We just had a pool put in, and I wanted to check some of the things that our pool school instructor told us to do. A few details:
- 25,000 gallons
- Pebble tech
- chlorine with inline chlorination and cartridge filter

Where do I add shock?

The instructor said add to skimmer but based on google, this is not the way.

When do I run pump?

Instructor said during the day especially when it's hot. Internet says different?

Acceptable ranges for chlorine, pH and alkalinity?

Instructor said chlorine 2.0-2.5, pH 7.4-7.6, and alkalinity 70-100. Again internet is all over the place, including manufacturer.

Any help is appreciated.

My advice on adding chemicals is that it probably doesn't make a big difference what part of the pool it's added as long as the pool pump is running.

I run my pump late at night when the air is cooler. The waterfall helps cool the water temperature down at night. I run the pumps during the day only if we're using the pool. I heard that you want to 100% recirculate the water in your pool each day. Find out how many gallons per hour your pump moves. I would think that you would need to run it for at least 10 hours.

I use "Simple Green" spray cleaner on my filter cartridges when cleaning. It's non-toxic and this is what a cousin who sells Hayward equipment recommended.

There's going to be a ton of different opinions. And yes TFP can be a great resource as mentioned. However, I have almost identical setup, and have had it for years. Keep your chlorinator filled (I check every five days), you cast the shock in as needed (usually once/week)in the deeper end of your pool and let it circulate.

I try to keep my Cl between 3-5. And Ph between 7.4-7.6, Alkalinity 80-100. I run my pump in the day from 9:30a-7:00p, and my waterfalls at night.

Get a good test kit (that checks alkalinity, hardness, CYA, etc) and also some strips for spot testing. And buy a good robot cleaner.

I live in SETX and we get so much rain, plus evaporation/refill that I've never had an issue with CYA levels getting too high. Some people in other areas mention their CYA gets too high when using pucks.

Enjoy it! It's been absolutely worth it.

Thank y'all for the replies. Extremely helpful.

stock up on Muriatic Acid

Had a pool for 5 years now…are you really supposed to add shock on an interval like described above? I have never done this and never had an issue with the pool. Not saying im right, I've just never seen anything suggesting shocking on set intervals is something to consider

I've had a roughly 40,000 gallon pool since 2016 and have never used shock either. I use a combo of liquid chlorine and pucks. If my chlorine is low or non existent I'll dump the liquid to bring it back in like. My guess is shock works in a similar fashion, just quick dissolving on a more emergency basis.

I tried the pure TFP liquid chlorine method but I'm not able to consistently add just liquid chlorine so the combo method works great.

ForeverAg said:

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Had a pool for 5 years now…are you really supposed to add shock on an interval like described above? I have never done this and never had an issue with the pool. Not saying im right, I've just never seen anything suggesting shocking on set intervals is something to consider

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I wasn't suggesting to do it at a set interval. I said "usually once/week" and that's in peak swim season. I have kids and their friends swimming. So after heavy use, I like to throw a bag of shock in. Everyone's situation is different and did not mean to imply it's something that had to be done. Like I said, lots of opinions, you just have to find what works for you and your setup.

BigNastyNate said:

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I've had a roughly 40,000 gallon pool since 2016 and have never used shock either. I use a combo of liquid chlorine and pucks. If my chlorine is low or non existent I'll dump the liquid to bring it back in like. My guess is shock works in a similar fashion, just quick dissolving on a more emergency basis.

I tried the pure TFP liquid chlorine method but I'm not able to consistently add just liquid chlorine so the combo method works great.

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The advantage is the liquid chlorine contains no stabilizer. Meaning it doesn't increase your CNA (cyanuric acid) levels. However, it does mean you should add liquid chlorine after the sun has gone down. UV light destroys chlorine.

I started with CalHypo but reading in TFP, it sounds like liquid chlorine might be the way to go. Any suggestion on brand where to buy? Along those same lines any tips/places to get a good 'deal' on chemicals?

I typically purchase acid from Lowe's or HD and chlorine using the refillable jugs from Pinch a Penny.

