How often to shock?

[neocacher]

I am taking 2-3 soaks for 20 minutes a day. Last week I took 19 and once my wife came in. She only tubs once a week with me.

 So... For this usage, is it better to shock 2 times a week, rather than one time?  Or is 2 shocks a week overkill if I add a little dichlor after every soak, which I do.

When I shock I use 1 tablespoon of MPS (as recommended for 250 gallons) , but that doesn't seem to raise the chlorine level, so how do I know it is working?  Once I use up what is left of my old bottle of MPS, I am going to go with Enhanced Shock by Bioguard, which is what my dealer gave me. I notice it is about 50/50 dichlor with MPS.

I add 1/2 teaspoon of dichlor for my 250 tub after each soak, which keeps the test strip purple at 3-5 ppm.

Neo

[wmccall]

A little overkill I would think, but as long as the water says clean!  I shock once a week, alternating MPS on one week, and a heavy dichlor shock the next.

[MostlyLurkingGal]

A little overkill I would think, but as long as the water says clean!  I shock once a week, alternating MPS on one week, and a heavy dichlor shock the next.

Every time I shock, I have to wait days for the water to get back to normal. How long do you have to wait? Any suggestions on how much Dicholr and MPS to use with a Jetsetter?

[neocacher]

I only have to wait about 30 minutes or so. How long do you have to wait?

Neo

[Chad]

When I shock I use 1 tablespoon of MPS (as recommended for 250 gallons) , but that doesn't seem to raise the chlorine level, so how do I know it is working?  Once I use up what is left of my old bottle of MPS, I am going to go with Enhanced Shock by Bioguard, which is what my dealer gave me. I notice it is about 50/50 dichlor with MPS.
Neo

The main reason for shocking is to elimate the chloramines(CC). This can be done with MPS or a dichlor dose that will give you a FC amount of 10x CC. i.e.- if your CC is .5 you will only need to add enough dichlor to reach a 5ppm FC. Regular MPS(not enhanced) has no chlorine in it, so that is why you aren't seeing the free chlorine level rise when you use it. You will need to get a water test kit such as the Taylor k-2005 to measure CC. It is not possible to test for it with test strips.

[neocacher]

Actually, i found a test strip that claims to test for Total chlorine and Free clorine, so you can figure it out easily.


The strip is sold by Spa Depot
Code: TB1018
Price: $8.95
www.spadepot.com


Neo

[Chad]

I've heard of those before but I question their accuracy.
I'm sorry for the confusion. I should have typed "I don't think it's possible to get accurate CC readings with test strips." IMO the only way to get accurate readings is with a water test kit. I have used both and find the only thing the strips are good for is testing for FC. Plus it's what the pros use.