Great videos on pool maintenance. Sound intelligent honest and free of commercial bias. Thanks a lot for spending time and effort on creating this resources.
1st season pool owner here in South Texas. Thank you for all the advice and tips. Im learning a lot. A clean pool is kind of my obsession, lol! Cheers!!
Congratulations on your pool. Enjoy it well. Hopefully my channel will help you take care of it and it will give you years and years of hopefully trouble free enjoyment.
I was looking for some help on my pool and and someone know how hard our h2o is here in zoner land! I stumbled apon your videos and thank God a Arizonian who understands our h2o parameters! YES! Your hacks are awesome ty.
Capt. Lenny Miller thank you sir. Some of my ideas for videos come from people who have asked me about something specific. So I appreciate when people comment that way or email me that way it gives me more things to help people with.
Dichlor & Trichlor are loaded with CYA. Use conservatively. Here in Texas we slam our pools with CalHypo - high calcium isn’t an issue in our tap water.
Kenny's pool channel is my pool education. This was my first year dealing with a monstrous algae problem. Thank you for all of your kind help and information and advice. My pool is crystal clear. Just dealing with tail end clean up of some residual dead algae coming back into the pool. But I think my sand filter is in need of service and sand replacement. That will be my next project.
Here’s a little pool industry secret... I have a big Hayward sand filter with 7-year-old sand in it. After backwashing the filter, I always add about two cups of pool-grade diatomaceous earth (a fine fluffy white powder that you DO NOT want to inhale!) to it, sprinkled slowly in the skimmer. The DE settles on top of the sand and greatly increases the filter’s ability to filter out those fine particles that can make your water cloudy. Only add a couple of cups, and only enough to raise the filter by 1 to 2 PSI. And don’t backwash your sand filter too often... counter-intuitively, sand filters actually filter better when they’re fairly dirty!
Sir thank you 4 your teaching! After having my swimming pool for 30 years i start to handle the maintenens of it tanks to your simple way of explnation! God be with you!
I'm so glad I found your channel. The guy at my local L supply store told me the complete opposite, and that most of the liquid in the bottles of liquid chlorine is water. My whole thing is that I have such a large pool by comparison to most in my area, that I have to use a lot of powdered shock. This also means I'll have residue on the bottom of the pool, since not all of the powder actually disolves.
It's very true most of the liquid in the bottles of liquid chlorine is water, but 1 gallon weighs 8 times what a bag of shock does and yet costs less, so diluted in water is just fine. Final cost to get to the exact same chlorine levels into your pool is almost 1/3 higher for powdered shock vs liquid chlorine, and the liquid also has the benefit of not raising your calcium levels continually.
i've been out of the industry for about 20 years, but another type of pool shock is potassium monopersulfate. We starting using it in the 80's because it is a very strong oxidizer and is the most effective at breaking the chloramine bonds to free up available chlorine. And since it doesn't spike your chlorine you can swim right after adding it. If you're dealing with an algae problem in addition to just doing your monthly shock, then you definitely benefit from the superchlorination . You're right about the cal hypo, it was always the cheapest to use but it increased you total calcium level.
Great videos. I'm learning a lot from watching 3 so far. Just some feedback on the camera work: I'm getting dizzy watching because the camera is bouncing around so much. Any way to steady it so the videos are smooth? But still, really appreciate the information. Thanks.
This was a great video. I am just having an issue with my pool holding cholorine and getting by CYA level up. At least until I get that stabilized, I will be saving time and maybe some money by not buying a bunch of bags of shock to keep dumping into the pool and sweeping in.
Have you seen my video on CYA? I'd suggest watching it so you have a working understanding of CYA and the importance of not over dosing it (which often is the case). Here's a link: th-cam.com/video/_z55SBsjadw/w-d-xo.html It should help. Typically I recommend adding 1lb at a time to your skimmer basket w/the pump motor running. Wait about 2 hours, then test your cya again and repeat this process w/one pound at a time, UNTIL YOUR READING HITS 30ppm! (NO HIGHER!). Then you should be good to go.
@@PoolSchooler yea, I watched it and am adding about a pound at a time. This is my second year. Last year was the same. Pool water was clear but tablets alone would not keep chlorine levels up and shock just worked for a few days. Rethinking my methods based on your videos. Thanks a bunch.
Really interesting. Pool supply place has always told us to shock weekly so we have. We are just starting our second summer ( in North Texas) and starting to see some mineral line around the tile. Going to stop weekly shock and use liquid if need extra and see if we can stop that. Great videos. Thanks for doing them.
Nice video Kenny. I am not a fan of granulated shock either. I was a factory authorized pool tech for fifteen years. Although it isn’t as ,much of an issue in Arizona; one of the quickest ways to void your warranty on your pool pumps, and particularly your pool heater for those in colder climates, is to put chlorine in your skimmer. I can’t begin to tell you how many horror stories I have heard from homeowners who just spent $2k on a pool heater, and I have to show them the purple, corroded or pin holed copper on their heater coils, or a corroded pump, and tell them their destroyed, two month old heater is not covered under warranty. The story is always the same. “The (insert chain pool store name here) pool guy told me to put the chlorine directly in my skimmer.” Wrong! Kenny was right to say he doesn’t add chlorine tabs to the skimmer, so he is just using this example as an occasional emergency measure. However, even granulate shock can cause damage if it is placed directly in the skimmer, because if you have a heater installed, the granules can get stuck in the copper coils, and eventually burn a hole in them. Pin hole leaks are a sure sign of granules in a heat exchanger coil. Chlorine eats copper, deteriorates pump seals, motors, plastic, valves, which is why chlorinators are installed at the end of the plumbing chain, so it gets diluted in the pool before it reaches your pump and heater. Liquid chlorine is the safest option to shock, because it mixes well with pool water, without settling on the bottom. Just spread it out around the perimeter of the pool, and don’t stay in one spot too long.
Great advice! Never put tablets in your skimmer! Liquid chlorine is the best to use in general. I personally don't use trichlor or dichlor because it adds stabizer (CYA). My pool already gets CYA from the chlorine tablets distributed via my chlorinator. To shock on a weekly basis, I use liquid because it is less expensive, disperses better and adds no minerals or CYA. However, I will use cal-hypo once in awhile to help increase my pool's water hardness when needed. Cal Hypo is also good because it doesnt add CYA. My tap water (NYC) is really soft (60ppm of calcium).
Thanks for commenting and for watching. Agreed with everything you said. I prefer liquid chlorine as well, the only reason I don't recommend Cal Hypo to shock pools in AZ is that we have incredibly hard water to begin with so the last thing our pool water needs out here is more calcium 😩. But for areas like yours where you have really soft water it's really a good choice as you stated. Enjoy your summer swim season.
I am delighted to hear that. That was the main reason I started. This channel is to help people. Thank you for watching and commenting. And I hope you will subscribe to my channel if you have not done so already and please share my channel with your friends and family.
I only like liquid shock. My company got this new brand(I think its aqua org) and its so strong it made me break out in rashes after using it. And it makes the pool super cloudy to where I can’t see what I’m brushing anymore.
Here in south Florida we stopped using CHLORINE gas for commercial pools about 10 years ago. Fun stuff,lol. Also the mineral buildup is bad and dark, it’s more white here, but I’m sure it’s still fun the clean up. Here that looks like a 1k job,to be done right
@@PoolSchooler Oh yeah, 100%. In fact a potential buyer of my home asked me if it expensive and hard to service your own pool. I told him about you and if they buy my home, I'll give him the link!!!!
@@CHEECHMUN Thanks so much they may want to check out my new member website it's really cool and super helpful and gives them priority access to me as their own personal pool service consultant. www.poolschooler.com
Thank you so much for your comment. I appreciate it. And thank you for watching. Hope you will subscribe to my channel and hope you will share it with others.
Thanks for the video and hack! I have an elevated hot tub that waterfalls into my pool. I put a floating tab holder in the spa and the waterfall accelerates the introduction straight into the pool. My friends use their water features as well. Btw… do you have a video on removing/sanding those mineral deposits away? Thx!!!
Unfortunately there's not much you can do about mineral scaling. Bead blasting or good old fashioned scrubbing w/ a pumice stone or (and I'm not a fan of this one cause it's another chemical to absorb into ones skin) you can try Scaletec by Easy Care. amzn.to/4cOLTWV
Funny...when I saw the stalagmites, I recognized the condition right away. I thought it was our Arizona pool at first. You also did not mention the plaster manufacturer. Well, maybe it is the same as we have since the grey and black deposits look identical. Ours is a 3M based blue-quartz product. This was a fairly new product 17 years ago when we had our pool built, so there was very little history. If we had a crystal ball in 2003, we would certainly not have chosen this product. Need to find either a way to fix these or have the entire pool resurface. Except for these spots, the surface looks good. Thanks for your videos. I look forward to any comments from you are from your subscribers.
I really appreciate your comment. One of my clients had their pool replastered with a 3M product that ended up being horrible. Within 6 months it began to discolor and mineral deposits began growing. I've never seen it happen that fast, even with the hard water we have in AZ. Sound's like you had a similar issue with the 3M quartz product you used. Interesting.
I regularly use liquid chlorine as my preferred way of maintaining chlorine levels in our plastered pool. I was wondering if it's alright to add a bag of Dichlor shock once a month to keep the CYA levels in the effective range so the chlorine doesn't burn up too fast? We live in an area that gets very hot in the summer and I have a large supply of this Dichlor shock on hand. I have just re-plastered our pool FYI.
I used to crush a tricolor tablet and dissolve it in a 5 gallon bucket of warm water. Then I use a small aquarium style plastic hose to siphon the bucket sending a small stream of trichlor into the pool in front of a pool jet. The bucket takes about 5 minutes to siphon out. Then rinse the bucket several times.
Thanks for the info. great video, I learned a lot from your channel. thanks By the way, Kenny what is your recommendation to start running the SPA (Hot water i meant ) after installed new plaster? some guys said at least after one month since installed the new plaster.
It does depend on the product (plaster used) I'd absolutely follow the manufacturers recommendations on this to avoid damaging the plaster or voiding the warranty.
