hickmysta Posted June 9, 2007 Report Share Posted June 9, 2007 hello to all......I have been reading alot about using bleach to chlorinate my pool. I currently have about 42000 gallons of water 44x22 with a walk out L. ...I am using chlorine sticks in my two skimmers (4 in each). If i use bleach ,can I eliminate using the choline sticks ? Or do i use the bleach just for a weekly shock.....I already bought baking soda at COSTCO but have yet to add any yet.Today it is raining out so I will test the pool tomorrow .....What i really need to know is how should i convert my pool to the cheaper bleach method and is it safe to mix the two (chlorine sticks& bleach) thanks in advance for any advice..................................................... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itabb Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 You can mix the 2. Sticks are usually Trichlor, I think. Stabilized Chlorine. You'd better be monitoring your CYA levels carefully. After 50, you can't use sticks anymore. I think tabs come in Cal Hypo, but then you have to watch your CA levels. Bleach you'll have to add every evening. That's why you are going to want either a liquid chlorine feeder or an SWG. Tell you what. Post a full set of your latest stats, along with specifics of what chemicals you are using, along with details on your pool and we'll see what happens. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chem geek Posted June 10, 2007 Report Share Posted June 10, 2007 If you use a pool cover, especially one that is opaque to UV light, then you may need to add bleach or chlorinating liquid only twice a week instead of every day. This also depends on your pool usage (bather load). Our pool gets used about 4-5 days per week for an hour or two each time and has an opaque safety cover. I only need to add chlorine twice a week as it only loses around 0.5-0.7 ppm FC per day (average) at a level of 3-5 ppm FC and CYA of around 20-30 ppm. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hickmysta Posted June 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 11, 2007 I just bought the liquid shock and added it today..i priced out the bleach(king kullen and clorox brands) clorox was 4 dollars a gallon for a 5.25% solution. the liquid shock was 12.5%.the liquid shock was 18 dollars for 4 gallons which treats 40,000 gallons of water....(up to 10ppm)....it seems that i would need double the amount of household bleach as compared to the liquid shock......ill post my results next time i have the pool store read them.....thank you once again...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itabb Posted June 12, 2007 Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 Bah, pool stores are unreliable. Get your own test kit. You can get cheap Clorox at Costco, BJs (my favorite) or Sams. Wal-mart bleach works well too. And they're all 6%. Also, Clorox will store much longer than pool chlorine. Pool Chlorine will be water in 2 months, at least that's what my local pool store says and why they don't carry it. They recommend Clorox. Also, you don't buy shock. Shock is something you do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waterbear Posted June 12, 2007 Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 Bah, pool stores are unreliable. Well, if pool stores are unreliable then you might want to forget about all the advice I've given you on getting your own pool straightened out! (and it WAS quite a mess!) I work in one! Get your own test kit. You can get cheap Clorox at Costco, BJs (my favorite) or Sams. Wal-mart bleach works well too. And they're all 6%. Also, Clorox will store much longer than pool chlorine. Pool Chlorine will be water in 2 months, at least that's what my local pool store says and why they don't carry it. They recommend Clorox. 12.5% liquid clorine can be the best deal if you use it quickly (within a few weeks). It will lose strenth on standing but it won't be 'water in 2 months'. It will be around 8%. Many pool stores don't want to deal with liquid chlorine because it involves having huge storage tanks on the premises that have to be refilled weekly and it involved filling the carboys from the tanks, which is NOT a fun job. Chlorine strength has to be monitored and there is paperwork and logs from the EPA that have to be maintained. Also, you don't buy shock. Shock is something you do. Liquid chlorine is often called liquid shock. You are right that shock is a verb, not a noun but there is a place for using cal hypo or even lithium hypochlorinte to shock instead of liquid. Depends on the circumstances. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
itabb Posted June 12, 2007 Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 Ok, I made a few over-generalizations. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chem geek Posted June 12, 2007 Report Share Posted June 12, 2007 The chart at the bottom of this link shows the half-life of 12.5% chlorine kept below 80F to be over 3 months. Higher temps and higher concentrations degrade the chlorine more quickly. I have found that the 12.5% chlorinating liquid I get from my local pool store seems to be 12.5% or so (sometimes a tad higher) when I get it and it seems to still be that way or close to 12% after a month or even 6 weeks, but I store it in a pool shed with decent venting and our temps aren't usually in the high 80's very often (and even less frequently in the low 90's). I have no doubt that it degrades, but this is one of those things where you just have to see for yourself since the quality of the chlorine (i.e. not having metal contaminants) makes a big difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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