If using chlorine, your levels should always be between 1-3ppm to effectively sanitize your pool water for swimmers. This will reduce bacteria in the water and keep swimmers from getting sick.

Cyanuric Acid is the sanitizer stabilizer.  This means that without CYA, your pool will not hold chlorine, therefore will not stay sanitized without constantly shocking it. Your CYA levels need to be between 30-50ppm for chlorine pools, and between 60-80ppm for salt water pools.

Dissolved solids can be anything from grime, salt and algaecide.  You will want to make sure your TDS (total dissolved solids) measure below 1500ppm.

You must maintain a sanitizer level (chlorine) of 1-3ppm in order to keep your pool water clean.  Shocking is necessary after heavy use, or very sunny weather.

You should be in the habit of checking your pool water at least every 2-3 days.  Having test strips on hand will make this easy, however if you encounter a problem, or want more accurate testing; Mock Pools and Ponds offers FREE pool/spa water testing all year round. Visit our store today!

Question: My pool will not hold chlorine. What should I do?

Answer:  If your pool does not hold chlorine, then chlorine lock could be the culprit. Chlorine lock occurs when your chlorine is rendered useless and no matter how much chlorine you add, it will not work; and free chlorine levels will not go up during testing/treatments. In order to fix this, you will need to treat with a non-chlorine shock.

Question: How do I get rid of the algae in my pool?

Answer: In order to get rid of algae, you need to make sure your pool is holding chlorine and they are at the correct levels. Once you have achieved this, treat with Algae Break 90 for 90 days of algae treatment. You can also clear up an algae bloom by using liquid shock.  See a staff member at Mock Pools and Ponds for more information on how to do this.

You should shock your pool once a week to keep water balanced and safe for use. Add shock in the evening to avoid the sun eating up all of the chlorine before it can go into effect.  If you are the neighborhood pool, you may need to shock more often.  Having a pool that gets used more than average will go through more chlorine than most. Regular water testing will tell you if this is the case.

Many pool owners want to know how quickly the pool can be used after applying water balancing chemicals. We recommend that you always read package directions before using balancing chemicals.  Swimming before the recommended time can result in harm to swimmers, or rendering the chemicals useless.  Always shock your pool at night, or after swimmers have exited the pool.  You should wait 12-24 hours after shocking a pool to swim.

Many pool owners ask how long/often you should run your pool pump.  If your pool is used a lot, we recommend a minimum of 12 hours in a 24 hour period. Remember:  the more you run your pool pump, the more your water is being filtered. As a minimum, you should run your pump at least 8 hours a day. In doing so, your pool chemicals will continue to circulate and prevents algae growth. Adding a timer to your pool pump will help eliminate the guesswork.

Question: How often should I clean my filter and skimmer?

Answer:  You should clean your filter cartridge when the PSI on your system is 8-10 PSI over its normal operating range. Your skimmer on the other hand should be checked and cleaned of debris daily.