Thanks for all ur great videos, I live in glendale, just got new pebble sheen, i use liquid, and clear view tabs from litchfield, the hot weather tabs seem necessary along with liquid just to keep some in there without dosing daily. Worried about trichlore staining my new pebble if pieces fall from floater.
You're right that the tablets if they fall out of the floater can bleach out the pebbles in the pool. Best advice is to make sure you don't let the floater get too deteriorated before replacing it. They're pretty cheap and usually last one or two seasons max.
Now I have more questions than before.... 1) what about disolving either the shock granules or the tri-chlor stabilized tablets and pouring that in the pool? It would add minerals, but mine are already low -- soft water in the mid-atlantic! Disolving would make the chlorine available fast as well... (other than it's an exothermal reaction and the container gets warm) 2) Trying to understand the difference between di-chlor (which I have) and tri-chlor (which I only have as tablets, but which you would recommend)? Why is trychlor acceptable and not di-chlor? and 3) For the hack, is the single difference between tri-chlor shock and tri-chlor tablets the added CYA for stabilization against UV? And if so, if I crunch tablets in my skimmer basket (again, why not disolve?), will it take forever and a day to return the pool to swimmable levels? Super-great explanation, BTW!
Hmmm. Ok, lets see. Answers to your questions in order (by number) #1. I believe you could do that. #2. I'm not sure the chemical difference except "di" means 2 and "tri" means three. My experience is that the TriChlor has proven much more potent. #3. Yes, the granular trichor doesn't contain cya. Usually if you crush the tablet enough it'd should get into the water pretty quickly (maybe and hour or two). BUT IF YOUR GOAL IS TO GET THE CHLORINE LEVEL UP AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE USE LIQUID CHLORINE. I talked about that in the video. It's the best way to get the purest form of chlorine into the pool the fastest. Hope that answers your questions and thanks again for watching.
The Ph of a trichlor tab is around 2.8 and putting tabs, ever, even broken up in the skimmer will very quickly destroy anything copper including pipes and the exchanger in the heater. When the pool plaster becomes stained blue green, especially around the returning water outlets.... ...that is the copper. The best hack for getting quick and safe increased chlorine levels is to use ordinary laundry bleach from the grocery store. It's about half as strong compared to commercial sodium hypochlorite but you just use twice as much. Some other major problems with shock are: Calcium hypochlorite is dangerous because it is very unstable and mixing anything with it besides pool or fresh water can cause fires. They never give enough warnings about that. I have watched an entire pool service truck destroyed from the wrong mixture reaction. With dichlor and trichlor they are stabilized with cyanuric acid which in levels below 50 ppm helps to prevent chlorine depletion from the UV in sunlight. Higher ppm levels can slow down the effectiveness of chlorine and in commercial pools is against most municipal codes. Many geographic locations, with soft water, develope mineral deposits in the plaster because the water needs the correct amount of calcium. If it is low will actually first pull calcium out of the plaster causing it to bubble and then behind it from the structural gunite. It can also delaminate fiberglass coated cement pools. Sometimes it may be a good idea to dissolve the powdered shock in a container first to help prevent concentration damage.
Same way you do it in a plaster pool. Watch these two videos in order and you'll have all you need to know: Algae AND Algaecides and Why You Don't Need Them: th-cam.com/video/MzGoK4Cd7tc/w-d-xo.html Keeping Phosphates Low: th-cam.com/video/YzK7AD07HAY/w-d-xo.html Hope you'll subscribed and share. And check out my website poolschooler.com for more great DIY pool stuff.
You need to mention that the chlorine levels may drop quickly and not hold because the cyanuric acid levels may be to high. High Cyanuric acid levels are caused by out of balance pool and using too much chlorine with dichlor and trichlor. We currently having this problem and using unstabilized chlorine without dichlor or trichlor. We first used Ca based shock but went to liquid chlorine and also used Clorox bleach when we couldn't get liquid chlorine quickly. Lowering Cyanuric acid is a pain. Either have to drain part of the water and refill or what we have on order is Bio active from Amazon. Hopefully this will work. We live in California and we are in a drought so draining part of the pool at this time would be out.
I love your videos!! My husband found you when we were trying to vacuume our pool. Is it safe to use bleach? My husband uses bleach to shock and clean our pool in the spring.
I've heard of that being done. I'm not sure I can endorse that or not. Sorry. But thanks for watching and commenting. And please do subscribe and share.
Bleach and liquid chlorine are both sodium hypochlorite. Only difference is bleach is usually about 6 percent solution and most liquid chlorine is about 10. So you have to add alot of bleach to make up for its low concentration. And you can use liquid chlorine to whiten your laundry, but instead of half a cup you might only add a few capfulls. I worked in the industry in AZ in the 80's and 90's.
I don't but I treat it the same as green and mustard algae. Black algae takes one extra step but this video may help: th-cam.com/video/MzGoK4Cd7tc/w-d-xo.html
@@PoolSchooler I sure did! And I'll be referring your channel to my clients as well. You are great on screen BTW... very engaging. Congrats on your success!
Very true I used chlorinating tablets and it bleached and thinned our liner so so bad. Also thank you for telling me i dont need algaecide. My clorox app says I do lol. I'm thinking only other thing I will purchase for this pool is stabilizer and im done. I realize i wasted money on shock but hell who knows i may need it sometime. I usually shock the pool in the beggining.
Even since I stopped going to pool stores once a week for testing, I’ve saved a ton of cash. Invest in a proper test kit like the Taylor K2006 so you can do your own testing. In my chlorine pool I use only two things….liquid chlorine and muriatic acid. Usually at the beginning of the season if my cya is low I throw in some granular stabilizer using the sock method in my skimmer basket. But once cya is between 30-50ppm…I use only liquid chlorine and acid to keep my PH levels down.
Totally agree about the liquid chlorine. It is instant, and heavier than the pool water. I've had to clear up hundreds, and hundreds of pools, still my preference. Liquid chlorine has a pH of about 13, so keep that pH, when cleaning up an algaefied pool in 7.2-7.4 range to improve the efficacy of the chlorine. Having a DE filter will clear up a pool much faster as well, because filtration is much more efficient, down to about 5 microns. I am a big advocate for DE filters because of their vastly superior filtration capability over a cartridge, or, what I term, the 1940's technology of a sand filter. Towards the end, when you show the scale spots in the bottom of the pool, they are known as calcium nodules. If you were to take the weight of the water out of the pool, and tap on those spots, especially the larger ones, there would be a hollow sound. Hollow sound is evidence that the top layer of the plaster is delaminating from the substrate below, causing a chemical reaction that manifests via these nodules, that upon closer inspection, appear like a "miniature volcano" in the making. You can sand these down while the pool is empty, but they will return, usually about 6 months later, because the underlying plaster delamination problem, has not been addressed. The cause of these nodules occuring, has been an ongoing controversy, for more than 40 years in the pool industry, as to why they occur, between those that plaster, or re-plaster pools, and the service industry.
Hi, I live in chandler and I always have high calcium and cyanuric acid levels. I have been told to use an oxidizing shocks. I was actually thinking of using liquid chlorine instead. What's your advice to keep both levels low
If you live in Chandler AZ then your calcium is what it is. We have very hard water here in Chandler AZ.. Watch this video and it'll help: th-cam.com/video/QC5ZYG27Z48/w-d-xo.html
@@PoolSchooler thanks, I already avoid calcium based chlorine. Do you have a video or a review on what this chlorine free oxidizing shock? Leslie pools always want to sell me those but they are expensive
@@springkordz Honestly I’m not a big fan of Leslie‘s pool supply. I feel that they sell you stuff you really don’t need. Oxidizing pool shock is just a gimmick. My suggestion would be to get trichlor shock and not waste your money on that “designer shock“.
Bags of Shock and the common hockey puck tablets contain high levels of Cyanuric acid listed as "Other ingredients". I use Liquid Chlorine or Liquid Bleach to avoid the Cyanuric acid.
I have an above ground 5,000 gallon pool. I just tested my water and it said my Cyaniric level is high, my PH level is low and my free available chlorine is low. It recommended that I drain some water out, add PH-up pods and pod shocks by HTH. What do you recommend I do?
Drain it, refill it and use liquid chlorine. With a vinyl liner, it is my experience that the pH remains pretty stable, because with a concrete/gunite/shotcrete/pebble type pool the surfaces are a higher pH, and will slowly leach into the pool water, hence the importance of muriatic acid to lower the pH to counteract this slowing leaching, leading to the pH raising. Rarely will you need much muriatc acid with a vinyl lined pool.. I hope that this helps.
Great Information. I have had a house with a pool for about 5 years and ALWAYS LOVE getting more tips for managing The Beast. It's and Irregular-sized Dive Pool, over 30K gals. I think. Thank you!!
I just moved into a house with a big inground pool. my kids were so happy, but they're is so much to taking care of a pool and I'm completely overwhelmed. Needless to say my pool is green and we haven't gotten to swim yet.
Hi Samantha don't despair. you'll get the hang of it. Here's a list of videos and links to those videos that will move you forward. Watch them in order, apply them and you'll be swimming and enjoying your pool soon. I also emailed this all to you. Welcome to Pool School: th-cam.com/video/ohE7aewYxKI/w-d-xo.html Getting to Know Your Pool: th-cam.com/video/S19NAl77Z5k/w-d-xo.html Testing Your Pool Water: th-cam.com/video/lhhuuWsRGBk/w-d-xo.html Adding Chlorine Tablets to Your Pool: th-cam.com/video/CLsvXnZFkZI/w-d-xo.html (Let me know what type of filter you have (Sand, DE or Cartridge) and I'll send you a link to a video on that one). My Chemical List: th-cam.com/video/y_mus9MWGQc/w-d-xo.html Adjusting The Ph of Your Pool: th-cam.com/video/l71Iii4uZgY/w-d-xo.html Adjusting The Alkalinity Of Your Pool Water: th-cam.com/video/60J-OcocMPo/w-d-xo.html Algae and Algaecides and Why You Don't Need Them: th-cam.com/video/MzGoK4Cd7tc/w-d-xo.html (this one's really important for your issue). How I Cleared My Green Pool: th-cam.com/video/XY-BAdBY0zI/w-d-xo.html (Very important for your pool right now too) My Weekly Pool Service Regimine: th-cam.com/video/IEkFSunjRvs/w-d-xo.html Emptying the Pump Basket and Clearing the Impeller: th-cam.com/video/sHfHfgpEeto/w-d-xo.html
There’s a learning curve Samantha, but it’s not too bad. I spend an hour or two a week maintaining my 24k in ground pool. So once you get the hang of it pretty minimal effort.
