You should not add chlorine and shock at the same time, as it's largely redundant to do so.
Low chlorine levels often cause green or hazy water, so if your water looks a little cloudy and you haven't shocked in a while, adding shock is the first step. It is always best to shock the pool in the evening, when the sun if off the water. If not, the sun will suck it out as fast as you add it.
Shocking is crucial for removing any pathogens in the water and making a pool safe for swimming. It also involves using heavy-duty chemicals, including chlorine, so it's best to wait at least 24 hours after you shock a pool to go swimming. Going in too soon can potentially cause skin, eye, and even lung problems.
Can I Add All Pool Chemicals At The Same Time? No. With the exception of salt, you should never mix any types of chemicals and put them together, not even close to each other. Never want to mix acid with chemicals like stabilisers, chlorine and buffers.
Chlorine and shock are not the same thing. Shock has a more intense chemical strength than the traditional chlorine sanitizers, and it also differs in how you should apply it to your swimming pool.
A simple rule of thumb to follow when you shock your pool is to dissolve one pound of either calcium hypochlorite or sodium dichlor for every 10,000 gallons of pool water. If you are using sodium hypochlorite, i.e., liquid chlorine, the ratio comes out to 10 ounces for every 10,000 gallons of pool water.
Biofilm or organic material in the water, such as sunscreen, leaves, or algae. Pool covers trapping chlorine and causing it to dissipate more rapidly. In some cases, your chlorine levels might be too high, and this can cause your test kit reagents to bleach out, making it look like there's no chlorine in your pool.
Learn More About Balancing Your Pool
For safe and accurate results, you should always test in the following order: Start by testing alkalinity and making adjustments as needed. Next, test and adjust pH levels as needed. Third, test and adjust calcium hardness as needed.
If the pool is clear, but has no chlorine, then it is best to shock the pool first, wait at least an hour, and then add the stabilizer. It is recommended that you add stabilizer when there is a measurable amount of chlorine in the pool.
First things first, when adding any chemical to the pool, always make sure your pump is running, and automatic cleaner is removed. Having the pump running helps to distribute the chemicals throughout the pool and removing equipment such as pool cleaners helps ensure that they last longer.
In addition to causing irritation, high levels of chlorine can also cause premature wear and tear to the filter and other mechanical parts of the pool. Fortunately, chlorine is light sensitive. So a few days of good sunlight should help burn off the excess chlorine and help get it back to normal levels.
If you're dealing with an algae infestation, brush the pool after shocking to remove lingering debris and run the filter. Rinse or backwash your filter to avoid recontamination. If you've still got traces of algae, shock your pool again.
Baking soda, also known as sodium bicarbonate is naturally alkaline, with a pH of 8. When you add baking soda to your pool water, you will raise both the pH and the alkalinity, improving stability and clarity. Many commercial pool products for raising alkalinity utilize baking soda as their main active ingredient.
You should add chlorine within 48 hours of filling your pool with water. In just 24 hours, bacteria and algae will begin to grow and contaminate your water. After that point, you'll need to shock the water with high levels of chlorine, and you'll likely need to do additional vacuuming to get the pool clean.
Begin the pool start-up process by adding some scale or stain preventative before any other chemical. If your pool consists of new plaster, this step should always go first. Make sure that the water is properly tested to determine how much chemicals you should add.
For most chlorine shocks, you'll need to wait at least 12–24 hours.
Shock Your Pool
Shocking is the process of adding chemicals to your pool to raise chlorine levels and kill bacteria and algae. We recommend using a calcium hypochlorite shock to treat your algae problems.
The only chemicals you must never add at the same time are chlorine and acid. Stabilizer, salt and calcium chloride can be added with other chemicals. Some chemicals, like those used to raise TA, effect multiple things and you would want to wait and see it's effect on pH before adding acid.
Start with pH. Inexperienced pool owners often think that all you have to do is shock your swimming pool with chlorine, but the truth is that pH is the key. If your pH is not balanced, any other chemicals that you add will be ineffective. The ideal pH is between 7.4 and 7.6.
The simplest strategy is to follow them, remembering the two golden rules of adding chemicals: only add chemicals to a pool that is running, and only add chemicals to water, not water to chemicals.
In general, you should shock your pool when: Algae begins to grow in your pool. The free chlorine level of your pool measures zero. The chloramines or combined chlorine level rises above 0.5 parts per million (ppm).
Regardless of how frequently or what system you use to add chlorine to the water, the chlorine level should stay between 1.0 and 3.0 parts per million (ppm) to maintain a healthy pool.
If the pool water is hazy even after the pool shock, it is an indication of imbalanced levels of pH and total alkalinity. Usually the high level of pH causes calcium accumulation in the pool, affecting the clarity of the water. The high pH makes the water basic/alkaline and the low pH turns it acidic.