Dumping in a bunch of liquid chlorine all at once is essentially shocking the pool.
Pinch-a-Penny sells advertises their liquid chlorine as shock. I use it once every other week or so depending on how much we are using the pool.

Check pH once or twice a week, should be between 7.2-7.6

Check Alkalinity every other week, 65-145 is good

As long as I keep pucks in the chlorinator I don't really check Chlorine. Goal in the winter should be 1-1.5. Summer you want at least 2.5.

Check CYA twice a swim season. If it gets too high your chlorine won't be as effective.

I clean my filters in the spring after the big blow in of pollen, then again after swim season has ended.

In the winter I run my pump 8-5. Then make it run an hour later every month starting in March. Two things eat chlorine: sun and microorganisms. Running a pool with a chlorinator after sun down injects some extra chlorine to kill the microorganisms.

In the summer I shock with liquid chlorine(make sure your shock doesn't have stabilizer) every other week depending on usage. Put it in after sun down. We had some young cousins in the pool the other week so I shocked it after they left. Anything I add to the pool I put in the deep the above the intake while the pump is running.

Run your vacuum once or twice a week or as needed.

Quad Dog said:

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Check pH once or twice a week, should be between 7.2-7.6

Check Alkalinity every other week, 65-145 is good

As long as I keep pucks in the chlorinator I don't really check Chlorine. Goal in the winter should be 1-1.5. Summer you want at least 2.5.

Check CYA twice a swim season. If it gets too high your chlorine won't be as effective.

I clean my filters in the spring after the big blow in of pollen, then again after swim season has ended.

In the winter I run my pump 8-5. Then make it run an hour later every month starting in March. Two things eat chlorine: sun and microorganisms. Running a pool with a chlorinator after sun down injects some extra chlorine to kill the microorganisms.

In the summer I shock with liquid chlorine(make sure your shock doesn't have stabilizer) every other week depending on usage. Put it in after sun down. We had some young cousins in the pool the other week so I shocked it after they left. Anything I add to the pool I put in the deep the above the intake while the pump is running.

Run your vacuum once or twice a week or as needed.

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Utilize the free water checks at either Leslies or Pinch a Penny. Whichever is closest. This helps you keep track of CYA and minerals.

It may be overkill, but, I clean my cartridge filters monthly.

I run my vacuum daily because I have lots of trees.

malenurse said:

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BigNastyNate said:

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I've had a roughly 40,000 gallon pool since 2016 and have never used shock either. I use a combo of liquid chlorine and pucks. If my chlorine is low or non existent I'll dump the liquid to bring it back in like. My guess is shock works in a similar fashion, just quick dissolving on a more emergency basis.

I tried the pure TFP liquid chlorine method but I'm not able to consistently add just liquid chlorine so the combo method works great.

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The advantage is the liquid chlorine contains no stabilizer. Meaning it doesn't increase your CNA (cyanuric acid) levels. However, it does mean you should add liquid chlorine after the sun has gone down. UV light destroys chlorine.

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Pool essentials liquid chlorine at Walmart is one of the better deals. Buy enough of it and they'll ship it for free.

Similar pool setup to yours. Twice a week I dump in half a bottle of muratic acid and one scoop of shock. Keep the chlorine tab dispenser full. Majority of the time that keeps things in check. I water test 1-2x weekly and take it to Leslie's 1-2x monthly. I should probably make the jump to liquid chlorine but haven't gone there yet.

Yep, this summer, Walmart has been the best price for 10% chlorine gallon jugs ($5.67). Home Depot used to be the cheapest per gallon but raised their prices over the last 5 years. This summer they came down a bit ($6.66/gal)

Which is ironic because I had finally bit the bullet this spring and 'invested' in the refillable 2.5 gal jugs from Pinch a Penny since they had been the cheapest, by far, the previous couple summers. This summer, they've been the most expensive ($7.25/gal) of the three.

I still buy muriatic acid from Home Depot and big bags of baking soda from wherever is convenient (Walmart/Costco/Home Depot). Liquid chlorine, acid, baking soda are the only things I add to my pool in the summer. Chlorine and acid usually twice a week. Baking soda maybe once a month.

I do still use the chlorine pucks in the winter or when on vacation.