First thing to do is get the pH right (should be 7.2 to 7.6), then shock the heck out of the pool in the evening with liquid chlorine (and maybe also with calcium hypochlorite) to get rid of the green algae. Google “SLAM pool” (Shock Level And Maintain) to learn how to shock a pool properly to start it up. Do NOT use tri-chlor tabs nor di-chlor granules for the initial shocking, as it they are 52% or more Cyanuric Acid (a chlorine stabilizer) that will greatly reduce the effectiveness of the initial shocking. Use liquid chlorine, I. The evening) for the initial shocking to kill the algae first.
Absolutely not, and do not trust with some pool supply store tells you. They are notorious for telling you to drain your pool when the reading of your CYA is under 100 ppm. Honestly, you can let the CYA get to nearly 300 ppm before having to change the water. Specially, if you live in an area that doesn’t get a lot of water like Las Vegas or Arizona.
don't pour any kind of granular chlorine in your skimmer and definitely never put it in your pump basket. Take a bucket, fill it with some water and add the granular to it(and don't do it in reverse. Never add the granular to an empty bucket and then pour water in), let it completely dissolve and then pour it around the perimeter of the pool with your system running.
Actually, here are some links th-cam.com/video/4ST_fyA3PkI/w-d-xo.htmlsi=mlLoaIDWaaiwd1jF th-cam.com/video/o_NRYkFHuBg/w-d-xo.htmlsi=_SZOj2pUwpLkM_D4 th-cam.com/video/UxStDVbWejw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=NLc16SFJGL5TUGja th-cam.com/video/DZuMcj7UydM/w-d-xo.htmlsi=tYO74dfRJVdzvxw_ th-cam.com/video/hI_o9hzePcY/w-d-xo.htmlsi=RAOhDhBRgeewXynD th-cam.com/video/FWOczNw36gg/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Z7zaXE2HaLErcSjA th-cam.com/video/kAyCHYkyxPI/w-d-xo.htmlsi=lzflcBLlraAjOH1k Hope these help
Hi Kenny, thanks a lot for your video! I’m a new homeowner with a pool and feel a bit lost. Please two questions - I don’t see the liquid chlorine brand of your video available online, would you have a (sponsored) link of one you suggest to buy? And in terms of quantity, how many gallons shall I pour in the pool for a 30,000 pool?
The brand that I use comes from my supplier so you might have a tough time finding it. Plus, the brand is not that important. You can get good quality liquid chlorine from a local Walmart, Home Depot, or Lowe’s. Or some other hardware store. With regards to how much you should add to your pool, depends on not just how many gallons the pool house but what’s your current chlorine levels are. So I really can’t answer your second question unless I know what your current total in free chlorine level is.
I typically don't like to as it's just more chemicals in the water which is absorbed in the skin. So I just use the old fashioned pumice stone and good old fashioned elbow grease. 👍😉
Kenny, I have a 3500 gallon salt water fiberglass pool. Should I use the Tri Chlor granular you showed in the video? And where can I purchase? I have scouted the internet and Amazon. Your videos saved my pool from the algae bloom.. Never again will i buy Algaecide. Thank you.
If you're wanting to help control the algae then I'd definitely recommend the trichlor granules. It shouldn't harm the fiberglass surface of your pool. BUT if you are concerned then you can put a pound of it in your skimmer basket WITH THE PUMP MOTOR RUNNING to rapidly dissolve and distribute it around your pool. BUT DON'T DO THIS EVERY DAY IT WILL EXPIDITE THE WEARING OUT OF YOUR SKIMMER BASKET IF YOU DO. A simple google search for the brand and name of the one I show in the video should bring up more than enough options for it. Try this link: EZ Chlor Granular Algae OUT BUT if you're just wanting to raise the chlorine level in your pool then I'd always go with the liquid chlorine,
Doesn't liquid chlorine raise your TDS though? If you already have high TDS, do you still recommend using liquid chlorine? Other than draining your pool or paying to have the water filtered, is there anything you can do to bring down the TDS in your pool?
@@chrismyghostwriter TDS are somewhat controversial. Anything chemical you add to your pool will typically increase your TDS. Also, there are some people that say certain levels of TDS are too high and, for instance, if you have a saltwater pool, you have to keep your salinity between 3000 to 3400 ppm all of those are total dissolved solids and the total dissolved solids, that would be way too high. So you might want to watch my video. I’m told Dissolved solids it might help as far as reducing them. The only way I know to do it is through dilution, and that means changing the water. I did a video on it. This might be helpful. Total Dissolved Solids th-cam.com/video/fHgnS-jOsDQ/w-d-xo.html
Hi Kenny, Watching your video on pool shock that I never use. Noticed you mention buying pool chlorine from Walmart and the like. Do you know the stores sell 10% SHC while the pool supply wholesalers sell 12.5%! Murialic acid from pool supply wholesalers is 31.45% HCL and the big box stores sell 15%. Makes a huge difference when doing pool chemistry that you know the concentrations of what you're using!!
I did know that but for the average pool owner it's difficult to get the higher potency products from a local retailer. It's a bummer for sure. But you are right it does make a difference.
@poolschool Do you have any experience using In The Swim Chlorine-Free Pool Shock-Oxidizer ? I use it for my salt water pool. I read it’s doesn’t mess it’s any other levels at all.
Love di Chlor and tri chlor but in the dry dessert heat in west Texas these 2 types quickly rise the cya levels above 100 ppm which then weakens the chlorine to do its job and we consistently then fight off green algae b/c of the chlorine lock that high cya levels cause. . Unfortunately we’ve had to stick with cal -hypo or liquid chlorine and it has been the only solution for the chlorine to work correctly year round. The trade, is always having to lower the ph and fight calcium hardness, but it’s a lot easier than missing with cya effects. This is for fiberglass pool and speaks to dry dessert heat areas.
The reason the TriChlor and DiChlor tablets increase CYA is because they are "stabilized" that is, infused with CYA. For sure liquid chlorine is better but you have to test and add chems daily and if you're ok with that then go for it. HOWEVER, if you're having trouble with green algae then I'd suggest (strongly) that your issue is not chlorine (or type of chlorine) but rather Phosphates. Watch this video about algae and algaecides and why you don't need them and it'll explain. It's one of my most important videos I've done. Here a link: th-cam.com/video/MzGoK4Cd7tc/w-d-xo.html Also, please subscribe to my channel and check out my website poolschooler.com for more great money saving stuff for DIY pool owners.
That’s for the update :) watched the vid and I’m already have subscribed to your channel which has been very helpful. Quick question, I love to use tricolor and di-chlor b/c it’s a lot less maintenance, as you stated, but how then do you control the CYA ? When my CYA levels get high above 150 I struggle with algae even thou my pool is balance unless I pick up the ppm chlorine very high. When I switched to cal hypo this year and maintained a balance on my pool I had no struggles all year. And last question does cya protect the chlorine the same when using other types of chlorine, in my case cal hypo? I Try to maintain 50 ppm by adding di-Chlor in pool when cya drops. Thx a million for the vids you post they are very helpful .
@@Broncs78 Cal hypo will increase your water hardness (possibly leading to mineral deposits on your plaster etc). I'm not a fan of cal hypo for that reason and I've found it not as potent. As far as cya, if you start with fresh water and get your cya to 30 (the low end of the 30-50ppm ideal range) you'd be fine with trichlor etc for several years. ALSO I've had pools out here with CYA's of 300 (yes 300!) that have been fine throughout the summer months with NO ALGAE. Chlorine is not the end all be all for algae prevention. My guess is that if you have algae returning you have a phosphate issue. PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO, it'll explain what I mean: th-cam.com/video/MzGoK4Cd7tc/w-d-xo.html
I have been seeing chlorine-free oxidizing shock at the pool supply store. Can you talk about how this is different than the shock you discussed in the video and when/if this is something that would be beneficial to use?
To be honest I’ve never used oxidizing shock for any of my pools. Nor have I really researched it. Because I really use shock except for the trichlor granules to help control algae along with phosphate remover. So unfortunately I can’t really comment about it. Sorry.
I’m in New York, and the water is not hard enough, apparently. So I’ll probably use the CalHypo. Pool guys told me not to use di and trichlor because they tend to raise Cyanuric levels too high
Thanks for sharing I've had my above ground pool for 5 years and the pool place here always said shock the pool once a week and a 3inch chlorine tablet once a week I never had cloudy water our green always be clear ,I clean my pool daily run the sand filter pump 8 hours a day,but now I'm questioning about useing shock once a week and it's the powder shock,it definitely gets hot here in Nebraska so if you dont recommend the powder shock treatment would you use the liquid chlorine once a week,just hate to stop useing shock once a week then the pool water turns green.
I'd suggest increasing the amount of tablets you use, and use phosphate remover every couple of months. If you do that and keep your filter clean you'll not have any problem with algae. Check out this video on algae and algaecides I did, it's one of the most important videos I've done: th-cam.com/video/MzGoK4Cd7tc/w-d-xo.html And please check out my new membership website www.poolschooler.com for more great tools to help you save a ton of money on pool maintenance.
@@PoolSchooler thanks for the reply I will check out that other video well I usely only swim from June to maybe the middle of September so only a little over 3.months but it definitely gets in the 100 degrees and high 90s here,I just dont no why they recommend shocking a pool every 7 days.
@@rippingj6017 Hope you’ll subscribe to my channel and also, please check out my website poolschooler.com for exclusive DIY pool maintenance tools and more direct and priority communication with my for your pool maintenance needs. Hope you’ll subscribe to my channel and also, please check out my website poolschooler.com for exclusive DIY pool maintenance tools and more direct and priority communication with my for your pool maintenance needs.
