The use of Lithium Shock

[goldslinger]

Hello,

I have an inground 18 x 36 vinyl pool; 24,000 gallon. I use Lithium shock (3 lbs.) weekly and it works great. However it is very expensive, as You all know.

So why do I use it? I was told by tghe pool company store that One needs to use a different chlorine compound than what You would use for the slow release pucks to help release the bound up chlorine; or something to that affect.

I wouldn't mind going cheaper, but I don't want to use the cheap Calcium Hypochlorite found at Wal-Mart, etc. as We have hard enough water here as it is.

Any suggestions to a granular chlorine shocker for once a week treatment or after heavy use, thunderstorms, etc.?

Much appreciated.

Gary

[aylad]

Why not just use unscented bleach?

[goldslinger]

Thanks, Aylad.

Could You tell or direct Me to approximately how much I will need? Or do I need to wait for My test kit I ordered from this site (via Amazon) so I know what My CA levels are?

[aylad]

Each 3 quarts + 1 cup of 6% bleach will raise your FC by roughly 2 ppm, each 2 gallons will raise it by 5 ppm. To see what your levels need to be, you need to know the CYA level....once you know that, then you can use the link in my sig for the "best guess chlorine table" to see where to keep your chlorine levels.

Janet

[waterbear]

Hello,

I was told by tghe pool company store that One needs to use a different chlorine compound than what You would use for the slow release pucks to help release the bound up chlorine; or something to that affect.



THAT is not the reason. You have been what is referred to around here as "Pool Stored". FWIW, it does not matter WHAT form of chlorine you put in the water. It will form hypochlorous acid, hypochlorite ions, and chlorinated isocyanurates (if there is any stabilzier present from ANY source). All that you are doing is adding a "booster dose" of chlorine to either oxidize organics or kill algae. The reason that unstabilized chlorine is commonly used for shocking is that it does not raise stabilizer levels. As you noted calcium hypochlorite does raise calcium. However, both sodium hypochlorite (liquid chlorine or bleach) and lithium hypochlorite have no negatives effects on your water and are basically pH neutral on use. As you noted lithium hypochlorite is very expensive (the most expensive form of chlorine there is).

[goldslinger]

Thanks, Guys!

So You use the liquid bleach for chlorination AND shock? You just make it a regimen of adding some every night and more as needed for shock?

I'm off to Sam's club for the 3 'B's ! !
I will continue to use My pucks until they are used up, then go to bleach for chlorination AND shock from now on. I will keep my Poly algaecide on hand.
Can't wait for the test kit. I really like the liquid testers and am using a cheap one right now; still better than ph strips that pander to the lazy, imo.

Thanks, again.

Gary

[waterbear]

Think of it this way. Shock is a verb, not a noun. It is something you DO to a pool, not a special chemical you add. It means bringing the chlorine level up to a high enough level to either destroy combined chlorine or kill algae. Also, it is NOT something that needs to be done weekly. It is something that needs to be done on an 'as needed' basis (when combined chlorine is over .5 ppm, after heavy rains, after heavier than normal pool use such as a party, etc.)

All shocking once a week does is help increase the pool store's "bottom line" (as does buying expen$ive lithium $hock!)

[Watermom]

You should probably post a current set of water testing results taken with a drops-based kit for us to take a look at. Depending on how long you have been using trichlor pucks, your CYA level could be high which would affect our advice for adequate chlorination levels.

[goldslinger]

Will do. What is the shelf life of bleach in Their closed bottles? I want to buy many but it will be hot where I store them.

Gary

[aylad]

I usually buy a couple of weeks' supply at a time and they do okay in my Louisiana garage...

Janet

[goldslinger]

Thanks for that.

Well, My water was crystal clear yesterday but I apparantly didn't stay on top of it. This afternoon, I noticed yellow algae and whitish water. I tested the FC, and it was I would guess .7

Well that explains it.

I went to My grocery store and bought 6 x 1.4gallon of 6% bleach; generic (3.15 a bottle). I added 2 of them tonight. WOW, I tested 1 hour later and it's off the chart! It cost me 6.30 plus tax for this treatment, where as 3 bags of lithium would have cost me over 32 bucks.

Off the chart of my cheap tester means over 3ppm.

Man, I can't wait for the good tester to get here, so I can see where my CYA levels are !

I never put pencil to anything. I always assumed the liquid bleach was very weak, diluted. I guess that I thought the granulated chlorine was some kind of super chlorinator; packing a lot more whollop with it's explosive action. Well, tonight totally negated that myth.

With everything I am reading here, I might be able to afford to keep this thing awhile longer.

Thanks so much to everyone for Your help and expertise !

I guess now I need to vacuum, as there is visible dirt and algae; I probably should have done that first, but it was gettting dark on Me and the neighbors were swimming and didn't want to bother them (in my own pool, haha).

I guess vacuuming released the algae so that it is in suspension and killed easier by the shock?

Gary Gipson

[Watermom]

Any time you bush the pool, it helps the chlorine be able to better get at the algae. Vacuuming is basically brushing the pool.

BTW -- Until your good kit arrives you can force your other kit to read higher by using a dilution method described below. It isn't super accurate, but better than nothing.

Testing Without a Good Kit (http://poolsolutions.com/gd/how-to-test-your-pool-without-a-good-testkit.html )

[goldslinger]

I brushed the pool and added another 3.5 gallons to it last Night. It seems to be clearing some; the water is cloudy (white) with what I brushed off. I brushed off a real fine powdery silt (Farming community) with the yellowish algae growing on top of it. I think I am going to have to let it settle and vacuum to waste (a good name for it); I hate doing that, but the sand filter refuses to catch it. It kinda accumulates over 3 or 4 weeks and I just ignore it until there is enough to warrant vacuuming to waste.