Back with another question. How long and at what speeds do folks run their pumps? I've been running it at 3000 rpm from 7am to 8pm. That's how the pool company set it up. I've been on TFP, and it all over the place. Ultimately, I want to maintain a clean pool, minimize wear on the pump, and minimize my electric bill.

7A to 8P is too long. The rule of thumb is 1 hour per 10 degrees of temp. So, on Texas Gulf Coast summer days, 8-10 hours should be sufficient. Mine runes 0800 to 1800.

During the hottest months, I will turn it off around 1400. Then start it around1800 and run my water feature for several hours to help cool the water temp.

I have 3 speeds

2am-7am 3000 RPM
7am-5pm 1400 RPM
5pm-7pm 2200 RPM


I started at 2 am a few weeks ago just to cool the pool down a bit. I have noticed a difference. Once summer cools down I'll start the pool around 8am.

7am-8pm at about 2800rpm. I run a SWCG so different situation but that keeps my Chlorine level perfectly dialed in this time of year.

I run it less in the winter when all I'm doing is filtering cold water.

You are targeting approximately 3 full water turnovers per day. The speed and run time will depend on your pool's volume. Running at too low of speed will not usually adequately circulate the water, running at full speed will be less efficient from an electricity usage perspective. if your equipment is sized correctly, most pools can run successfully in SE TX during the summer between 8-10 daylight hours run time at 75-80% rpm.

I run 9-5 M-Thurs 70%
Then Fri - Sun add a cycle between 1-5 am 50% through sprinklers to cool the pool for the weekend.

A few comments on what I've seen posted on this thread.

"Shocking" a pool is a process of quickly increasing concentration of Cl. "Shock" is simply concentrated chlorine that you can buy in liquid (sodium hypochlorite) or granular (calcium hypochlorite) form.

Running a pool filter pump only at night can be done successfully but is usually more challenging to maintain and almost always consumes more chlorine.

Running water features or sprinklers that take advantage of evaporative cooling at night will drop your pool temperature significantly.

Please do not just fill your chlorine hopper full of tabs, it's the fastest way to over chlorinate and cause CyA issues that will involve water replacement. Pebbletec pools generally have more problems with high CyA.

Invest in a passive algaecide treatment program. I recommend pool rX. If you have any green visible in the pool, kill that before starting.

Remember most all algaecide like this is a preventative, not a cure. The marketing on algaecide is ridiculous where you see pics of a a green swamp pool turn blue in an advertisement. Algaecide will not do that. That is done with ****loads of chlorine.

One more thing, wrt shocking a pool, you will find a million opinions, but here is mine. Shock will cost you somewhere around $5-6 / lb retail. Meaning every time you shock is going to run at least $15 bucks. For a 25k gallon pool in summer, you are probably going to want closer to 4-5 lbs to have good effect. That adds up quick.

Most people who are shocking weekly in addition to running trichlor or salt cell are doing so for one of two reasons. They are either using shock as a bandaid correction to an ongoing issue with the pool (poor circulation, large fcl/tcl splits, high CyA/low fcl, improper trichlor/salt levels, organic debris), or they are doing it unnecessarily.

Shocking on interval in winter / low UV is common, cost efficient, and effective as a primary sanitation method as it relieves CyA build up in trichlor pools.

Shock only when necessary to fix a problem like an algae bloom, major chemistry imbalance, big rain, post pool party, etc.

Like the poster above, I run tablets and liquid chlorine. If you use tablets, check your CYA levels once every couple of months. Get a cheap test kit and check chlorine, pH and total alkalinity once every couple of weeks. And, there is no reason to run your pump as much as everyone claims. It's a huge waste of electricity. For reference, mine is 14,000 gallons. I run a Pentair Intelliflo variable speed pump. From May through Sept, I run 2750rpm from 1:30pm to 3:30pm and run the cleaner 1hr a day between 2pm-3pm. It runs slower at 1750rpm from 3:30pm to 5:30pm. From Oct through April I only run it at high speed from 1:30pm to 3:30pm with 1hr of pool cleaner. I never "shock" my pool. It is also under a high tree trash load most of the year.

Agree with all of this.