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No, shock and chlorine are not the same thing, though they are related and both are used for pool maintenance. Regular chlorine, often in the form of tablets, is a sanitizer used for routine, day-to-day maintenance to keep a steady chlorine level. Pool shock, however, is a highly concentrated dose of chlorine used periodically for a more intense cleaning. It rapidly raises chlorine levels to fix issues like cloudy water or algae growth and also eliminates chloramines, which are byproducts of regular chlorination. Because their purposes and concentrations differ, they are not interchangeable, and proper pool care typically requires using both.

Because frogs require fresh water for survival, they can die from repeated exposure to swimming pool chemicals. Chlorine dehydrates frogs, which can lead to their deaths. To ensure frogs don’t hang out in your pool for long periods, safely remove them once you spot them in your pool and install a frog log so they can easily hop out on their own.

At noon, when the sun is at its highest point, sunlight can naturally increase the temperature of a pool by 0.7 degrees each hour, but this can depend on other external factors. For example, evaporation caused by the sun will cause a pool to lose up to 5 degrees for every 1/2 inch of water evaporated. Using a water heater will produce more reliable results.

In most cases, late May or early June are the most popular times to open a pool, depending on your location. It’s a good idea to open your pool when the outdoor temperature sits consistently above 65 to 70 degrees (F). At this point, algae will begin to flourish in your water, so opening the pool and adding the proper chemicals will avoid excessive pool algae growth.