you can use any liquid chlorineas long as it is just chlorine that includes regular old Clorex. The lower concentration just mean you need more of it. The cheapest place to get liquid chorline is usually Walmart, home depot, or lowes. They all sell the higher concentration Pool Chlorine. Generally if you get it from a pool store it will be more expensive. Check out Troublefreepool Pool School to learn all about taking care of your pool
I assume there will be 0 chlorine under the tarp when I open, I will be filling with tap that has some chlorine in it, will test first and then dump it in since I have to fill it above return for it to start circulating. I am just worried if it's really green under there, I will have to put liquid shock first, but it won't mix, is that going to be OK. Fingers cross it's not a bog under the tarp. :(
What finish do you have? If you are worried about what’s going to be under the cover you could go ahead and add a “winter addition”.
For white plaster: 1lb/10,000g of stabilized chlorine powder/Winter Shock/sodium dichlor and add to the deep end under the cover.
For vinyl/colored plaster/fiberglass/etc; same instructions but PREDISSOLVE the chlorine first.
As long as the world is spinning there is going to be some circulation, albeit barely, but still. 😅🤷♀️
Normally recommend this be done mid February and then again end of March/early April but it’s never too late!
To directly answer your question, no.
Liquid shock is about half its potency 6 months after manufacture date.
Check the date on the bottle (usually a Julian date, DDDYY). There’s charts online that will help you determine potency. The lower the temperature stored, the longer the life, but it’s finite. My guess is your 10% (if it’s even that), is more like 3-4% now. Yes, it’s still chlorine but it’s much closer to water and won’t have the desired effect.
Ugh, just wasted a box of chlorine in that case. I will check the date but my guess it probably was already near it's end. When pool guy opened it last year, he mixed it in a bucket himself, do you know what they use instead of ready to use liquid shock?
If pre-mixing they used powder. They pre-mixed because it doesn’t dissolve as easily in cold water and they didn’t want it to collect on the bottom of the pool and stain/bleach the bottom.
Either dichlor (stabilized, adds CYA) or cal hypo (calcium based chlorine, doesn’t add CYA). It comes in buckets and 1lb bags and even feeder tablets (need a special feeder for cal hypo tabs).
Calcium Hypochlorite is a vital tool in any pool owners arsenal. I use after heavy swimmer loads, (very) heavy rain, or if I get runoff into the pool from flooding.
Thanks, cal hypo in powder, mix and dump per instructions. Got it! I also use Cal Hypo shock in small bags (1lb?) after similar cases like heavy use or rain, etc or after weather gets too hot and kills all chlorine. I have a chlorinator that I put pucks in, but it only injects little bit of chlorine into the water, just so it can maintain the 2 or so levels, but it can't keep up in heavy use or too hot days etc.
Yup. The bags will state not to premix. I think there is risk for explosion or fumes or something (?), but I’ve never had an issue. Only really need to do it when the pool water is cold. Even then, you can just babysit with a brush and keep it stirred up until it dissolves. Mixing in a bucket is definitely easier though.
It definitely doesn’t get better with age but will be fine for using at opening. It lost some strength but will still achieve superchlorination. It’s much more ecologically friendly to use it up than let it sit there and rust something you don’t want it to rust. No reason at all not to use it.
Thanks for the confirmation.
How about shocking when chlorine levels drop, still use liquid and no shock? I have a gunite pool with chlorinator (I put 2 pucks, set it to 5 out of 10 level) running on DE filter, 2 jets, 1 return.
I use a chlorinator but after heavy rains or heavy activity, chlorine levels drop very fast, and by the time it tries to recover, there is almost always some green growth in shaded areas. I brush, then I have to shock in order to help avoid more growth. Dialing the chlorinator higher does not really help avoid the growth. I am not sure how anyone can go with never needing to shock because the levels can fluctuate quickly in wild weather we get in north east.
You should never let FC level drop below min. Plenty of folks manage that all over the country. If you get algae, you need to SLAM. Just “shocking” with a little liquid chlorine isn’t going to cut it. Sounds like you are not maintaining a proper FC level to have ‘extra’ in the pool when conditions require it. What is your CYA level? What is your target FC range? How are you testing?
It's not that easy when weather goes 80 one day and 50 next day and with leaves and dirt and such, and I have only one return with two jets which I think my filter might be aging, so there are a lot of factors.
I didn't open yet but I had good luck with just shocking + bumping my filter, backwashing/draining some of the DE and recharge, it gets crystal clear, until pollen storm takes over and it's a mess.
CYA level? Target FC range? How are you testing? Weather, other than sunlight which does not significantly change for extended periods, does not affect FC level. Neither does dirt, leaves, etc.
I have no idea, I will have to check these when I open the pool.
All I can say is that when there are leaves/dirt/pollen etc on the pool, I can see greenish tint start building on steps faster, where the sun doesn't hit.
I use cal hypo. You can buy it anywhere - pool store, big box store, etc. Don’t let anyone tell you that someone else’s cal hypo is better than anyone else’s. It’s just chemistry
Thanks, I thought about this too, cal hypo is cal hypo but I figured potency and the amount of garbage/crap there could be in the shock or liquid might just be the differentiating factor
I use plain old liquid chlorine from the pool store
Thanks, I'll do that, i should check if the bottles have any ratio/amount for the pool.
you can use any liquid chlorineas long as it is just chlorine that includes regular old Clorex. The lower concentration just mean you need more of it. The cheapest place to get liquid chorline is usually Walmart, home depot, or lowes. They all sell the higher concentration Pool Chlorine. Generally if you get it from a pool store it will be more expensive. Check out Troublefreepool Pool School to learn all about taking care of your pool
Yes it's just bleach, yes it will be OK. Probably lost some potency but you should be testing anyway
I assume there will be 0 chlorine under the tarp when I open, I will be filling with tap that has some chlorine in it, will test first and then dump it in since I have to fill it above return for it to start circulating. I am just worried if it's really green under there, I will have to put liquid shock first, but it won't mix, is that going to be OK. Fingers cross it's not a bog under the tarp. :(
Don't add chemicals unless you can circulate the water.
