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Thread: How much chlorine to shock at open?

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    Default How much chlorine to shock at open?

    I just opened a 20,000 gallon concrete pool with a salt chlorinator with pool water that was a deep green color. I added 6 jugs@174 oz. or about 8 gallons of 6% Walmart Ultra bleach to shock the pool. Did I add enough or should I get more? How long does it usually take to see the total effect of the shock?
    Thanks for your help,
    Dan

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    Default Re: How much chlorine to shock at open?

    Each gallon will add about 3ppm to your pool, so you probably got in the neighborhood of 24ppm. Should be fine.

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    Default Re: How much chlorine to shock at open?

    No one can tell with out test levels. Get yourself a FAS-DPD test kit ASAP.
    It can be the Taylor K2006 or K2006C
    It can be the TroubleFreePools Kit.
    It can be the Leslies FAS-DPD Service Test Kit.

    You spent all that money on a concrete pool with an SWG--the $60 to $80 on the FAS-DPD test kit will be the BEST money you ever spent.

    And kick an extra 20-30 bucks for a salt-level test kit--with an SWG it will give you better info than the strips they give with the unit.

    The idea of shocking is to kill what ever it growing AND break down the resulting CC (combined chloramines) so your pool is clear and sweet.

    Without FC, CC and CYA levels it's impossible to tell if you have added enough bleach.

    You CAN have a pool store test the water for you--but don't be talked into buying the slew of useless chemicals they'll push on you--phosphate remover is the latest snake oil.
    Carl

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    Default Re: How much chlorine to shock at open?

    Also when you shock a green pool, usually one addition is enough to see a difference but not enough to clear it. You need to add more bleach to your pool 2-3 times daily, enough to bring the chlorine level back up to your shock level (which is why you need the test kit), until it completely clears up. Keep the filter running 24/7 during the process, also, because the chlorine will kill the algae, but the filter is what will remove it from the pool.

    Janet

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    Default Re: How much chlorine to shock at open?

    The pool water is clear now - the chlorine level is still above 10.

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    Default Re: How much chlorine to shock at open?

    At this point you need to know your CYA level to know where to maintain the chlorine.

    Janet

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    Default Re: How much chlorine to shock at open?

    CYA is 50, and the chlorine is now 2. The chlorinator manual (Clormatic salt chlorinator) recommends potentially higher cya of 50 to 70, but I've never understood why a chlorinator would cause a need for more cya, except that it does not produce chlorine with stablilizer. Any recommendations would be appreciated.

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    Default Re: How much chlorine to shock at open?

    Quote Originally Posted by DanS View Post
    CYA is 50, and the chlorine is now 2. The chlorinator manual (Clormatic salt chlorinator) recommends potentially higher cya of 50 to 70, but I've never understood why a chlorinator would cause a need for more cya, except that it does not produce chlorine with stablilizer. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
    Are you talking about a salt water chlorinator? They normally need the higher CYA level to maximize cell life. It appears that the shocking action that occurs in the cell reduces the problems normally associated with higher CYA. Otherwise 2ppm is too low for your CYA.

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