SWG and Bleach

[waterbear]

First queston to both of you....do you have algae in your pool? If you don't then don't worry about the phosphate levels in your water. I have about 1000ppb phosphate and have yet to see an algae bloom in my water ( and yes, Karin, I live in Florida....one block from the atlantic ocean! Most of north and central Florida has high phospahtes in the water...they mine the stuff in this state!) nor have I ever needed to shock since my SWG went online last novebmer (based on never have tested CC over .5 ppm).
If you have an algae problem AND phosphates have been determined to be the limiting factor in algae growth then a phosphate remover would be the way to go...otherwise you are just wasting money!
The BEST algecide is chlorine....end of discussion. Polyquat can be useful at times but chlorine is your first line of attack against algae.
If yo do need to shock then using bleach instead of using the superchlorinate setting will:
1. be more effective since you are putting the chlorine in all at once
2. prolong the life of your cell.

I see no advantage to shortening your pump run time and using bleach....sort of defeats the purpose of having a SWG.

Your water might test high in phosphates...if you don't have algae, so what? If it ain't broken don't try and fix it! One other note...most metal sequesterants will raise your phosphate levels since they are based on derivatives of phosphonic acid! Nitrates are just as important as phosphates as a source of algae food (perhaps even more so) but no one really mentions them...the reason is there is no stuff in a bottle you can buy to lower the nitrate levels in your pool! Pool stores make money by selling you stuff that you don't reallly need! I know....I work in one!