Bleach same as Chlorine

[CarlD]

That's a different question. My answer would be "yes".

All chlorination chems ultimately add chlorine and it doesn't matter the source.

HOWEVER, each chem has other effects: Tri-Chlor tablets lower pH and add lots of stabilizer.
Di-Chlor powder lowers pH too, but not nearly as much. It also add stabilizer--a lot but not as much as Tri-Chlor.
Cal-Hypo adds calcium and tends to raise pH.
Lithium and potassium chlorites empty your wallet INCREDIBLY quickly.
Only bleach/Liquid chlorine has almost no side effects.

[cleancloths]

Carl, that is not quite true. Most of what you said is 100% on, but bleach does tend to raise the pH quite a bit. At least in my experience.

[CarlD]

I've heard that some people have found that bleach raises pH. It is not my personal experience, though.

[cleancloths]

I've heard that some people have found that bleach raises pH. It is not my personal experience, though.

That is really strange, because if you tested the pH of bleach you would find it off the chart (to the high side). I find that my pool stays at a perfect pH level if I use a mix of 3" pucks which drop the pH and Bleach which raises it.

[CarlD]

I know the pH of bleach is something like 11, but I rarely see my pH move when I use it (which is all the time). However, if I use pucks, it drops quite dramatically.

[Watermom]

Bleach does not raise my ph either.

[lagtime]

Bleach does raise pH in my pool, enough so that I add acid weekly.

For the previous 9 years (of high CYA using stabilized chlorine) I've never needed to add anything to maintain pH in the 7.2 range.

Adding some acid isn't a big deal considering how much better the pool looks on the BBB routine, but I'm interested in what could be the reason for some of us seeing a steady upward creep in pH while others don't.

[topnotch]

Does the source of the water matter in this discussion...i have a nice clean stream on my property and I cant see a reason why I shouldn't pump my 20K gallons out of it since I am going to zap it with chlorine. I ask this about the source because you two have different results...

[Poolsean]

It's harder for algae to grow with moving water (stream in your case).
You'd be better having the water tested first. High levels of phosphates (from animal droppings, decaying vegitation, fertilizer) or phosphates (fertilizer again) will get you in trouble from the get go.

[cleancloths]

Does the source of the water matter in this discussion...i have a nice clean stream on my property and I cant see a reason why I shouldn't pump my 20K gallons out of it since I am going to zap it with chlorine. I ask this about the source because you two have different results...

Don't do it, there are micobes and all sorts of stuff in that water you cannot see. I did this once with the stream on my property that feeds our local lake. Boy was it a mistake. My water got cloudy and it took about two weeks to clear it up which included backwashing my DE filter about 10 times in that period.