Should I be shocking my pool at regular intervals?

[Fronzizzle]

Hello all,

Earlier this year, I posted some issues I was having with algae, and everyone gave me great advice - I did a SLAM and it took care of everything, have had no issues since (about 4-5 weeks).

However, today I noticed a bit more stuff on the bottom than usual. I did a quick vacuum, not long after getting done, I saw some more stuff. I flushed out my filter, emptied the basket and skimmer strainer, etc. My FC was down to 3.5 (minimum for me is 4) so I added chlorine back to it. I tested for CC and it is 0, and the water still looks crystal clear.

I'm going to check it in the morning and see how the bottom looks, but I'm wondering if I should be doing regular shocks (not SLAM) every so often? A Google search turned up a few sites (that at least looked reputable) that said to shock it once a week or once every week. I haven't shocked it since I finished the SLAM.

 

[mknauss]

'Shock' as you describe it is unnecessary. Following the FC/CYA Levels is.

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[JohnT]

Nope.

 

[Richard320]

You're still living in the pool-store past.

You don't need to shock on a schedule anymore. You're in control of the chemistry now. Any problem, you test and deal with it on the spot, as you just did.

You low FC and dirty water might be just as simple as a particularly heavy swim load. Or the ball keeps getting knocked out onto the grass so a bunch of it gets tracked back in. Any doubt, just run the FC a couple ppm higher. No need to go for the nuclear option and certainly not on a regular basis. Just keep the FC./CYA ratio in range and you're good.

 

[Agua]

I raise my Chlorine to 8 every night and never SLAM! Before I was trying to keep Chlorine above 3 and had problems.