Best Pool Shock

[Pool Shocker]

I'm creating a little blog and would like some help for the content.
I want to give reviews on the best PoolShock, or at least some pro's and con's for each kind and brand. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks everyone!

[lbridges]

6% bleach.

Priced attractively, readily available, effective without adding chemicals not needed.

[chem geek]

What you wrote on your blog about needing to shock the pool regularly is simply not true. If one properly maintains a Free Chlorine (FC) level appropriate for their Cyanuric Acid (CYA) level, then there is no need to shock the pool on a regular basis. Oxidation of bather waste and other contaminants occurs continuously in a properly managed residential pool.

If you do need to shock the pool because of an unusual event such as too high a Combined Chlorine (CC) reading perhaps from unusually high bather load or if there is unusual chlorine demand including a nascent algae bloom (won't happen if you properly manage chlorine levels relative to CYA) or there is dead animal or a fecal accident, then the best way to shock the pool is to add chlorinating liquid or bleach as these do not add anything else you may not want in your pool.

Dichlor used to shock the pool is the most insidious since it increases the CYA level the fastest. The following are chemical rules of fact that are independent of concentration of product or of pool size:

For every 10 ppm Free Chlorine (FC) added by Trichlor, it also increases Cyanuric Acid (CYA) by 6 ppm.
For every 10 ppm FC added by Dichlor, it also increases CYA by 9 ppm.
For every 10 ppm FC added by Cal-Hypo, it also increases Calcium Hardness (CH) by at least 7 ppm.

You can read to learn much more about how to properly maintain a pool.

[Newbee2010]

Hello,

I've read many of the READ FIRST posts, but I'm still not sure what to do about my pool. This is our first time having a pool, so I don't know much at all.

We went to a pool store, and they gave us the following shock, to be used weekly: sodium dichloro-s-triazinetrione and potassium monopersulfate. I'm guessing this is non-chlorine shock?

I just found 2 baby squirrels dead in the skimmer. Will this type of shock clean out whatever might be in the pool because of those dead animals? It says right on the package that it isnot asanitizer, disinfectant or algecide--so what is it doing then?

We have pucks in the skimmer--I read that this is a no-no...what is the alternative?

Thanks,
NEWBEE2010

[Newbee2010]

I'm a dummy. Just realized that that sodium dichloro pouch is chlorine shock.

I've broadcast it over the surface of my pool, and hopefully it will clean things out.

Now why would the packet say that it is not intended to be a sanitizer, disinfectant etc?

[chem geek]

Non-chlorine shock (MPS) is not a sanitizer -- it is an oxidizer. Dichlor is chlorine, but increases CYA levels a lot. If you already have CYA (Cyanuric Acid -- aka stabilizer or conditioner) in your water, then you want to use chlorinating liquid or 6% unscented bleach to shock your pool. Read the Pool School including the article on shocking your pool to learn more. You will need to get yourself a good test kit such as the Taylor K-2006 or the TF-100.

By the way, there is NOTHING unique about "chlorine shock". It's chlorine, period. Shock is a verb, not a noun. The Dichlor sold as "shock" is identical to the Dichlor sold as regular "chlorine" and the chlorine that gets into the pool from Dichlor, Trichlor, Cal-Hypo, lithium hypochorite, chlorinating liquid, and bleach are all IDENTICAL. The differences are in what ELSE they add and their affect on pH. The following are chemical rules of fact that are independent of concentration of product or of pool size:

For every 10 ppm Free Chlorine (FC) added by Trichlor, it also increases Cyanuric Acid (CYA) by 6 ppm.
For every 10 ppm FC added by Dichlor, it also increases CYA by 9 ppm.
For every 10 ppm FC added by Cal-Hypo, it also increases Calcium Hardness (CH) by at least 7 ppm.