how much bleach do you use for daily use and to super shock

[eartha]

Hi, I am new to the forum. I am switching to the bbb way this year due to the cost of chlorine now. I have a 16*32 vinyl inground pool what I would like to learn is how much bleach to use for daily use and how to super shock my pool. And also want to know if it is safe for dogs to swim when using bleach and sometimes my cat drinks from the pool. And I would like to know how often should I shock my after dogs have been for a swim.

[Watermom]

Welcome to the forum! We need a little more information about your pool. There is no set amount of bleach to add each day. It depends on what your current water testing results are. I can tell you this, in a pool this size, each 3 qt. jug of bleach will raise your chlorine level by 2 ppm. Super shocking is simply adding a large dose of bleach at once to raise your cl level up. How high you need to shock to depends on your CYA level. Post some current water testing results taken with a drops-based kit (not test strips) and we'll take a look and be able to better advise you. If you don't have a good test kit, we recommend the Taylor K-2006. A good price for it seems to be at this place. http://www.amatoind.com/taylor-k2006-test-p-555.html

Re: pets --- All I can tell you is that my sister has a pool and she lets her dogs swim all the time. How often to shock after dogs swim? Depends on if your CC (combined chlorine) goes up afterwards. Safe for cats to drink? I have NO idea, but I wouldn't think so.

[AnnaK]

Hi eartha and welcome!

Our two German shepherds swim daily. I keep the chlorine level between 3 - 5 ppm and have never shocked the pool just because the dogs swim in it. They ingest a lot of water when diving and retrieving and the FC hasn't hurt them. I don't know anything about cats, can't help you there.

What have you been using to sanitize the pool? If you've put in such products as trichlor or dichlor tabs/ sticks/ pellets/ flakes you've really been using chlorine all along.

[eartha]

I have been using 3" tablets of triclor from leslies. My test kit is very old I need to go buy a new one. But here are the numbers when I took water to leslies on 5-30-10


FC= 5
TC= 5
PH= 7.6
TA= 120
CYA= 30

But we have had some rain here in the last few days. I will take some more to Leslies again today until I get a new kit. So some of those numbers may have changed a little.
So what should I do after dogs and people have been in the pool and the water gets cloudy?

[aylad]

Your numbers all are where they should be. I wouldn't use any more of the trichlor, though, because your CYA will continue to rise. If your water gets cloudy after dogs and people have been in it, then you will need to shock it if the filter doesn't clear it up within a few hours.

Janet

[eartha]

That is what I did Monday night after we were done swimming. And the pool was clear the next morning. I have less than a half of a bucket of Triclor left to use so they don't go to waste. But now that i know it raises my CYA I will use them less often now. Just enough to keep my levels where they are now. Then I will switch to bleach. I am going to call around and see where the best deal is on bleach or if anyone can help me find a place I live in NE Atlanta area.