Can you put too much shock in a pool? SKIMMER NOTES: It's unlikely but it could happen. It would take a lot of shock to really make the water unsafe for swimming. The best way to make sure you're safe to swim is to test your pool water and make sure free chlorine levels are between 1-4ppm for healthy swimming.
What happens if too much shock is added? You cannot overshock a swimming pool or add too much. Adding too much shock or overshocking your pool will kill off algae. The negative of adding too much shock is it will upset the chemical balance of your pool.
It's often recommended to shock your pool once a week. If you don't do it every week, you should at least do it every other week. This is necessary to maintain your pool's water chemistry. If you have a lot of people over in your pool or have a party, you may want to shock your pool more frequently.
To double shock, you will need to add 2 pounds for every 10,000 gallons of water. For instance, if you pool is 20,000 gallons, you will add 4 pounds of shock. Green or Dark Green Pool Water: This means there's a medium amount of algae in your water and you'll need to triple shock your pool.
There's no hard and fast rule regarding how often to shock a pool. But there is a generally accepted guideline of once every 1 to 2 weeks to keep your pool water performing at its highest level.
Running your filter after shocking your pool is a must and is just as important to your pool as shocking it is. Be sure to run your filter for at least 6 hours, but shoot for 24 hours to several days, if your pool is particularly dirty or has algae, to properly circulate the chlorine and clean the water.
If your total chlorine level is high, you will use a non-chlorine shock; if it is low, you will use a chlorinated shock. As a rule, you will need to raise free chlorine to 10 times your combined chlorine to hit what is known as “break point.” Therefore, it is good to deal with combined chlorine while it is still small.
It's pretty tough to over-shock your pool; shocking your pool two days in a row with the proper dosage for your pool volume shouldn't be a problem – and in fact, is sometimes even needed to rid your pool of algae and other contaminants.
Pools can immediately turn green after shocking when they have metals like copper in the water. These metals oxidise when exposed to high levels of chlorine which makes the pool water turn green. Adding a metal control product such as Zodiac Metal Remover will help to restore the pool water.
How Often Should I Shock My Pool? Shocking your pool regularly will help to keep the water clean and free of contaminants. You should aim to shock your pool about once a week, with the additional shock after heavy use. Some tell-tale signs that your pool needs to be shocked are cloudy, foamy, green, or odourous water.
So if you buy liquid shock, be aware that it only lasts one to two months at the most before it starts to lose effectiveness. While many swimming pool chemicals stay good for years if stored correctly, some pool-maintenance supplies expire more quickly.
With non-chlorine shock, 15 minutes is sufficient with the pump running. With using a chlorine shock, it depends on how, and what, you were “shocking” for. A maintenance dose per say, one would only need to wait approximately 4 hours with the pump running.
And how long do you have to wait before you can swim? You should wait one hour per pound of shock product added, and then test the water to confirm the pH and chlorine are in the proper range before letting anyone enter the pool.
Add Pool Water Clarifier
After your pool water has circulated and your shock has dissipated, it's time to add your clarifier. Clarifier helps bind tiny particles into bigger particles that your filter can capture.
Shock is chlorine, in a high dose, meant to shock your pool and raise the chlorine level quickly. Chlorine tabs (placed in a chlorinator, floater, or skimmer basket) maintain a chlorine residual in the water. You do need to use both tabs and shock.
When the chlorine has completely finished working, the algae in the pool will turn a white/gray color and will either settle to the bottom of the pool or be suspended in the water. There shouldn't be any more green color and the water visibility should be improving. Run the filter 24/7 and backwash as needed.
It is best to wait before going into the pool because liquid chlorine levels will be high after shocking, but it will be safe to swim after only 24 hours. Each chlorine compound is designed for a specific purpose. Using these two types in conjunction with one another will keep your pool clean, clear and sparkling!
Brown pool water is often caused by metals (iron) becoming oxidized in the pool water. If you shocked your pool water and it turned brown you probably have metals. Oxidized iron usually turns a brown or rusty color in the water.
Shocking your pool isn't necessary, although, it's not a bad idea either. If you get an extremely heavy rain fall, you could shock your pool for good measure. This will help fight off any contaminants that the rain may have brought to your pool.
Although vacuuming should be combined with pool shocking, it's better to vacuum the pool before you shock the water. A good scrubbing and vacuuming of the pool walls and floor will ensure that dirt and debris that can affect the water chemistry is removed before the chlorine is added.
Properly stored chlorine tablets should last three to five years. The storage site should be cool, dry and well-ventilated, such as in a basement. Never leave chlorine tablets in the direct sun, even in a covered bucket, because the heat will accelerate the degrading process of the tablet and its ingredients.
All pool chemicals, aside from unstabilised liquid chlorine, are good for up to three to five years as long as they're stored in a cool and dark place away from sunlight and they're packed in air-tight containers.
Chlorinated and non-chlorinated pools freeze at the same temperature. However, salt water pools will freeze at a slightly lower temperature. It should also be noted that above-ground pools will generally freeze at a higher temperature than inground pools.
So, not only is shocking a saltwater pool okay, but it's actually important to your pool's health. Shocking is the process in which you overload your pool with chlorine (3-5 times the normal amount) to improve your pool's cleanliness and kill off organic matter.