@@PoolSchooler thanks ,question for you I sold my old pool its was 16x52 the one I'm getting is 18x54,I'm having it installed by the professionals here,anyway i dug out the retaining wall on the south and east side so the bigger pool would fit,so i added dirt to where the retaining walls was so was wondering after they install it,will i have to put the retaining wall back up,or can i just add grass seed to the to sides where the slopes are at,so the slopes wont wash away,I'm still gonna put felt and river rock around the pool,just was wondering about the slopes
Tablets indeed have gone up in price but I still use them since I only visit my client's pools once a week. The granular shock may not last long enough during our hot summer days and all the pool use.
I personally am not a fan of it due to the copper that’s in it. I do have a friend who uses it in his pool and he likes it and he told me that the documentation on that product says that the copper is chelated and therefore isn’t harmful. I’ve not researched whether chelated copper is truly not harmful as a heavy metal, but you might wanna look into that.
New to the channel and new to trying to maintain my owl pool. This has probably been answered elsewhere (in which maybe someone can forward the video link), but why do pool companies recommend shocking your pool WEEKLY?
Does calcium based shock also increase the calcium level in the water? Also I have a salt water pool and easily maintain the chlorine level at 4 ppm by adjusting the chlorinator percent output. I never have an algae problem, and if I see some it is usually late summer when it gets really hot it's on the stone grout because the phosphates are high. Fix the phosphates, clean the algae, problem solved, no shock needed. I think my pool is bacteria free and safe. Others tell me I am crazy and need to SHOCK because the 4 ppm chlorine is not killing all the bacteria. What are your thoughts? Steve
So an answer to your question, about calcium yes it builds up in your pool overtime if you want to supplement chlorine in your pool instead of using shock use liquid chlorine. With regards to your salt system and your chlorine levels at 4 ppm and you’re having some green algae show up your issue is probably not anything to do with your sanitizer or chlorine it’s probably phosphates I did a video which is probably one of the most important ones I’ve ever done on LG in Algaecides and why you don’t need them here’s a link to it please watch it I think it will help. th-cam.com/video/MzGoK4Cd7tc/w-d-xo.html
I use sodium dichlor (Leslie's Chlor Brite) for general chlorination (0.3 oz a week for 240gal spa), it's what the pool store recommends. Is that fine?
I'd suggest using 3" stabilized chlorine tablets instead. They're Trichlor and since the DiChlor has calcium and CYA in it you might as well use the tablets. They're way more convenient and although they also have CYA in them THEY DON't have calcium in them so they won't add excessive amounts of minerals to your pool water (which usually creates mineral deposits at your water line AND possibly mineral deposits on your pool plaster).
I moved into a house with a old fiberglass pool. Its 30ftx15 No clue how many gallons of water . How many gallons of liquid chlorine should I add to shock it ?
It depends on your current chlorine levels. Don't add shock until you test the chlorine level. I really can't guess without knowing your current chlorine (free and total) readings. Hope you'll check out poolschooler.com there a lot of great info and exclusive content and tools to help you better maintain your pool yourself. and please subscribe to this channel.
1. You should NEVER add chlorine of any kind to your skimmer. It is not safe. There is not enough water volume in the plumbing for the chlorine to mix with, which could cause an explosion. Also, it is really not good for your plumbing as you said, or for the equipment. You are also sanitizing the crud in your filter before it even gets back into the pool again, so not very efficient either. 2. Your liquid chlorine is SODIUM HYPOCHLORITE. Which is the same mineral found in the sodium dichlor you said you didn't like because it leaves mineral deposits in the pool. And in AZ, that's totally fair. You guys have super hard water. However, "liquid chlorine", that sodium hypochlorite, contains a lot of salt. And it will quickly raise TDS levels, leading to a pool that needs to be drained constantly. 3. If you are getting mineral deposits and scaling, there are chemicals that remove that without the need for sanding and then prevent more buildup by basically "chemically sanding" the molecules that caused scale and make them unable to stick to surfaces or each other. 4. You NEED to shock your pool weekly to oxidize out any contaminants. If your chlorine levels are good with just tabs, which is very possible, a non chlorine oxidizer such as a potassium monopersulphate should be used. 5. Don't forget to check CYA levels after all that trichlor. Trichlor is a stabilized product that will raise cyanuric acid levels over time and decrease the effectiveness of your chlorine when it starts to go over 50ppm.
You nailed it. I temporarily used a skimmer while waiting to install a new chlorinator. It caused excess corrosion in my copper heat exchanger which deposited the metal into the pool. I couldn't balance my water even though the test strips looked OK. I got a water test at a pool store which detected the problem and I used a metal-out product to fix it. Not good for your pool heater either.
This right here. The liquid chlorine (bleach) is the same as the bagged dichlor, except in liquid form. I think his video statement "Can you tell im not a chemist?" really nailed it. Yea, we can tell.
Hi Kenny, what do you think about the frog system, minerals and chlorine for sanitizing the pools. I was planning on using bleach as shock when needed. Is this ok to do?
I am unfamiliar with the frog system so I'd be unable to comment on that. With regards to bleach as shock, I suggest in my video that I'd rather use liquid chlorine.
the pool builder I worked for in the 80's/90's used the Frog for awhile. If it's still the same, they used chlorine in the cartridge and a small amount of silver and copper compounds. Silver is great for killing bacteria and copper is a great algaecide. And yes you can still use any type of shock treatment with that system.
![สาวเมืองเพชร - ธีเดช ทองอภิชาติ [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/kEt7F9PvO3I/mqdefault.jpg)
Just bought a house with a pool , don’t think I need a pool guy now . This guy is the best
Thank you.
Great videos on pool maintenance. Sound intelligent honest and free of commercial bias. Thanks a lot for spending time and effort on creating this resources.
I appreciate your kind comment. Thanks so much and please do subscribe to and share my channel.
1st season pool owner here in South Texas. Thank you for all the advice and tips. Im learning a lot. A clean pool is kind of my obsession, lol! Cheers!!
Congratulations on your pool. Enjoy it well. Hopefully my channel will help you take care of it and it will give you years and years of hopefully trouble free enjoyment.
So far this is the only person that seems to know a little something about pools and we are also in Az. So thanks for info
Thanks for watching and for the kind words.
And chemicals are made to treat the amount of water. they dont know what state their in...lol
I was looking for some help on my pool and and someone know how hard our h2o is here in zoner land! I stumbled apon your videos and thank God a Arizonian who understands our h2o parameters! YES! Your hacks are awesome ty.
@@mistressblu3075 glad you found my channel. Thanks for watching and for commenting. Hope you’ll subscribe and share my channel with others as well.
Every time I watch one of your videos I think there is nothing more to learn but you keep coming up with something else! Well done mate!
Capt. Lenny Miller thank you sir. Some of my ideas for videos come from people who have asked me about something specific. So I appreciate when people comment that way or email me that way it gives me more things to help people with.
Dichlor & Trichlor are loaded with CYA. Use conservatively. Here in Texas we slam our pools with CalHypo - high calcium isn’t an issue in our tap water.
Good to know. In AZ our calcium is off the charts. So Cal-Hypo is not the best for us out here. Thanks for commenting.
Kenny's pool channel is my pool education. This was my first year dealing with a monstrous algae problem. Thank you for all of your kind help and information and advice. My pool is crystal clear. Just dealing with tail end clean up of some residual dead algae coming back into the pool. But I think my sand filter is in need of service and sand replacement. That will be my next project.
Watch my video “Algae and Algaecides and Why You Dont Need Them” I think it will answer your question.
Here’s a little pool industry secret...
I have a big Hayward sand filter with 7-year-old sand in it. After backwashing the filter, I always add about two cups of pool-grade diatomaceous earth (a fine fluffy white powder that you DO NOT want to inhale!) to it, sprinkled slowly in the skimmer. The DE settles on top of the sand and greatly increases the filter’s ability to filter out those fine particles that can make your water cloudy. Only add a couple of cups, and only enough to raise the filter by 1 to 2 PSI.
And don’t backwash your sand filter too often... counter-intuitively, sand filters actually filter better when they’re fairly dirty!
best pool maintenance guidance ... period ! Thanks Dude !
I appreciate the compliment. Thank you for commenting.
Sir thank you 4 your teaching! After having my swimming pool for 30 years i start to handle the maintenens of it tanks to your simple way of explnation! God be with you!
Thank you for your kind comment and for watching. I do hope you will subscribe to my channel and share it with other pool owners.
Well done and thanks! I've been a pool owner and DIY maintainer for decades and I have learned some great stuff.
Thank you sir. And please like, subscribe and share.
I'm so glad I found your channel. The guy at my local L supply store told me the complete opposite, and that most of the liquid in the bottles of liquid chlorine is water. My whole thing is that I have such a large pool by comparison to most in my area, that I have to use a lot of powdered shock. This also means I'll have residue on the bottom of the pool, since not all of the powder actually disolves.
It's very true most of the liquid in the bottles of liquid chlorine is water, but 1 gallon weighs 8 times what a bag of shock does and yet costs less, so diluted in water is just fine. Final cost to get to the exact same chlorine levels into your pool is almost 1/3 higher for powdered shock vs liquid chlorine, and the liquid also has the benefit of not raising your calcium levels continually.
Thanks. So true..Lxxxx Pool had my pool a witches brew. Found out about Hasa and now everything is grand in AZ.
Good to hear. Enjoy the swim season.
i've been out of the industry for about 20 years, but another type of pool shock is potassium monopersulfate. We starting using it in the 80's because it is a very strong oxidizer and is the most effective at breaking the chloramine bonds to free up available chlorine. And since it doesn't spike your chlorine you can swim right after adding it. If you're dealing with an algae problem in addition to just doing your monthly shock, then you definitely benefit from the superchlorination . You're right about the cal hypo, it was always the cheapest to use but it increased you total calcium level.
Great videos. I'm learning a lot from watching 3 so far. Just some feedback on the camera work: I'm getting dizzy watching because the camera is bouncing around so much. Any way to steady it so the videos are smooth? But still, really appreciate the information. Thanks.
