We've had our Maxxus now for 1week!!! So far so good with keeping the water balanced...I check it once day and make any necessary adjustments. I usually just have to add dichlor. My question is what, if any is the difference between shocking and super-chlorinating? My instinct is that they are the same but I'm just trying to learn as much as I can regarding chemistry of the water. Also, I should shock 1x a week year round or just in the warmer months?
thx guys
Congratulations on your new Maxxus. You ask a very good question. I assume what you mean by shocking is adding non chlorine shock aka MPS. I have actually learned some interesting information recently regarding this. It seems that non chlorine shock works best as a maintenance procedure meaning it is something that should be done on a regular basis. It oxidizes very well but doesn't do as well at eliminating choromines. Shocking by superchlorinating will destroy chlorimines and oxidize but you must be sure to add enough to do the job or your water hasn't been shocked plus you'll have to wait a bit to use the spa and your CYA levels will raise quickly. You only have to shock this way when your combined chlorine levels (CC=TC-FC) reach .2 ppm.
So what I get from all this is that if you use non chlorine shock, it should be used weekly or if there is an extraordinary amount of tubbing. Doing this should keep your CC levels low and your water may never form chlorimines. Superchlorinate when your CC level reach .2 ppm. If you choose to shock by superchlorination only, it only has to be done when the CC reaches this level. Many do a combination of both...for instance use non chlorine shock weekly and superchlorinate monthly.
Most of us use our spas more in the cooler months, so socking is a year round process.
