FAQ’s

Shock is chlorine but comes a granular form; it is made of high concentrations of calcium hypochlorite. Shock treatments can be applied every one or two weeks in various dosages to simply raise chlorine or in a dose large enough to kill algae and eliminate chloramines in the water. Chlorine is the most widely used bacterial killing agent for pool water. The more you check and balance your chemicals the less shock you will need, saving you money, which everybody loves!

The amount of shock varies per pool and it depends on the strength of the product. If your pool chemicals are checked and balanced on a daily basis, the regular use of shock may be greatly reduced. The better you maintain your water chemistry the less shock you will use (are you seeing a trend here? Check your water chemistry! Balanced water is happy water!)

Usually, a reading of 2.0-3.0 is recommended. For all recommended chemical levels, download our Quick Chemical Reference Guide (PDF).

There could be a number of reasons…

• Chemicals are out of balance
• Low chlorine or high pH
• Lack of filtration (time to check skimmer baskets, pump basket, and backwash)
• Presence of phosphates or high total dissolved solids

For more information, download our Troubleshooting Guide (PDF).

1. Calculate the correct amount – see calculator page for details
2. Dissolve shock in a bucket of water. Always add chemicals to water.
3. Apply directly to pool. Never put shock through the skimmer or chlorinator (adding shock to a chlorinator can cause explosions, take it from me, you don’t want to learn that lesson the hard way!)

The smell usually indicates a chloramine buildup and lets you know it is time to shock. If the chlorine smell is very strong it is possible the chlorine is not breaking down bacteria as it is designed to do.

Clorox® has a negligible amount of free chlorine and causes a buildup of total dissolved solids. If you are interested in using a liquid form of chlorine; sodium hypochlorite is an acceptable and more concentrated form of “liquid chlorine.” Our recommendation is to keep the Clorox® in the cleaning closet and out of the pool shed for now! If you are interested in learning more about liquid chlorine (sodium hypochlorite) for your pool please contact our office.

Always follow manufacturers’ recommendations on the back of the package as all products vary.

Often this is caused by low sanitizer levels and/or poor water chemistry. The green could be algae or metals in your water. At the first sight of cloudiness or color change check your chemical levels immediately! Check our troubleshooting guide for more information and solutions.

For more information, download our Troubleshooting Guide (PDF).

Start by balancing your alkalinity and pH first. Once you have done that the sanitizer will be more effective. Once the alkalinity and pH have been balanced shock your pool. Raise the chlorine level to 30 ppm. This will cause the algae to die and it will create a milky white water color. You can use a clarifier such as SeaKlear Clarifier or Revive to clear the water up. Once the algae is gone add an algaecide. Download the Spring Algae Removal Program for more details on resolving algae issues. You can also check the troubleshooting guide.

It is a fine, yellowish algae that typically sits on the bottom of the pool and is sometimes mistaken for sand. Don’t eat it, that’s a different kind of mustard!

Use a mustard algae algaecide such as ProTeam Mustard and Black Magic along with increasing your chlorine level to 30 ppm. Always follow manufacturers’ instructions on the bottle.

A particularly tough strain of algae that is black in appearance and is often seen on pool walls.

The same procedure as mustard algae however as this is a tough strain of algae it may take several attempts. If you are having difficulty call the office and we would be happy to go out for a consultation.