This was a great video. I am just having an issue with my pool holding cholorine and getting by CYA level up. At least until I get that stabilized, I will be saving time and maybe some money by not buying a bunch of bags of shock to keep dumping into the pool and sweeping in.
Have you seen my video on CYA? I'd suggest watching it so you have a working understanding of CYA and the importance of not over dosing it (which often is the case). Here's a link: th-cam.com/video/_z55SBsjadw/w-d-xo.html It should help. Typically I recommend adding 1lb at a time to your skimmer basket w/the pump motor running. Wait about 2 hours, then test your cya again and repeat this process w/one pound at a time, UNTIL YOUR READING HITS 30ppm! (NO HIGHER!). Then you should be good to go.
@@PoolSchooler yea, I watched it and am adding about a pound at a time. This is my second year. Last year was the same. Pool water was clear but tablets alone would not keep chlorine levels up and shock just worked for a few days. Rethinking my methods based on your videos. Thanks a bunch.
Really interesting. Pool supply place has always told us to shock weekly so we have. We are just starting our second summer ( in North Texas) and starting to see some mineral line around the tile. Going to stop weekly shock and use liquid if need extra and see if we can stop that. Great videos. Thanks for doing them.
Glad to help. Hope you subscribed and check out www.poolschooler.com for my exclusive member program.
Nice video Kenny. I am not a fan of granulated shock either. I was a factory authorized pool tech for fifteen years. Although it isn’t as ,much of an issue in Arizona; one of the quickest ways to void your warranty on your pool pumps, and particularly your pool heater for those in colder climates, is to put chlorine in your skimmer. I can’t begin to tell you how many horror stories I have heard from homeowners who just spent $2k on a pool heater, and I have to show them the purple, corroded or pin holed copper on their heater coils, or a corroded pump, and tell them their destroyed, two month old heater is not covered under warranty. The story is always the same. “The (insert chain pool store name here) pool guy told me to put the chlorine directly in my skimmer.” Wrong!
Kenny was right to say he doesn’t add chlorine tabs to the skimmer, so he is just using this example as an occasional emergency measure. However, even granulate shock can cause damage if it is placed directly in the skimmer, because if you have a heater installed, the granules can get stuck in the copper coils, and eventually burn a hole in them. Pin hole leaks are a sure sign of granules in a heat exchanger coil.
Chlorine eats copper, deteriorates pump seals, motors, plastic, valves, which is why chlorinators are installed at the end of the plumbing chain, so it gets diluted in the pool before it reaches your pump and heater. Liquid chlorine is the safest option to shock, because it mixes well with pool water, without settling on the bottom. Just spread it out around the perimeter of the pool, and don’t stay in one spot too long.
Thank you so much for commenting.
Wow - it’s a year later - but if you get this comment thanks so much! You explained this all very well.
Al gee
Thank you! Very imformative and you make us feel comfortable in maintaining a pool!🤙🏽
@@jaredd.3457 thank you for watching and commenting. Hope you will subscribe to my channel and share it with others.
Great advice! Never put tablets in your skimmer! Liquid chlorine is the best to use in general. I personally don't use trichlor or dichlor because it adds stabizer (CYA). My pool already gets CYA from the chlorine tablets distributed via my chlorinator. To shock on a weekly basis, I use liquid because it is less expensive, disperses better and adds no minerals or CYA. However, I will use cal-hypo once in awhile to help increase my pool's water hardness when needed. Cal Hypo is also good because it doesnt add CYA. My tap water (NYC) is really soft (60ppm of calcium).
Thanks for commenting and for watching. Agreed with everything you said. I prefer liquid chlorine as well, the only reason I don't recommend Cal Hypo to shock pools in AZ is that we have incredibly hard water to begin with so the last thing our pool water needs out here is more calcium 😩. But for areas like yours where you have really soft water it's really a good choice as you stated. Enjoy your summer swim season.
Thank you for the info. I can't believe how much i have learned from you.
I am delighted to hear that. That was the main reason I started. This channel is to help people. Thank you for watching and commenting. And I hope you will subscribe to my channel if you have not done so already and please share my channel with your friends and family.
I only like liquid shock. My company got this new brand(I think its aqua org) and its so strong it made me break out in rashes after using it. And it makes the pool super cloudy to where I can’t see what I’m brushing anymore.
I’ve never heard of that product. I will definitely look into it.
Your end of video reviews are GREAT
Thanks.
Here in south Florida we stopped using CHLORINE gas for commercial pools about 10 years ago. Fun stuff,lol. Also the mineral buildup is bad and dark, it’s more white here, but I’m sure it’s still fun the clean up. Here that looks like a 1k job,to be done right
You are the man!!!!! I've been taking your advice and it's easy to maintain by 13,000 gal. pool in central Florida!!!
I am so glad to hear that. Thanks for commenting. I hope you subscribed
@@PoolSchooler Oh yeah, 100%. In fact a potential buyer of my home asked me if it expensive and hard to service your own pool. I told him about you and if they buy my home, I'll give him the link!!!!
@@CHEECHMUN Thanks so much they may want to check out my new member website it's really cool and super helpful and gives them priority access to me as their own personal pool service consultant. www.poolschooler.com
@@PoolSchooler I will let whoever buys my home know. Thanks again!!!
@@CHEECHMUN Thank you.
So glad I use lake Michigan water. I have to add minerals.
Just discovered this channel. Great videos! Short, sweet and to the point , thank you!
Hahaha. "I really should have payed attention in Chemistry." English class too.
Love the organization of these videos by the way. Big fan!
Thank you so much for your comment. I appreciate it. And thank you for watching. Hope you will subscribe to my channel and hope you will share it with others.
Thanks for the video and hack! I have an elevated hot tub that waterfalls into my pool. I put a floating tab holder in the spa and the waterfall accelerates the introduction straight into the pool. My friends use their water features as well. Btw… do you have a video on removing/sanding those mineral deposits away? Thx!!!
Unfortunately there's not much you can do about mineral scaling. Bead blasting or good old fashioned scrubbing w/ a pumice stone or (and I'm not a fan of this one cause it's another chemical to absorb into ones skin) you can try Scaletec by Easy Care. amzn.to/4cOLTWV
Thanks! Good info. Liquid chlorine from now on then.
Glad it was helpful!
Funny...when I saw the stalagmites, I recognized the condition right away. I thought it was our Arizona pool at first. You also did not mention the plaster manufacturer. Well, maybe it is the same as we have since the grey and black deposits look identical. Ours is a 3M based blue-quartz product. This was a fairly new product 17 years ago when we had our pool built, so there was very little history. If we had a crystal ball in 2003, we would certainly not have chosen this product.
Need to find either a way to fix these or have the entire pool resurface. Except for these spots, the surface looks good. Thanks for your videos. I look forward to any comments from you are from your subscribers.
I really appreciate your comment. One of my clients had their pool replastered with a 3M product that ended up being horrible. Within 6 months it began to discolor and mineral deposits began growing. I've never seen it happen that fast, even with the hard water we have in AZ. Sound's like you had a similar issue with the 3M quartz product you used. Interesting.
@@PoolSchooler 3M products use Chinesium now. Piss poor quality.
I put the chlorine tablet in an old sock and crush it. Then put it in skimmer when in a jam.
Great idea. Thanks for sharing that. 👍
another great video!!! Some of the pool stores say to shock weekly, what a waste of money that is.
I agree. There should be absolutely no need to do that.
Great and very informative videos. I like that you recap all of your comments
Glad you like them! Hope you’ll subscribe to my channel and share it with others
I think you are the best Kenny!!!
Thank you. Hope you subscribed to my channel.
raelly appreciate your videos. Have been DIY pool service based on your advice. Thank you very much.
So glad to be of help. Hope you subscribed and will share my channel with others.
I shock my chlorine pools once a week in the summer months. June - mid Sept, it is extremely hot and rainy in Louisiana.
I regularly use liquid chlorine as my preferred way of maintaining chlorine levels in our plastered pool. I was wondering if it's alright to add a bag of Dichlor shock once a month to keep the CYA levels in the effective range so the chlorine doesn't burn up too fast? We live in an area that gets very hot in the summer and I have a large supply of this Dichlor shock on hand. I have just re-plastered our pool FYI.
I used to crush a tricolor tablet and dissolve it in a 5 gallon bucket of warm water. Then I use a small aquarium style plastic hose to siphon the bucket sending a small stream of trichlor into the pool in front of a pool jet. The bucket takes about 5 minutes to siphon out. Then rinse the bucket several times.
Wow that sounds like a lot of work. But if it worked for you thats fantastic.
Thanks for the info. great video, I learned a lot from your channel. thanks
By the way, Kenny what is your recommendation to start running the SPA (Hot water i meant ) after installed new plaster? some guys said at least after one month since installed the new plaster.
It does depend on the product (plaster used) I'd absolutely follow the manufacturers recommendations on this to avoid damaging the plaster or voiding the warranty.
@@PoolSchooler Thanks for your quick reply.
@@emeilegypt 👍
Liquid chlorine, baking soda and muratic acid is all I use for chemicals in my 19 year old pool
@Constance & James Turpin:
th-cam.com/video/RzUI52P2XJ0/w-d-xo.html
You must use Cynaric Acid as well. Another name for this is stabilizer or conditioner
Liquid chlorine is the same as 1 lb of granular shock. You spend way too much on chlorine if you only use liquid.
@@superxdale9715 That is opinion and not mine!
Thanks for all ur great videos, I live in glendale, just got new pebble sheen, i use liquid, and clear view tabs from litchfield, the hot weather tabs seem necessary along with liquid just to keep some in there without dosing daily. Worried about trichlore staining my new pebble if pieces fall from floater.
You're right that the tablets if they fall out of the floater can bleach out the pebbles in the pool. Best advice is to make sure you don't let the floater get too deteriorated before replacing it. They're pretty cheap and usually last one or two seasons max.
Does this work on above ground pools? If so does the chlorine have to be diluted when adding because of the liner?
