Generally you only need 15-30 minutes between chemical additions. There is no worry about the tablet floating when adding pH reducer (I would recommend muriatic acid, BTW ... but do NOT dump it in near the tablet).
Alkalinity Balance, pH up, pH down, Calcium Balance, Water Stabilizer, and clarifier are all swim-safe chemicals. Wait about 20 minutes, and you are free to swim. We suggest adding algaecide, Super Erace, and shock at night, after everyone is out of the pool.
A good rule of thumb is to never mix pool chemicals with each other. After adding Calcium Hypochlorite a user should always wait 24 hours before adding chemicals that would alter their pH. Adjusting pH or Total Alkalinty after adding Calcium Hypochlorite can cause the calcium to temporarily cloud the water.
Most balancing chemicals, such as pH, alkalinity, and calcium hardness, will become incorporated into the water within an hour of adding them, at which time swimming is safe. Shock takes longer to adjust with the pool water, so waiting overnight after shocking before you swim is recommended.
Lower the pH before shocking, 7.2 – 7.4 is best for shock efficacy. Dilute pool shock in a bucket of water for vinyl liner pools. Run the filter 24/7 until water is clear.
Alkalinity is the total alkaline material in your pool water. You should test alkalinity first because it will buffer pH. Your reading should be in the range of 80 to 120 parts per million (ppm).
Light Green or Teal Pool Water:
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.
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.
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.
You should never add chlorine and muriatic acid at the same time. The muriatic acid will react with the chlorine in your pool and create a deadly gas called hydrochloric acid. You need to wait for a minimum of 30 minutes, after you add the acid, before adding any chlorine to your pool.
It's not a good idea to use pool shock at the same time as clarifier. Some clarifiers are polymer based and the shock can act to break up the polymer causing the clarifier to be ineffective. It's best to shock your pool before and wait a day or two before adding clarifier.
It takes about 24 hours for the chemicals to properly circulate in order to get an effective reading from the retest. The water test will assess the pH, chlorine, total alkalinity and calcium hardness. If you use chlorine in the pool, you should also test for cyanuric acid.
When is it safe to go into a pool after it's shocked? In general, it's recommended that you wait up to 24 hours to hop into a pool after it's been shocked, depending on the size of the pool, Alan says.
Rule of thumb is to do the PH first. And do not bother to drive to pool store to spend the extra money for a PH DECREASER. Buy a plain baking soda for 50cents a pound in Walmart! Chlorine will not work fully until your PH is in the proper range.
Low pH water will cause etching and deterioration of plaster, grout, stone, concrete and tiling. Any vinyl surfaces will also become brittle, which increases risk of cracks and tears. All of these dissolved minerals will hold in the solution of your pool water; which can result in staining and cloudy 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.
A pool filter should be run for a minimum of 6 hours after shocking a swimming pool. This is to allow the filter to clean the water and give the shock enough time to fully mix with the pool water. Running the filter after shocking for 24 hours to 7 days is necessary if the pool has a large amount of algae.
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.
A pH level of 7 means that water is neutral; above 7 means the water is alkaline, while below 7 indicates acidity. Aim for a pH level of between 7 and 7.6. If the water pH is higher than 8, anyone who swims in the pool is at risk of skin rashes, while a pH of lower than 7 can sting swimmers' eyes.
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.
The most common reason for a consistently high pH level in pools is the use of liquid chlorine or a saltwater system as the primary sanitizer. Sodium hydroxide is produced, which has a pH of around 13. New pool plaster or pebble finishes will also raise pH in pools for about a year after installation.
Non-stabilized chlorines like calcium hypochlorite (cal hypo), sodium hypochlorite (liquid chlorine), and salt chlorine generators all tend to raise the pH of the pool. One common habit in the pool business is to add some acid to "offset" the pH rise that liquid chlorine causes.
There are two main chemicals typically used to decrease pH in hot tubs, muriatic acid and dry acid (also known as sodium bisulfate). Although they are designed to do the same thing, pay attention to which chemical you are using, because how you add the chemical differs.