When applied in significant quantities, non-chlorine shock can cause your pool water to have unhealthy total alkalinity levels. Furthermore, the total dissolved solids content will simultaneously increase.
It's also not uncommon for pool owners to go a bit overboard when shocking their pool, and since chlorine-based pool shock is a high-alkaline substance, it will also naturally raise your pool alkalinity.
It works to oxidize organic matter from dead skin cells, sweat, sunscreen, dirt, leaves, and other sources. It also oxidizes chloramine. Unlike chlorinated shock, chlorine-free has a pH level of 9 (neutral is 7).
A non-chlorine oxidizer removes contaminants from your water. These can include body oils, lotions, ammonia, and sweat. One of the benefits of using a non-chlorine oxidizer is that it allows your chlorine to do its best work in the hot tub water.
Non-chlorine shock, such as Leslie's Fresh 'n Clear, is an oxidizer. It uses the power of “active oxygen” to destroy contaminants in pool and spa water. This eases the load of your regular FAC residual, allowing that chlorine to stay effective longer. This, in turn, prevents chloramines from building up.
Change to Total Alkalinity
Total alkalinity determines how well water can neutralize acids. When applied in significant quantities, non-chlorine shock can cause your pool water to have unhealthy total alkalinity levels. Furthermore, the total dissolved solids content will simultaneously increase.
If too much is added, it can cause the overall pH level of the pool to drop for a sustained period, which you'll then have to raise. Whereas, with a chlorinated shock, if you overdose the pool on it, all you have to do is wait a few extra hours for the sun to burn off the chlorine.
A non-chlorine shock does not disinfect the water which is why its main use is as a weekly treatment to oxidise the water and help remove contaminants and clear cloudy water. The non-chlorine shock will help your chlorine work better by creating 'Free chlorine' which is the type of chlorine needed to kill bacteria.
Choose your dose of shock according to the package and label. Be cautious while putting shock into the water. After NON-CHLORINE shock wait 10-15 minutes before entering. After chlorine shock it can take up to 24 hours to clear.
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. Without tabs, the chlorine shock will dissipate quickly out of the water; without shock, the chlorine level will not get high enough to fully sanitize the water.
When you're shocking a pool, the goal is to raise the free chlorine level of the pool water to roughly 10 times the combined chlorine level. Reaching this mark is the breakpoint chlorination. Shocking a pool should be done at dusk. The sun will burn off unstabilized chlorine.
While shocking and adding algaecide is effective in getting rid of algae, it should not be done together. This is because when you mix chlorine and algaecide together, it renders both of them useless. Hence, you should first shock the pool and wait for the chlorine levels to fall below 5 PPM.
When you shock a pool, you test and adjust the pH level for a reason. With that said, if you shock a pool outside of the 7.2 to 7.4 pH range, not only will you waste a significant amount of the chlorine used, you will also end up with cloudy water.
This means you buy more chlorine and waste more time trying to get to an adequate concentration level with the substance. Asides its effects on your pool, a low alkalinity swimming pool is unsafe for swimmers as the acidic water can cause nasal, eye, and skin irritations.
A rule of thumb is 1.5 lbs. of baking soda per 10,000 gallons of water will raise alkalinity by about 10 ppm. If your pool's pH tested below 7.2, add 3-4 pounds of baking soda. If you're new to adding pool chemicals, start by adding only one-half or three-fourths of the recommended amount.
Both an oxidizer and sanitizer, cal hypo is quick dissolving and is the most frequently used in the pool industry. It will slightly raise your pH, so make sure you adjust pH while using it. As the name implies, it will also raise your calcium hardness levels in your pool slightly.
Basically, it uses reactive oxygen (“active oxygen”) to oxidize and remove contaminants from pool and spa water such as those found in sweat, urine and windblown debris. So it doesn't add chlorine to your pool, and it doesn't create chlorinated by-products — like chloramines.
Dead skin and other elements like hair may end up dropping in the hot tub, leaving the tub in a mess. It is essential to shock the hot tub frequently – at least once every week. It is important to use Chlorine shocks as well as non-Chlorine shocks.
The honest truth is that every hot tub owner has accidentally over-shocked their hot tub at least once. It happens from time to time and it's not the end of the world. Try to keep it to a minimum, though, as it can damage your hot tub and actually harm your body, too.
Spa Shock is commonly available in two different forms. There is chlorine based shock (Sodium Dichlor), which increases your sanitizer levels as well as shocking the water, and non-chlorine shock (potassium monopersulfate or MPS) which is purely for oxidizing the water.
If you wish to lower the pH without also reducing the Total Alkalinity, simply pour the dose of muriatic acid about the pool. “ This would all be wonderful if it was only accurate. Still, just like the mythological “Chlorine Lock,” folkloric tales within the swimming pool industry do persist.
Check Total Alkalinity (TA) first, then adjust for proper pH range. Proper TA will buffer pH, that is, it will help to prevent pH fluctuations. Use fresh, high quality test strips. Excessively high bromine or chlorine levels can result in false pH and TA readings.
One of the most common reasons why alkalinity levels are so high in pools is because of too many chemicals. This is usually the result of human error. However, for people who live in a geographical area that experience acid rain, this can be a common problem. The acid rain can continuously change your pool's pH level.
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.
Algaecide should be used after each shock treatment, so it has a better chance to support your chlorine as it works its magic. Be sure to shock your pool first, then when the chlorine levels of your pool return to normal, add the correct amount of algaecide to several places around your pool while your pump is running.