Now I have more questions than before.... 1) what about disolving either the shock granules or the tri-chlor stabilized tablets and pouring that in the pool? It would add minerals, but mine are already low -- soft water in the mid-atlantic! Disolving would make the chlorine available fast as well... (other than it's an exothermal reaction and the container gets warm) 2) Trying to understand the difference between di-chlor (which I have) and tri-chlor (which I only have as tablets, but which you would recommend)? Why is trychlor acceptable and not di-chlor? and 3) For the hack, is the single difference between tri-chlor shock and tri-chlor tablets the added CYA for stabilization against UV? And if so, if I crunch tablets in my skimmer basket (again, why not disolve?), will it take forever and a day to return the pool to swimmable levels? Super-great explanation, BTW!
Hmmm. Ok, lets see. Answers to your questions in order (by number) #1. I believe you could do that.
#2. I'm not sure the chemical difference except "di" means 2 and "tri" means three. My experience is that the TriChlor has proven much more potent. #3. Yes, the granular trichor doesn't contain cya. Usually if you crush the tablet enough it'd should get into the water pretty quickly (maybe and hour or two). BUT IF YOUR GOAL IS TO GET THE CHLORINE LEVEL UP AS QUICKLY AS POSSIBLE USE LIQUID CHLORINE. I talked about that in the video. It's the best way to get the purest form of chlorine into the pool the fastest.
Hope that answers your questions and thanks again for watching.
@@PoolSchooler Awesome! Thank you for your reply! I was actually able to lug a case of 4 Gallons liquid chlorine -- that should last me for a while!
Wow, that's why!
The Ph of a trichlor tab is around 2.8 and putting tabs, ever, even broken up in the skimmer will very quickly destroy anything copper including pipes and the exchanger in the heater. When the pool plaster becomes stained blue green, especially around the returning water outlets.... ...that is the copper. The best hack for getting quick and safe increased chlorine levels is to use ordinary laundry bleach from the grocery store. It's about half as strong compared to commercial sodium hypochlorite but you just use twice as much. Some other major problems with shock are: Calcium hypochlorite is dangerous because it is very unstable and mixing anything with it besides pool or fresh water can cause fires. They never give enough warnings about that. I have watched an entire pool service truck destroyed from the wrong mixture reaction. With dichlor and trichlor they are stabilized with cyanuric acid which in levels below 50 ppm helps to prevent chlorine depletion from the UV in sunlight. Higher ppm levels can slow down the effectiveness of chlorine and in commercial pools is against most municipal codes. Many geographic locations, with soft water, develope mineral deposits in the plaster because the water needs the correct amount of calcium. If it is low will actually first pull calcium out of the plaster causing it to bubble and then behind it from the structural gunite. It can also delaminate fiberglass coated cement pools. Sometimes it may be a good idea to dissolve the powdered shock in a container first to help prevent concentration damage.
That’s a lot of good info, thanks. I will probably stick to using bleach to shock the pool and then Pool Frog system next season, no stress.
thank you so much for your videos it help me a lot , now my new question , how I can eliminate the phosphates in my lined above ground pool ?
Same way you do it in a plaster pool. Watch these two videos in order and you'll have all you need to know:
Algae AND Algaecides and Why You Don't Need Them: th-cam.com/video/MzGoK4Cd7tc/w-d-xo.html
Keeping Phosphates Low: th-cam.com/video/YzK7AD07HAY/w-d-xo.html
Hope you'll subscribed and share. And check out my website poolschooler.com for more great DIY pool stuff.
You need to mention that the chlorine levels may drop quickly and not hold because the cyanuric acid levels may be to high. High Cyanuric acid levels are caused by out of balance pool and using too much chlorine with dichlor and trichlor. We currently having this problem and using unstabilized chlorine without dichlor or trichlor. We first used Ca based shock but went to liquid chlorine and also used Clorox bleach when we couldn't get liquid chlorine quickly. Lowering Cyanuric acid is a pain. Either have to drain part of the water and refill or what we have on order is Bio active from Amazon. Hopefully this will work. We live in California and we are in a drought so draining part of the pool at this time would be out.
Stop listening to your politicians that say you can’t use water when they created this drought! I use as much as i want 24/7
@@unitedwestand5602 Whatever! If you want to pay over $1000 a month for water be my guest.
I love your videos!! My husband found you when we were trying to vacuume our pool. Is it safe to use bleach? My husband uses bleach to shock and clean our pool in the spring.
I've heard of that being done. I'm not sure I can endorse that or not. Sorry. But thanks for watching and commenting. And please do subscribe and share.
Bleach and liquid chlorine are both sodium hypochlorite. Only difference is bleach is usually about 6 percent solution and most liquid chlorine is about 10. So you have to add alot of bleach to make up for its low concentration. And you can use liquid chlorine to whiten your laundry, but instead of half a cup you might only add a few capfulls. I worked in the industry in AZ in the 80's and 90's.
As long as it's not thickened, scented, etc....then you should be okay to use it.
Thanks Kenny, I needed that information. Do you have a video dealing with red algae?
I don't but I treat it the same as green and mustard algae. Black algae takes one extra step but this video may help: th-cam.com/video/MzGoK4Cd7tc/w-d-xo.html
Friend came over and said I need to shock my pool once a week. Might not ask them over again.
Hahahahahaha
I question the ethics of your friends.
Awesome info... thank you! I’m in AZ as well so your channel is perfect for me 👌
So glad it's helpful. Hope you subscribed.
@@PoolSchooler I sure did! And I'll be referring your channel to my clients as well. You are great on screen BTW... very engaging. Congrats on your success!
@@tinybutmightyAZ I appreciate that, you might wanna check out my member site called poolschooler.com.
Thank you for a great video and your great personality
Thank you for watching and for your kind comment. Hope you subscribed to my channel.
So helpful! Thanks!
Youre welcome. Thank you for watching.
Great info!
Thanks so much for watching and for commenting. Hope you will subscribe to my channel and share it with others.
Very true I used chlorinating tablets and it bleached and thinned our liner so so bad. Also thank you for telling me i dont need algaecide. My clorox app says I do lol. I'm thinking only other thing I will purchase for this pool is stabilizer and im done. I realize i wasted money on shock but hell who knows i may need it sometime. I usually shock the pool in the beggining.
Even since I stopped going to pool stores once a week for testing, I’ve saved a ton of cash.
Invest in a proper test kit like the Taylor K2006 so you can do your own testing.
In my chlorine pool I use only two things….liquid chlorine and muriatic acid. Usually at the beginning of the season if my cya is low I throw in some granular stabilizer using the sock method in my skimmer basket. But once cya is between 30-50ppm…I use only liquid chlorine and acid to keep my PH levels down.
Youre doing it right. 👍.
We just got our first pool. You answered all my questions. Thank you
James Broll Jr I’m delighted to hear that. Enjoy your pool.
Great video Kenny! Do you recommend the same number of tablets and timing when using a declor?
Totally agree about the liquid chlorine. It is instant, and heavier than the pool water. I've had to clear up hundreds, and hundreds of pools, still my preference. Liquid chlorine has a pH of about 13, so keep that pH, when cleaning up an algaefied pool in 7.2-7.4 range to improve the efficacy of the chlorine. Having a DE filter will clear up a pool much faster as well, because filtration is much more efficient, down to about 5 microns. I am a big advocate for DE filters because of their vastly superior filtration capability over a cartridge, or, what I term, the 1940's technology of a sand filter.
Towards the end, when you show the scale spots in the bottom of the pool, they are known as calcium nodules. If you were to take the weight of the water out of the pool, and tap on those spots, especially the larger ones, there would be a hollow sound. Hollow sound is evidence that the top layer of the plaster is delaminating from the substrate below, causing a chemical reaction that manifests via these nodules, that upon closer inspection, appear like a "miniature volcano" in the making. You can sand these down while the pool is empty, but they will return, usually about 6 months later, because the underlying plaster delamination problem, has not been addressed. The cause of these nodules occuring, has been an ongoing controversy, for more than 40 years in the pool industry, as to why they occur, between those that plaster, or re-plaster pools, and the service industry.
Hi, I live in chandler and I always have high calcium and cyanuric acid levels. I have been told to use an oxidizing shocks. I was actually thinking of using liquid chlorine instead. What's your advice to keep both levels low
If you live in Chandler AZ then your calcium is what it is. We have very hard water here in Chandler AZ.. Watch this video and it'll help: th-cam.com/video/QC5ZYG27Z48/w-d-xo.html
@@PoolSchooler thanks, I already avoid calcium based chlorine. Do you have a video or a review on what this chlorine free oxidizing shock? Leslie pools always want to sell me those but they are expensive
@@springkordz Honestly I’m not a big fan of Leslie‘s pool supply. I feel that they sell you stuff you really don’t need. Oxidizing pool shock is just a gimmick. My suggestion would be to get trichlor shock and not waste your money on that “designer shock“.
Bags of Shock and the common hockey puck tablets contain high levels of Cyanuric acid listed as "Other ingredients". I use Liquid Chlorine or Liquid Bleach to avoid the Cyanuric acid.
Great info but, damn, get a camera mount.
I have an above ground 5,000 gallon pool. I just tested my water and it said my Cyaniric level is high, my PH level is low and my free available chlorine is low. It recommended that I drain some water out, add PH-up pods and pod shocks by HTH. What do you recommend I do?
Drain it, refill it and use liquid chlorine. With a vinyl liner, it is my experience that the pH remains pretty stable, because with a concrete/gunite/shotcrete/pebble type pool the surfaces are a higher pH, and will slowly leach into the pool water, hence the importance of muriatic acid to lower the pH to counteract this slowing leaching, leading to the pH raising. Rarely will you need much muriatc acid with a vinyl lined pool.. I hope that this helps.
Thank you very much!
Great Information. I have had a house with a pool for about 5 years and ALWAYS LOVE getting more tips for managing The Beast.
It's and Irregular-sized Dive Pool, over 30K gals. I think. Thank you!!
Glad it was helpful!
I just moved into a house with a big inground pool. my kids were so happy, but they're is so much to taking care of a pool and I'm completely overwhelmed. Needless to say my pool is green and we haven't gotten to swim yet.
