There are some common steps that you must follow to know the answer of the question “how to shock a pool with chlorine tablets”. These steps should be followed accordingly and serially or else you would not be able to destroy the algae, bacteria or unwanted organisms from your pool.
In this case, we also have to know some basics to apply shock in our pool. Nowadays it is pretty common to know the necessary measures to have a proper pool that is fun to have whether it is at your home or somewhere else. Firstly, we have to know about the size of the pool. Based on that, we can determine how much chlorine tablets we would need.
Let’s dig out heels deep into this.
Different categories of pool shock
There are mainly two kinds of pool shock depending on whether they are chlorinated or not. So the types of pool shock are-
- Chlorinated pool shock
- Non chlorinated pool shock
Let’s discuss the basics of both the types of pool shock.
Chlorinated pool shock:
It is the most popular pool shock nowadays. It is available in the market in many forms, some of them are- lithium hypochlorite, calcium hypocrite etc. You have to wait at least eight hours before you start swimming in the pool after you have applied chlorinated pool shock. You should be careful about not applying it in the daylight as the sunlight reduces its effectiveness.
Non-chlorinated pool shock:
This type of pool shock does not kill the bacteria. They are used as oxidizers and made of potassium salt. The process of adding this type of pool shock is for the reduction of algae growth. In this process, you do not have to wait for a significant amount of time to get back to the pool. It also works as a clarifier.
Nowadays chlorinated and non chlorinated pool shocks are mixed together before applying. In this way the chlorinated portion can kill the bacteria and the non-chlorinated portion and clarify the pool.
Can you use chlorine tablets to shock a pool?
In general, you can not use the regular 3 inch chlorine tablets available in the market without testing the condition and the requirements of your pool.
A good shock product will increase the chlorine level up to 5 ppm for a few hours in order to destroy chloramine and bacteria.
How do you shock a pool with chlorine tablets?
There are specific steps that we must follow if we want to shock our pool with chlorine tablets. Some of this steps might not be needed depending on some factors. But most of the steps should be followed accordingly and chronologically to shock a pool perfectly.
- As these chemicals are not completely safe for us to touch without any protection, we must water protection gear and be very careful about handling this chemical components.
- Make sure to measure the volume of the pool perfectly if you already don’t know it. Because you have to decide the amount of chlorine tablets you are going to use based on that.
- It is a very important step to know the level of chlorine of your pool and how much chlorine to add. Only then, you can take for the further steps.
- You should use a chlorine dispenser in order to apply chlorine tablets in your pool.
- Make sure to stabilize the chlorine. If it is not stabilized, use cyuranic acid.
- Make sure to wait for several hours (varies depending on the quantity of the pool) before start swimming in the pool. In this case, we also must know the answer of the question “when to add algaecide to pool after shock“.
These are basically the common steps to shock a pool using chlorine tablets.
How many chlorine tablets to shock a pool?
Chlorine tablets are basically chlorine in solid form. They are used to clean the pool and kill the bacteria mainly. The answer to the question “how many chlorine tablets to shock a pool” or “how many 1 inch chlorine tablets for a 1,000 gallon pool” varies depending on some factors.
Some of them are-
- Quantity of water in the pool
- The type of chlorine tablet you are using
- The location of your pool
- The water balance
- The condition of the pool water etc.
Most swimming pools need 3 inch trichlor chlorine tablet every 3 to 5 days to maintain level of chlorine in the pool.
The chlorine tablet comes in two sizes, 1 inch and 3 inch. If you decrease the size of the chlorine tablets of any specific tablet, then you have to increase the number of tablets. A single 3 inch tablet is enough for 5000 gallons of water.
For the best results, use this chlorine tablet dosage chart as a reference:
- 2,500 – 5,000 gallon pool-
1 chlorine tablet weekly
- 7,000-gallon pool-
1-2 chlorine tablets weekly
- 10,000-gallon pool-
2 chlorine tablets weekly
- 13,500-gallon pool-
2-3 chlorine tablets weekly
- 15,000 – 17,000 gallon pools-
3 chlorine tablets weekly
- 20,000-gallon pool-
3-4 chlorine tablets weekly
- 25,000-gallon pool-
4-5 tablets weekly
- 30,000-gallon pool-
5-6 tablets weekly
How to shock a pool with chlorinating liquid?
Shocking a pool with chlorinating liquid will destroy the growth in spreading of bacteria, algae and other unwanted organisms. In this process, you have to apply chlorinating liquid and leave the pool for a specific amount of time for the liquid to start working. After that time, your pool will be completely disinfected.
The most common chlorinating liquid available in the market is sodium hypochlorite also known as liquid chlorine. It is about 12.5% of strength.
Firstly check the clothera level of the water. Also check the pH of water and other required chemical components present in the water then add the chlorinating liquid.
Usually 1 gallon of shock for 10,000 gallons of water is applied in this case. But the shock dosage is about 2 gallons of shock per 10,000 gallons of water.
How to shock a pool with granular chlorine?
We have to follow the first few steps as we followed before adding the chlorinating liquid. We must check the flooring level of the water, then the pH and other chemical components present in the water, then choose the granular chlorine you are going to use in your pool.
The popular granular chlorine available in the market is calcium hypocholrite. So it would be a preferable choice as a granular chlorine for your pool.
It has about 75-78% of strength. Add about 1 lb of shock per 10,000 gallons of water. It would be more than enough in a general pool.
Conclusion
Moreover, it is very important for us to know how to take care of our pool. For that we must know how to and how much chlorine tablets to apply to shock our pool. In order to know that, we have to gather knowledge about some other topics as well.
There are different categories of pool shock. But regarding this particular case, there are two types of pool shock, chlorinated and non chlorinated pool shock.
Necessary steps must be followed chronologically in order to add shock to the pool by chlorine tablets. Single 3 inch screen tablet can be added for a 5,000 gallon. This quantity can also change depending on many factors.
There are also different ways to add chlorinated liquid and granular chlorine.
Read more learn more
1. Where to put chlorine tablets in above ground pool
2. How Long After Adding Algaecide Can You Shock
3. How many 1 inch chlorine tablet for 1000 gallon pool
4. When to add algaecide to pool after shock