner left us. Doesn't seem like these things do much. Seems like no matter what, the levels get to a point where I need to shock it every week. Just wondering if anyone new of a better alternative to the 3" slow
maintaining daily chlorine levels...
- Thread starter neckbeardus
- Start date
Just add a little bleach every evening to raise the chlorine to an appropriate level for your CYA level. That's what I did until I bought my Liquidator, which is a bleach chlorine feeder.
Read these articles for the info you need:
BBB
CYA/Chlorine Chart
and this newsletter also has great information:
February Newsletter
Welcome to the forum!
Read these articles for the info you need:
BBB
CYA/Chlorine Chart
and this newsletter also has great information:
February Newsletter
Welcome to the forum!
Is the BBB method something I can start a couple months after opening my pool or is it something you need to do from the beginning? I wish I knew about this site when I first opened my pool. I've learned a ton since then.
neckbeardus said:
You can start anytime and switch back at will. I've used pucks in a feeder for vacations.
Welcome! Just test your CYA if you've been using pucks; if you go to all bleach you may need to add CYA. You can find out how much to add by using the calculator in JasonLion's signature.
Welcome. One of the first things you need is a good test kit, second POP (pool owner patients). Most of the folks here are not very confident in the test results you get from the pool store, I trust MY results. Please check out the sticks on the top of the page and go from there. Again welcome and trust the BBB method.
I don't think it can be stated enough that you really need to understand what CYA is, what it does, and how it effects the level you need to maintain your free clorine (FC) at. That was the one piece of info I was missing most when I first started learning about my pool.
As everyone has said over and over, a good test kit, and poolcalculator.com are your friends.
I remember my first ever trip to the pool store. I asked the clerk "is there a difference between chlorinating granules and shock?" He told me very confidently 'yes', so I bought both. When I got them home I looked at the package and saw the ingredients were exactly the same. That's when I knew I needed to learn more and found TFP.
As everyone has said over and over, a good test kit, and poolcalculator.com are your friends.
I remember my first ever trip to the pool store. I asked the clerk "is there a difference between chlorinating granules and shock?" He told me very confidently 'yes', so I bought both. When I got them home I looked at the package and saw the ingredients were exactly the same. That's when I knew I needed to learn more and found TFP.
Thanks everyone for the warm welcome. I've been lurking this site for the past month or so and like I said, I've learned a ton! Just a little background......
I bought a house this winter (east coaster) that included a 20x40 inground pool with a new vinyl liner, new Hayward D.E. Perflex filter (all updated plumbing) and new solar cover and reel. Having never owned a pool I was clueless. Because of this we hired a local company to come out and open the pool. I was hoping they would spend a few hours with me, showing me how to use everything....not the case. They left and my confidence level was still very low. I knew my next option was to find a good message board which brought me here. I think the best advice I took from this board was buying my Taylor 2006 kit. My wife and friends are always poking fun at me for breaking out my 'chemist set' and testing the water. Now I feel 100 times more confident using my filter and my pool is sparkling. I've gotten a ton of compliments. I have to thank everyone here for all the wonderful information.
Last time I checked my numbers was Sunday night.
CYA 20-30
FC 4
CC 0
PH 7.3
Alk 90
I shouldn't shock it until the FC gets below 1 right? Here is why I originally asked my question.....I worry that during the week the chlorine will burn off and the FC will be at about 1 on Friday and we'll have plans for people to be coming over Saturday to swim. I can't shock it Friday night with people coming over. What would one do in this situation???
I bought a house this winter (east coaster) that included a 20x40 inground pool with a new vinyl liner, new Hayward D.E. Perflex filter (all updated plumbing) and new solar cover and reel. Having never owned a pool I was clueless. Because of this we hired a local company to come out and open the pool. I was hoping they would spend a few hours with me, showing me how to use everything....not the case. They left and my confidence level was still very low. I knew my next option was to find a good message board which brought me here. I think the best advice I took from this board was buying my Taylor 2006 kit. My wife and friends are always poking fun at me for breaking out my 'chemist set' and testing the water. Now I feel 100 times more confident using my filter and my pool is sparkling. I've gotten a ton of compliments. I have to thank everyone here for all the wonderful information.
Last time I checked my numbers was Sunday night.
CYA 20-30
FC 4
CC 0
PH 7.3
Alk 90
I shouldn't shock it until the FC gets below 1 right? Here is why I originally asked my question.....I worry that during the week the chlorine will burn off and the FC will be at about 1 on Friday and we'll have plans for people to be coming over Saturday to swim. I can't shock it Friday night with people coming over. What would one do in this situation???
Hey,
If your pool is sparkling and your test results are as good as those, I see no reason to shock. Why do you think you should?
Regardless, I would never let the FC fall below 2.0 in that pool with a CYA of 30ppm.
BTW, very nice work clearing up your pool. :lol: :lol:
If your pool is sparkling and your test results are as good as those, I see no reason to shock. Why do you think you should?
Regardless, I would never let the FC fall below 2.0 in that pool with a CYA of 30ppm.
BTW, very nice work clearing up your pool. :lol: :lol:
Like Dave said, no need to shock. Just add enough chlorine every night to hold around 3ppm through the next day and you will be fine.
Maybe I actually don't understand the purpose of shocking. Anyone out there able to give me a good answer??? I guess I thought that once the chlorine level got too low you had to shock the pool to get it back up. Seems like all I need to do is just keep a consistent level of FC in my pool. I have a bunch of packets of granular shock. Usually put 3 packets in when i shock the pool. Should I just put a packet in tonight and see where it gets me?
neckbeardus said:
Just maintain a consistent level. Shocking is for when there is a problem. Shocking is raising the chlorine to a high enough level to eliminate all combined chlorine. Maintain a consistent FC level, you don't get combined chlorine, so you don't need to shock.
Granular shock contains CYA, which will build up with time. It would probably help to read some of the stickies Here
Thanks a lot everyone for the good advice. I think I'm going to pick myself up some bleach this week and start the BBB method. I think I've got a handle on what I need to do now. Oh yeah, woke up this morning to find my first critters in the pool. Two frogs hanging on my stairs and a dead mouse floating around. Fun....