Shock pool weekly??

[txborn]

Great forum (thanks SeanB!)

In addition to reading this forum and the old one as well, I was just surfing about pool maintenance. I found several sites that insist you need to shock your pool weekly. I have never done this, but have only had this pool in service for about 6 weeks now.

Is this something anyone does here?

Here are the specifics FYI: 7000 gallon shotcrete IG freeform w/ 6 ft. spa, 21 ft weeping wall, spa fountain, Hayward Northstar pump, Colorlogic LED’s, DE filter and 400,000BTU NG heater. Aqua Logic 8 zone controller with Aqua Rite SWCG, Stonescapes pebble finish – Aqua Blue and flagstone coping

 

[medvampire]

I rarely shock..I test the pool weekly for combine chlorine and do not shock untill the combine chlorine goes above 0.5 ppm....If you dont have a good test kit I would recomend getting one from Trouble Free Test kits You need the FAS-DPD method of testing....Just because a week has passed shocking is a waste of money and swim time. When I do shock my pool I use only liquid bleach. Non chlorine shock or oxy-shock will allow you to swim but I think it is a waste of my hard earned money...Remember that shock is a verb not a product....Getting a good test kit will save you money in the long run by not making the weekly 40 to 50 dollar trip to the pool store for shock and the other chems they will sell you.
Steve

 

[txborn]

Thanks for the reply Steve. I thought that was somewhat questionable as well but wanted to get some opinions from the more experienced folks here. I have a cheap test kit that PB gave me but only limited testing. No FAS/DPD. Am going to become a supporting member here and get Dave's test kit with saline test. Want to be able to test CYA on my own without having to take samples to 3 different pool supply stores and taking an average of those!

Mark

 

[Buggsw]

I don't shock every week either. Never have.

I think pool stores and other places just keep repeating an old mantra. It probably got started by a well meaning gesture because so many people don't test their water regularly, so shocking weekly, was a way to help keep sanitary levels in the pool. I can't tell you how many people I know that never test their water - they just blindly throw in a bag of shock once a week. As long as it's blue and clear, they aren't very concerned.

 

[Rangeball]

I shocked my pool three times last season; Opening, mid summer and closing.

 

[matt4x4]

Only shock when it's a long hot spell and the bather load increases - these tend to go hand in hand.
I've found - more so than not, once your bather load increases and the temps are up, if you don't shock, after a few days, things will start to grow, so as a best practice, I shock once a week if the pool sees a good daily amount of use, outside of that, it's a rarety - but you do have to keep your 2 ppm chlorine in it to avoid shocking..

 

[KurtV]

I try to be diligent enough about water maintenance that I never have to shock my pool. I will run the chlorine up a few ppm in anticipation of a heavy bather load (or right after if I forget) but well short of shock level. I'm coming up on two years with this pool and so far, so good.

 

[MaryLee]

I rarely "shock" my pool. I'm going on my 4th swim season since we've had the pool built and I can say that without even testing, I can tell if I need to add bleach to my pool just by looking at it. After a while, I think you can really tell just by looking at your pool, what it needs and depending on the use it's got during the day.....it's easy to just add a gallon of bleach before shutting off the lights. Weird, I know, but I do test weekly for pH, alkalinity & chlorine, but adding chorline is really just knowing your own pool's specific needs......JMHO :-D