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Yes, you will need to shock your pool with high levels of chlorine or bromine when you first fill it to kill off bacteria and pathogens. You’ll need to wait for the chlorine concentration to come back down to a safe level before swimming. After that, you can test and maintain the chlorine and other levels as normal. The only exception to this is if you get pool water delivered by a professional. In that case, the water might come pretreated, so you might not need to shock it.

Calcium hypochlorite, or cal-hypo, tends to be the best shock for an above ground pool. It is widely available, affordable, and powerful. Cal-hypo shock is typically 65% to 75% chlorine and is very effective at ridding a pool of bacteria or other contaminants.

High alkalinity, which is above seven on the pH scale, is the result of improper chemical levels in the pool. Each chemical you use to keep your pool clean has a different pH, so a ratio that isn't optimized for your pool size may cause the number to go above 7.8, the high end for a good pH range in most swimming pools.

It's not ideal, and if your pool’s pH is seriously low (below 7), swimming can be dangerous until you raise it, potentially causing severe irritation and damage to the skin and eyes.

Keep in mind that low pH can also be responsible for damaging the pool itself. Acidic water can contribute to the cracking of your pool's liner, which may cost up to $2,500 to replace, making this an expensive fix.