My testing kit should be here Today from Amazon. I will know alot more to post after I learn to use it. I really would like to see the whole picture I've been missing. Glad I found this forum.

Bought 9 1.4gallons of 6% from Sam's Club for 2.49 each; not bad. It is clorox brand, but unscented, and is not the 'no splash' goop.

I am very interested in seeing what My CYA level is and an accurate PH reading for a change.

I would like to post specs about My pool, but even after subscribing to this forum, I am still blocked by everything. I paid via PAYPAL.

Gary

[Watermom]

Post those readings as soon as you get them. BTW-- You don't have to buy Clorox brand bleach. A lot of us use generic Walmart bleach. As long as it is unscented and just regular bleach it is fine. (Make sure it is at least 6% sodium hypochlorite.)

You might be interested in viewing some of the online demos regarding testing with your new kit.

http://www.taylortechnologies.com/products_choose_slideshow.asp

I will check with Ben in regards to your subscription and see if he can see what the problem is.

[aylad]

Have you tried adding a small amount of DE to your sand filter to see if maybe that will catch it? Watermom, Carl, and Poconos all do that with their sand filters, with good results. Start with only a cup or so--you only want enough to raise your psi by 1 ppm, and that rise isn't always immediate. Add the DE through the skimmer, give it 20-30 minutes or so, and check your filter pressure. If it rises too much, you can always backwash it out and start again. The DE will help the sand pick up finer particles and may save you some vacuuming time.

Janet

[CarlD]

Had quite an education here! All chlorine is just chlorine. It's job is to kill stuff and break down other stuff like suntan lotion. The various forms just add other junk that you may or may not want. Tri-chlor tabs add stabilizer and acid...very good for new gunite, tile or shotcrete pools that are curing as the make the water alkaline and...new water needs stabilzer. But tabs are VERY bad for high stabilizer, low pH pools as they make it worse. Di-Chlor powder is similar to Tri-Chlor. Not as acidic but add just as much stabilizer. Cal-Hypo add calcium. I don't know what lithium adds, or if it's a problem or not. I know what it subtracts: Lots and lots of money from your wallet.

[PoolDoc]

I would like to post specs about My pool, but even after subscribing to this forum, I am still blocked by everything. I paid via PAYPAL.
Gary

Gary,

Would you send me the "Unique Transaction Number" from your PayPal receipt? I have no record of any payment from you. Send it to poolforum AT gmail DOT com.

Ben

[goldslinger]

Will do, Ben. I will post it here, too. Unique Transaction ID # (deleted by mod).
It says it is 'unclaimed'

Yea, Sam's club only had the Clorox (Our Sam's club is an experimental 'mini' version).
Still, at 2.49, it is cheaper than lithium. One thing the Taylor Test kit said about Lithium shock (Yes, it arrived Today !) is that Lithium puts the 70% inert ingredient to add to Your TDS.

I am curious and intrigued about the DE; so the sand WILL catch the DE? So I add it to the filter until the pressure goes up a pound or so, vacuum, then backwash; which will also rid of the DE? Then at that point, I can add some more DE and leave it there until I need to vacuum/backwash again? I guess I suppositioned that DE was too fine to be catched by the sand. I certainly don't want DE suspended in the pool water as it is very abrasive to the eyes. If I only need a cup or so, that expense will be less than vacuuming out several hundred gallons of treated water onto the lawn, I suppose.

That's interesting that the tri-chlor tabs add acid; that explains Me having to dump Borax into the water once a week at the rate of a 1/2 lb. or so; just another added bonus of using something else.

I will post My test results Tonite or Tomorrow; hopefully tonight.

Gary

[Watermom]

Here is a little more info that you might like to read: Adding DE to a Sand Filter (http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=3742)

[PoolDoc]

OK, I have no "Unclaimed" payments showing in my account. No idea what happened.

I have seen some evidence that PayPal is experiencing some sort of fraud attack, and is having trouble processing things appropriately. Another subscriber's payment was flagged as likely fraudulent and is being "held". I can't cancel or refund it -- it's just 'stuck'. They had to subscribe again, but the 2nd payment went through just fine.

The only thing I can recommend is that you cancel that payment and try again. PayPal may well have the money from your present payment, but I don't.

Ben

[goldslinger]

Gary,

Would you send me the "Unique Transaction Number" from your PayPal receipt? I have no record of any payment from you. Send it to poolforum AT gmail DOT com.

Ben


EDIT by Watermom:
Goldslinger ---- I deleted the ID number etc. that you had listed here and sent it to Ben along with the rest of what you had written in this post.

[goldslinger]

Here are My pool specs:

FC = 11.5
CC = 1.0
TC = 12.5
PH = 7.3
TA = 130
CYA = 85

Hope this helps.

Gary

[PoolDoc]

Hadn't checked this thread for several days, but there's not much wrong with those numbers. A CC 1.0 might be a concern, but if you've sustained adequate ("Best Guess") chlorine levels, it has probably dropped by now.

The PayPal thing is, I think, all resolved now.

Ben

[waterbear]

EDIT by Watermom:
Goldslinger ---- I deleted the ID number etc. that you had listed here and sent it to Ben along with the rest of what you had written in this post.

Watermom,
You might want to check post #18. It still has the transaction ID!

[Watermom]

Done. Thanks, Evan.

[PoolDoc]

It's fine to remove them, but I don't think that transaction ID is a big security risk -- the only think I know that you can do with it is make sure that you're looking at the right transaction. If there's a way to access that record by #, or search for it, I didn't find it.