Hi Samantha don't despair. you'll get the hang of it. Here's a list of videos and links to those videos that will move you forward. Watch them in order, apply them and you'll be swimming and enjoying your pool soon.
I also emailed this all to you.
Welcome to Pool School: th-cam.com/video/ohE7aewYxKI/w-d-xo.html
Getting to Know Your Pool: th-cam.com/video/S19NAl77Z5k/w-d-xo.html
Testing Your Pool Water: th-cam.com/video/lhhuuWsRGBk/w-d-xo.html
Adding Chlorine Tablets to Your Pool: th-cam.com/video/CLsvXnZFkZI/w-d-xo.html
(Let me know what type of filter you have (Sand, DE or Cartridge) and I'll send you a link to a video on that one).
My Chemical List: th-cam.com/video/y_mus9MWGQc/w-d-xo.html
Adjusting The Ph of Your Pool: th-cam.com/video/l71Iii4uZgY/w-d-xo.html
Adjusting The Alkalinity Of Your Pool Water: th-cam.com/video/60J-OcocMPo/w-d-xo.html
Algae and Algaecides and Why You Don't Need Them: th-cam.com/video/MzGoK4Cd7tc/w-d-xo.html (this one's really important for your issue).
How I Cleared My Green Pool: th-cam.com/video/XY-BAdBY0zI/w-d-xo.html (Very important for your pool right now too)
My Weekly Pool Service Regimine: th-cam.com/video/IEkFSunjRvs/w-d-xo.html
Emptying the Pump Basket and Clearing the Impeller: th-cam.com/video/sHfHfgpEeto/w-d-xo.html
There’s a learning curve Samantha, but it’s not too bad. I spend an hour or two a week maintaining my 24k in ground pool. So once you get the hang of it pretty minimal effort.
Did you clear your pool up yet by any chance? If not I can help
First thing to do is get the pH right (should be 7.2 to 7.6), then shock the heck out of the pool in the evening with liquid chlorine (and maybe also with calcium hypochlorite) to get rid of the green algae.
Google “SLAM pool” (Shock Level And Maintain) to learn how to shock a pool properly to start it up.
Do NOT use tri-chlor tabs nor di-chlor granules for the initial shocking, as it they are 52% or more Cyanuric Acid (a chlorine stabilizer) that will greatly reduce the effectiveness of the initial shocking. Use liquid chlorine, I. The evening) for the initial shocking to kill the algae first.
Your opinion of MPS as a shock for pools? Thanks for the great videos.
Hi, I appreciate your videos. I drained my pool 1.5 years ago. My Cyanuric Acid is at 74. Should I be concerned?
Absolutely not, and do not trust with some pool supply store tells you. They are notorious for telling you to drain your pool when the reading of your CYA is under 100 ppm. Honestly, you can let the CYA get to nearly 300 ppm before having to change the water. Specially, if you live in an area that doesn’t get a lot of water like Las Vegas or Arizona.
@@PoolSchooler awesome, thanks so much!
do you recommend using a floating chlorinator rather than an inline for regular chlorine maintenance ? thanks
Thank you. I put bag of calcium in skimmer. It has harden in pipe. I put hose to flush. No. How can I get it out?
don't pour any kind of granular chlorine in your skimmer and definitely never put it in your pump basket. Take a bucket, fill it with some water and add the granular to it(and don't do it in reverse. Never add the granular to an empty bucket and then pour water in), let it completely dissolve and then pour it around the perimeter of the pool with your system running.
Excellent Informative Lessons. Thanks you Kenny!
Do you have videos on salt water pools? My ionizer doesnt have very clear directions
Yes, I do. I did a three video series on salt generators. Just look up salt systems/Pool School and you should be able to find them.
Actually, here are some links th-cam.com/video/4ST_fyA3PkI/w-d-xo.htmlsi=mlLoaIDWaaiwd1jF
th-cam.com/video/o_NRYkFHuBg/w-d-xo.htmlsi=_SZOj2pUwpLkM_D4
th-cam.com/video/UxStDVbWejw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=NLc16SFJGL5TUGja
th-cam.com/video/DZuMcj7UydM/w-d-xo.htmlsi=tYO74dfRJVdzvxw_
th-cam.com/video/hI_o9hzePcY/w-d-xo.htmlsi=RAOhDhBRgeewXynD
th-cam.com/video/FWOczNw36gg/w-d-xo.htmlsi=Z7zaXE2HaLErcSjA
th-cam.com/video/kAyCHYkyxPI/w-d-xo.htmlsi=lzflcBLlraAjOH1k
Hope these help
Hi Kenny, thanks a lot for your video! I’m a new homeowner with a pool and feel a bit lost. Please two questions - I don’t see the liquid chlorine brand of your video available online, would you have a (sponsored) link of one you suggest to buy? And in terms of quantity, how many gallons shall I pour in the pool for a 30,000 pool?
The brand that I use comes from my supplier so you might have a tough time finding it. Plus, the brand is not that important. You can get good quality liquid chlorine from a local Walmart, Home Depot, or Lowe’s. Or some other hardware store. With regards to how much you should add to your pool, depends on not just how many gallons the pool house but what’s your current chlorine levels are. So I really can’t answer your second question unless I know what your current total in free chlorine level is.
Do you use a stain and scale remover for hard water calcium deposits?
I typically don't like to as it's just more chemicals in the water which is absorbed in the skin. So I just use the old fashioned pumice stone and good old fashioned elbow grease. 👍😉
Kenny, I have a 3500 gallon salt water fiberglass pool. Should I use the Tri Chlor granular you showed in the video? And where can I purchase? I have scouted the internet and Amazon. Your videos saved my pool from the algae bloom.. Never again will i buy Algaecide. Thank you.
If you're wanting to help control the algae then I'd definitely recommend the trichlor granules. It shouldn't harm the fiberglass surface of your pool. BUT if you are concerned then you can put a pound of it in your skimmer basket WITH THE PUMP MOTOR RUNNING to rapidly dissolve and distribute it around your pool. BUT DON'T DO THIS EVERY DAY IT WILL EXPIDITE THE WEARING OUT OF YOUR SKIMMER BASKET IF YOU DO. A simple google search for the brand and name of the one I show in the video should bring up more than enough options for it. Try this link: EZ Chlor Granular Algae OUT
BUT if you're just wanting to raise the chlorine level in your pool then I'd always go with the liquid chlorine,
www.wholesalepoolequipment.com/pool-chemicals/sanitizers/e-z-clor-12000534-10-granular-algae-out-az-in-store-only-EZC-50-9210?ads_cmpid=10194238232&ads_adid=101397648665&ads_matchtype=&ads_network=u&ads_creative=438924115914&ads_targetid=pla-293946777986&ttv=2&gclid=CjwKCAiAxKv_BRBdEiwAyd40N8JmEryA5ZF23Ie2YPWPIgvdrPtkQQhl7S5E4zk01-9e96fnvmRAFhoCC38QAvD_BwE
Thanks for the video
You’re welcome thanks for watching and commenting. Hope you’ll subscribe to my channel and share it with others.
Doesn't liquid chlorine raise your TDS though? If you already have high TDS, do you still recommend using liquid chlorine? Other than draining your pool or paying to have the water filtered, is there anything you can do to bring down the TDS in your pool?
@@chrismyghostwriter TDS are somewhat controversial. Anything chemical you add to your pool will typically increase your TDS. Also, there are some people that say certain levels of TDS are too high and, for instance, if you have a saltwater pool, you have to keep your salinity between 3000 to 3400 ppm all of those are total dissolved solids and the total dissolved solids, that would be way too high. So you might want to watch my video. I’m told Dissolved solids it might help as far as reducing them. The only way I know to do it is through dilution, and that means changing the water. I did a video on it. This might be helpful. Total Dissolved Solids
th-cam.com/video/fHgnS-jOsDQ/w-d-xo.html
Hi Kenny,
Watching your video on pool shock that I never use. Noticed you mention buying pool chlorine from Walmart and the like. Do you know the stores sell 10% SHC while the pool supply wholesalers sell 12.5%! Murialic acid from pool supply wholesalers is 31.45% HCL and the big box stores sell 15%. Makes a huge difference when doing pool chemistry that you know the concentrations of what you're using!!
I did know that but for the average pool owner it's difficult to get the higher potency products from a local retailer. It's a bummer for sure. But you are right it does make a difference.
@poolschool Do you have any experience using In The Swim Chlorine-Free Pool Shock-Oxidizer ? I use it for my salt water pool. I read it’s doesn’t mess it’s any other levels at all.
Unfortunately, I don’t have any experience with that product. Sorry.
Love di Chlor and tri chlor but in the dry dessert heat in west Texas these 2 types quickly rise the cya levels above 100 ppm which then weakens the chlorine to do its job and we consistently then fight off green algae b/c of the chlorine lock that high cya levels cause. . Unfortunately we’ve had to stick with cal -hypo or liquid chlorine and it has been the only solution for the chlorine to work correctly year round. The trade, is always having to lower the ph and fight calcium hardness, but it’s a lot easier than missing with cya effects. This is for fiberglass pool and speaks to dry dessert heat areas.
The reason the TriChlor and DiChlor tablets increase CYA is because they are "stabilized" that is, infused with CYA. For sure liquid chlorine is better but you have to test and add chems daily and if you're ok with that then go for it.
HOWEVER, if you're having trouble with green algae then I'd suggest (strongly) that your issue is not chlorine (or type of chlorine) but rather Phosphates. Watch this video about algae and algaecides and why you don't need them and it'll explain. It's one of my most important videos I've done. Here a link: th-cam.com/video/MzGoK4Cd7tc/w-d-xo.html
Also, please subscribe to my channel and check out my website poolschooler.com for more great money saving stuff for DIY pool owners.
That’s for the update :) watched the vid and I’m already have subscribed to your channel which has been very helpful. Quick question, I love to use tricolor and di-chlor b/c it’s a lot less maintenance, as you stated, but how then do you control the CYA ? When my CYA levels get high above 150 I struggle with algae even thou my pool is balance unless I pick up the ppm chlorine very high. When I switched to cal hypo this year and maintained a balance on my pool I had no struggles all year. And last question does cya protect the chlorine the same when using other types of chlorine, in my case cal hypo? I Try to maintain 50 ppm by adding di-Chlor in pool when cya drops. Thx a million for the vids you post they are very helpful .
