newbie questions on chlorine and sodium bisulfate

[Ferd]

Hi all,

just bought a house with a pool and have been getting some education here on the site - very clear! I've read and partially digested the Pools Basic section. Not in the new house yet so I'm getting ready since the kids are probably eager to jump in. K2006C and some chemicals on the way.

I have a couple of newbie questions about what I haven't bought yet:

- liquid chlorine: if I look it up on Amazon, I find a "Champions - Pool Shock," which, despite the name, appears to only have Sodium Hypoclorite 12.5% (and "other ingredients"). This composition appears identical to other products that I've read about (e.g. "Pool Essentials" chlorinating liquid, which is 10%). I've read that when it comes to chlorinating the water, you want to only put chlorine in it. But I'm confused by the word "shock" in that name. Does that product do the job?

- I've bought the Clorox Ph down which is sodium bisulfate 92%; but I've found that other products are sodium bisulfate 100% and appear to cost less per pound of SB (PuriTech ph minus); any reason not to go with that?

Thank you!

 

[mknauss]

Welcome to the forum!
To be honest, Amazon is not always the best place to get your pool chemicals.
You will need liquid chlorine, aka bleach, aka chlorinating liquid, aka pool shock, aka liquid shock. Most are 10% or 12.5%. Home Depot, Walmart, pool stores, etc carry it.
Sodium bisulfate is not good to use in pools. It leave sulfates in your water. Those sulfates build up, and then start to corrode metals and destroy cement (plaster). Muriatic Acid is what you want to use to lower your pH.

Recommended Pool Chemicals

Which should I buy? TFP's recommended pool chemicals are cheap, easy, and won't unbalance your pool water.

www.troublefreepool.com

I suggest you read ABC's of Pool Water Chemistry.

 

[Ferd]

Thanks! This clarifies a bit. I thought sodium bisulfate was the same as dry acid, which is an option indicated in the Recommended Pool Chemicals which you have linked. I'll go back to that.

Yes, about Amazon, I can see that. For now it's a starting point, and we're trying to stay distant from other people.

 

[mknauss]

Dry acid is sodium bisulfate. It can be used, just need to know the risks.

In vinyl liner pools without a SWCG, not a big issue. And if you drain down a few feet each winter. You are diluting the sulfate concentration. Also if you rarely have to adjust pH. Little use means little sulfate buildup.