I generally buy the ~1.5 gallon bottles of bleach, and only 3-4 at a whack, so I don't get the curious stares from people. It does take somewhat more effort in the sense that you monitor it more closely, but it's literally less than 10 minutes a day (for me). So much easier than having to deal with an algae bloom, really. I used the pucks a little at the beginning and they really caused the pH to go out of whack.