@@Broncs78 Cal hypo will increase your water hardness (possibly leading to mineral deposits on your plaster etc). I'm not a fan of cal hypo for that reason and I've found it not as potent. As far as cya, if you start with fresh water and get your cya to 30 (the low end of the 30-50ppm ideal range) you'd be fine with trichlor etc for several years. ALSO I've had pools out here with CYA's of 300 (yes 300!) that have been fine throughout the summer months with NO ALGAE. Chlorine is not the end all be all for algae prevention. My guess is that if you have algae returning you have a phosphate issue. PLEASE WATCH THIS VIDEO, it'll explain what I mean: th-cam.com/video/MzGoK4Cd7tc/w-d-xo.html
I have been seeing chlorine-free oxidizing shock at the pool supply store. Can you talk about how this is different than the shock you discussed in the video and when/if this is something that would be beneficial to use?
To be honest I’ve never used oxidizing shock for any of my pools. Nor have I really researched it. Because I really use shock except for the trichlor granules to help control algae along with phosphate remover. So unfortunately I can’t really comment about it. Sorry.
I’m in New York, and the water is not hard enough, apparently. So I’ll probably use the CalHypo. Pool guys told me not to use di and trichlor because they tend to raise Cyanuric levels too high
Thanks for sharing I've had my above ground pool for 5 years and the pool place here always said shock the pool once a week and a 3inch chlorine tablet once a week I never had cloudy water our green always be clear ,I clean my pool daily run the sand filter pump 8 hours a day,but now I'm questioning about useing shock once a week and it's the powder shock,it definitely gets hot here in Nebraska so if you dont recommend the powder shock treatment would you use the liquid chlorine once a week,just hate to stop useing shock once a week then the pool water turns green.
I'd suggest increasing the amount of tablets you use, and use phosphate remover every couple of months. If you do that and keep your filter clean you'll not have any problem with algae. Check out this video on algae and algaecides I did, it's one of the most important videos I've done: th-cam.com/video/MzGoK4Cd7tc/w-d-xo.html
And please check out my new membership website www.poolschooler.com for more great tools to help you save a ton of money on pool maintenance.
@@PoolSchooler thanks for the reply I will check out that other video well I usely only swim from June to maybe the middle of September so only a little over 3.months but it definitely gets in the 100 degrees and high 90s here,I just dont no why they recommend shocking a pool every 7 days.
@@rippingj6017 Because they don't know any better AND it makes them money every month. Return customer.
@@rippingj6017 Hope you’ll subscribe to my channel and also, please check out my website poolschooler.com for exclusive DIY pool maintenance tools and more direct and priority communication with my for your pool maintenance needs. Hope you’ll subscribe to my channel and also, please check out my website poolschooler.com for exclusive DIY pool maintenance tools and more direct and priority communication with my for your pool maintenance needs.
@@PoolSchooler thanks ,question for you I sold my old pool its was 16x52 the one I'm getting is 18x54,I'm having it installed by the professionals here,anyway i dug out the retaining wall on the south and east side so the bigger pool would fit,so i added dirt to where the retaining walls was so was wondering after they install it,will i have to put the retaining wall back up,or can i just add grass seed to the to sides where the slopes are at,so the slopes wont wash away,I'm still gonna put felt and river rock around the pool,just was wondering about the slopes
Excellent information....video quality will improve if anchor your hand that holds the camera to prevent the constant Earthquake image...
I have an above ground pool and I have been using slow dissolve tabs, but they take too long to work. What do you recommend?
Our pool is green and we have tried everything we are at our wits end!
Lauren Ganser Use hth green to blue , I had the same problem and after that treatment mi pool is unbelievable crystalline.
Anytime you need to raise your chlorine level quickly, use liquid chlorine(sodium hypochlorite)
Supplement with liquid chlorine or chorine granules.
see my video on green pool: th-cam.com/video/mA8BoMe7IVM/w-d-xo.html
If youre a poolman with a 30 pools route, with the prices of tablets and shock
Wich one is better to use, tabs or shock???
Tablets indeed have gone up in price but I still use them since I only visit my client's pools once a week. The granular shock may not last long enough during our hot summer days and all the pool use.
What about oxidizing non-chlorine shock 42% potassium monopersulfate. I was told to use this to protect my indoor pool's vinyl liner.
unfortunately I don't have any experience with this product. Sorry.
Hi ken, what’s your take on pool R/x mineral sanitizer
I personally am not a fan of it due to the copper that’s in it. I do have a friend who uses it in his pool and he likes it and he told me that the documentation on that product says that the copper is chelated and therefore isn’t harmful. I’ve not researched whether chelated copper is truly not harmful as a heavy metal, but you might wanna look into that.
Can I use a Intex sand filter pump on a inground pool
I wouldn't recommend it. That pump isn't powerful enough nor large enough.
New to the channel and new to trying to maintain my owl pool. This has probably been answered elsewhere (in which maybe someone can forward the video link), but why do pool companies recommend shocking your pool WEEKLY?
I don't agree with them. This video may help: th-cam.com/video/tpyyMNqRqi0/w-d-xo.html
Does calcium based shock also increase the calcium level in the water?
Also I have a salt water pool and easily maintain the chlorine level at 4 ppm by adjusting the chlorinator percent output. I never have an algae problem, and if I see some it is usually late summer when it gets really hot it's on the stone grout because the phosphates are high. Fix the phosphates, clean the algae, problem solved, no shock needed.
I think my pool is bacteria free and safe. Others tell me I am crazy and need to SHOCK because the 4 ppm chlorine is not killing all the bacteria. What are your thoughts? Steve
So an answer to your question, about calcium yes it builds up in your pool overtime if you want to supplement chlorine in your pool instead of using shock use liquid chlorine. With regards to your salt system and your chlorine levels at 4 ppm and you’re having some green algae show up your issue is probably not anything to do with your sanitizer or chlorine it’s probably phosphates I did a video which is probably one of the most important ones I’ve ever done on LG in Algaecides and why you don’t need them here’s a link to it please watch it I think it will help.
th-cam.com/video/MzGoK4Cd7tc/w-d-xo.html
Great videos, proves you don't need high tech video production if you know what you're talking about. :) Very informative and to the point.
Glad you like them! I appreciate your comment
I use sodium dichlor (Leslie's Chlor Brite) for general chlorination (0.3 oz a week for 240gal spa), it's what the pool store recommends. Is that fine?
I'd suggest using 3" stabilized chlorine tablets instead. They're Trichlor and since the DiChlor has calcium and CYA in it you might as well use the tablets. They're way more convenient and although they also have CYA in them THEY DON't have calcium in them so they won't add excessive amounts of minerals to your pool water (which usually creates mineral deposits at your water line AND possibly mineral deposits on your pool plaster).
What about for a salt water pool? Still use Liquid?
If you need to get the chlorine level up quickly in a salt pool. The answer is yes use liquid chlorine.
Good stuff. thanks.
Youre welcome.
I moved into a house with a old fiberglass pool. Its 30ftx15
No clue how many gallons of water . How many gallons of liquid chlorine should I add to shock it ?
It depends on your current chlorine levels. Don't add shock until you test the chlorine level. I really can't guess without knowing your current chlorine (free and total) readings.
Hope you'll check out poolschooler.com there a lot of great info and exclusive content and tools to help you better maintain your pool yourself. and please subscribe to this channel.
Intex sand filter pump self priming
Thanks 😁
You're welcome. Hope you'll subscribe to and share my channel.
1. You should NEVER add chlorine of any kind to your skimmer. It is not safe. There is not enough water volume in the plumbing for the chlorine to mix with, which could cause an explosion. Also, it is really not good for your plumbing as you said, or for the equipment. You are also sanitizing the crud in your filter before it even gets back into the pool again, so not very efficient either.
2. Your liquid chlorine is SODIUM HYPOCHLORITE. Which is the same mineral found in the sodium dichlor you said you didn't like because it leaves mineral deposits in the pool. And in AZ, that's totally fair. You guys have super hard water. However, "liquid chlorine", that sodium hypochlorite, contains a lot of salt. And it will quickly raise TDS levels, leading to a pool that needs to be drained constantly.
3. If you are getting mineral deposits and scaling, there are chemicals that remove that without the need for sanding and then prevent more buildup by basically "chemically sanding" the molecules that caused scale and make them unable to stick to surfaces or each other.
4. You NEED to shock your pool weekly to oxidize out any contaminants. If your chlorine levels are good with just tabs, which is very possible, a non chlorine oxidizer such as a potassium monopersulphate should be used.
5. Don't forget to check CYA levels after all that trichlor. Trichlor is a stabilized product that will raise cyanuric acid levels over time and decrease the effectiveness of your chlorine when it starts to go over 50ppm.
You nailed it. I temporarily used a skimmer while waiting to install a new chlorinator. It caused excess corrosion in my copper heat exchanger which deposited the metal into the pool. I couldn't balance my water even though the test strips looked OK. I got a water test at a pool store which detected the problem and I used a metal-out product to fix it. Not good for your pool heater either.
Make your own video. All of you say different shit anyway. The "right" way is somewhere in between
This right here. The liquid chlorine (bleach) is the same as the bagged dichlor, except in liquid form.
I think his video statement "Can you tell im not a chemist?" really nailed it. Yea, we can tell.
Hi Kenny, what do you think about the frog system, minerals and chlorine for sanitizing the pools. I was planning on using bleach as shock when needed. Is this ok to do?
I am unfamiliar with the frog system so I'd be unable to comment on that.
With regards to bleach as shock, I suggest in my video that I'd rather use liquid chlorine.
the pool builder I worked for in the 80's/90's used the Frog for awhile. If it's still the same, they used chlorine in the cartridge and a small amount of silver and copper compounds. Silver is great for killing bacteria and copper is a great algaecide. And yes you can still use any type of shock treatment with that system.
Hi Kenny. Do you have any videos on stain removal on white plaster pools?
I don’t but acid washing would be the best option.