weak bond with the free chlorine in the pool water. Shock does not contain any cyanuric acid, so after 24 hours, the elevated amounts of chlorine are no longer in the pool.
Potassium Monopersulfate (Non-Chlorine Shock)
Unlike both cal-hypo and dichlor, MPS won't change your pool's cyanuric acid levels. Known as the “shock and swim” method, MPS can be used at any time of the day. You can start swimming nearly 15 minutes after using this shock.
Some pool shock, like dichlor shock, contains cyanuric acid. But we recommend using unstabilized chlorine shock without CYA. This ensures you're not adding unnecessary CYA to your water each time you shock your pool.
It lowers the overall pH levels, however using Di-Chlor Shock will add CYA or Cyanuric Acid (commonly referred to as water conditioner). CYA prevents chemical loss due to evaporation, but too much can reduce the effectiveness of your free chlorine, allowing algae to grow.
OVERVIEW. HTH® Super Shock! Pool Shock Treatment is the powerful 4-in-1 shock formulated with Cal Hypo—not CYA (cyanuric acid)—to kill and prevent bacteria and algae for crystal clear, healthy water. That means unlike other shocks, HTH boosts chlorine levels without over-stabilizing your pool.
Leslie's Power Powder Plus 73 is great for overall pool clean-up when chlorine levels are below 2.0 ppm. It is the strongest shock, providing 73% Calcium Hypochlorite and 70% Available Chlorine.
In this case, you should double shock your swimming pool water. 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.
Cyanuric acid is raised by adding chlorine stabilizer containing cyanuric acid. The only way to lower cyanuric acid is by replacing water.
Saltwater pool manufacturers recommend maintaining cyanuric acid levels around 60-80 ppm. This is a bit higher than the 30-50 ppm range recommended for non-saltwater pools. And if you live in an area where your pool gets a lot of direct sunlight, you may even consider bumping your cyanuric acid up to 80-100 ppm.
There are three primary types of chemicals that are used for pool shock purposes, which include calcium hypochlorite, sodium di-chlor, and potassium monopersulfate. Calcium hypochlorite is likely the most effective pool shock available because of how strong the chemical is compared to the two other options.
Cal hypo does not contain stabilizer (cyanuric acid), though it can be stabilized toward sunlight in recreational water through the use of cyanuric acid. You can buy it in slow dissolving tablet forms, or more rapidly dissolving granular forms, depending on your needs.
Stabilized chlorine tablets contain cyanuric acid, which will protect the chlorine from being broken down by the sun's UV rays. This is especially important in an outdoor pool. With no CYA you'll constantly be adding lots of chlorine.
A chlorine tab has two side effects that most pool owners don't realize: It has a pH of 2.9 but more importantly, it lowers Total Alkalinity (TA). It is 52% cyanuric acid (aka conditioner or stabilizer) by weight and each one increases the cyanuric acid level (CYA) in your pool water.
The difference between standard chlorine treatments and a pool shock product is just the dosage of chlorine. Pool shock products are intended to rapidly raise the chlorine level in the water to kill any microorganisms, while standard chlorine treatments have lower doses meant to maintain current chlorine levels.
Yes both cyanuric acid and muriatic acid are both acids but they serve different purposes for the pool owner. Cyanuric acid has the chemical formula CNOH, whereas muriatic acid is a diluted form of hydrochloric acid, HCI.
Cyanuric Acid (CYA) is a pool balancing product used to help chlorine last longer. Chlorine, in its natural form, is unstabilized—which means it degrades when exposed to sunlight. Adding Cyanuric Acid reduces the sun's impact on chlorine loss.
Why You Have Low Cyanuric Acid
The most likely reason is that you've only ever used unstabilized chlorine in your pool. Heads up: Unstabilized chlorine, such as sodium hypochlorite (liquid chlorine), lithium hypochlorite, and calcium hypochlorite, is pure chlorine.
Yes, the most economical way to lower CYA is to partially drain and dilute the pool with fresh water. Consult a pool professional if you want to drain more than 1/3 of your water, because there are risks with hydrostatic pressure and other concerns.
All alkaline materials are buffers. Cyanuric acid happens to be the most common buffer found in pool water. In effect, cyanuric acid helps stabilize both chlorine and pH. It binds with chlorine to prevent photolysis and it keeps pH elevated.
Cyanuric acid is available as a granular solid and as a liquid (sodium cyanurate). Most commonly, however, cyanuric acid is found in stabilized chlorines dichlor and trichlor. These stabilized chlorines have about 50-58% CYA in their formulas.
Although, if you overdo the shock treatment, you risk getting green hair from chlorine due to the excess chlorine oxidizing the copper in the water. You can execute a shock treatment with a few different types of pool shock, just be mindful of how much you're using.
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.
High doses of chlorine, like pool shock, can cause temporary cloudiness as it kills contaminants. High levels of pH, alkalinity, and calcium hardness are more likely to cause cloudy water.