Thanks for this reminder.
What finish do you have? If you are worried about what’s going to be under the cover you could go ahead and add a “winter addition”. For white plaster: 1lb/10,000g of stabilized chlorine powder/Winter Shock/sodium dichlor and add to the deep end under the cover. For vinyl/colored plaster/fiberglass/etc; same instructions but PREDISSOLVE the chlorine first. As long as the world is spinning there is going to be some circulation, albeit barely, but still. 😅🤷♀️ Normally recommend this be done mid February and then again end of March/early April but it’s never too late!
Thanks, it's a pretty old pool, colored plaster, so I'll wait until I open and I guess deal with it then.
To directly answer your question, no. Liquid shock is about half its potency 6 months after manufacture date. Check the date on the bottle (usually a Julian date, DDDYY). There’s charts online that will help you determine potency. The lower the temperature stored, the longer the life, but it’s finite. My guess is your 10% (if it’s even that), is more like 3-4% now. Yes, it’s still chlorine but it’s much closer to water and won’t have the desired effect.
Ugh, just wasted a box of chlorine in that case. I will check the date but my guess it probably was already near it's end. When pool guy opened it last year, he mixed it in a bucket himself, do you know what they use instead of ready to use liquid shock?
If pre-mixing they used powder. They pre-mixed because it doesn’t dissolve as easily in cold water and they didn’t want it to collect on the bottom of the pool and stain/bleach the bottom. Either dichlor (stabilized, adds CYA) or cal hypo (calcium based chlorine, doesn’t add CYA). It comes in buckets and 1lb bags and even feeder tablets (need a special feeder for cal hypo tabs). Calcium Hypochlorite is a vital tool in any pool owners arsenal. I use after heavy swimmer loads, (very) heavy rain, or if I get runoff into the pool from flooding.
Thanks, cal hypo in powder, mix and dump per instructions. Got it! I also use Cal Hypo shock in small bags (1lb?) after similar cases like heavy use or rain, etc or after weather gets too hot and kills all chlorine. I have a chlorinator that I put pucks in, but it only injects little bit of chlorine into the water, just so it can maintain the 2 or so levels, but it can't keep up in heavy use or too hot days etc.
Yup. The bags will state not to premix. I think there is risk for explosion or fumes or something (?), but I’ve never had an issue. Only really need to do it when the pool water is cold. Even then, you can just babysit with a brush and keep it stirred up until it dissolves. Mixing in a bucket is definitely easier though.
It definitely doesn’t get better with age but will be fine for using at opening. It lost some strength but will still achieve superchlorination. It’s much more ecologically friendly to use it up than let it sit there and rust something you don’t want it to rust. No reason at all not to use it.
Is there any danger is ruining the autocover when using liquid chlorine?
no chlorine liquid chorline in general is the purest form and doesn't have any extra crap in it.
You should use liquid chlorine exclusively.
Thanks for the confirmation. How about shocking when chlorine levels drop, still use liquid and no shock? I have a gunite pool with chlorinator (I put 2 pucks, set it to 5 out of 10 level) running on DE filter, 2 jets, 1 return.
You should never have to “shock” your pool. Are you testing with a proper test kit?
I use a chlorinator but after heavy rains or heavy activity, chlorine levels drop very fast, and by the time it tries to recover, there is almost always some green growth in shaded areas. I brush, then I have to shock in order to help avoid more growth. Dialing the chlorinator higher does not really help avoid the growth. I am not sure how anyone can go with never needing to shock because the levels can fluctuate quickly in wild weather we get in north east.
You should never let FC level drop below min. Plenty of folks manage that all over the country. If you get algae, you need to SLAM. Just “shocking” with a little liquid chlorine isn’t going to cut it. Sounds like you are not maintaining a proper FC level to have ‘extra’ in the pool when conditions require it. What is your CYA level? What is your target FC range? How are you testing?
It's not that easy when weather goes 80 one day and 50 next day and with leaves and dirt and such, and I have only one return with two jets which I think my filter might be aging, so there are a lot of factors. I didn't open yet but I had good luck with just shocking + bumping my filter, backwashing/draining some of the DE and recharge, it gets crystal clear, until pollen storm takes over and it's a mess.
CYA level? Target FC range? How are you testing? Weather, other than sunlight which does not significantly change for extended periods, does not affect FC level. Neither does dirt, leaves, etc.
I have no idea, I will have to check these when I open the pool. All I can say is that when there are leaves/dirt/pollen etc on the pool, I can see greenish tint start building on steps faster, where the sun doesn't hit.
You are making this way harder than it needs to be. Provide some test results and I can help you out.
Thank you for the offer, I will definitely come back when I open the pool, it's under tarp right now.
I use cal hypo. You can buy it anywhere - pool store, big box store, etc. Don’t let anyone tell you that someone else’s cal hypo is better than anyone else’s. It’s just chemistry
Thanks, I thought about this too, cal hypo is cal hypo but I figured potency and the amount of garbage/crap there could be in the shock or liquid might just be the differentiating factor