Greetings all,

First a big thank you to all of the contributors on this board! I recently converted from Baquacil to a SWG after 13 years, the last 3 of which were a nightmare! Thanks to all of the information and expertise on this board, I was able to painlessly convert successfully!

I have an above ground 24' round pool. I have to plead guilty to not getting my CYA levels to where they need to be after the conversion. Currently, my CYA is close to 0 and from what I've read on here, it should be closer to 80 for a SWG. My question is do I go ahead and add the 8lbs or so of CYA to get it in range before I close it (which I plan to do this weekend), or do I simply bring my pool to Shock level for 25 hrs, clean the pool, then drain and put my winter cover on?

Thanks in advance for help.

Sean

Welcome the the forum thristymate!

Could you put your equipment/pool stats in your sig?

Which swg do you have? Where do you live?

By the way, you owe us some baqua converions pics

Sig Added

I will definitely post pictures!

Thanks again for any help / advice!

Thanks for adding your pool specs. I am have mixed feelings on which way you should go.

Why are you thinking of closing so early?

I live in a pretty heavily wooded neighborhood and the acorns and some leaves are already beginning to drop. While we still do have 85 degree pool water, it is beginning to drop in temp due to the dropping angle of the sun as we head into fall and surrounding trees. Temps are supposed to be in the 50's at night over the next week which means much cooler pool temps in the very near future. But, mostly, it is because it really starts to become a pain to maintain this time of year due to all of the tree debris.

I might add the pool is crystal clear and all other levels look great.

Complete novice here, but I'd guess that with or without CYA you will have a green pool when you open, since you are closing when the temps are still high. Thus, my guess is you are safe to close now without the cya, and add the cya when you open -- and add it slowly so you can shock before you add more than 30 or so. We'll see what the experts suggest, however.

Hi, Sean,

Bring the FC up to shock value, cover the pool shortly after and skip the CYA 'til next year. CYA is protection from the sun and your pool will be covered so it is not needed during the winter.

PS - Some people report success by using an algaecide when closing at warmer water temps. I don't close but it might be something you wish to consider. Of course, a little extra chlorine in the Spring will fix everything and might be less money than the polyquat algaecide.

Thanks everyone for the quick replies.

I had actually gone out and purchased the CYA and then got to thinking it might not be necessary since it is basically to hold FC levels during use. So, I figured I'd come here and ask the experts! It is very reassuring knowing there is such a wealth of knowledge here at TFP you can count on, especially with only using Baquacil for the last 13 years!

The cya is really all about keeping our CL from being destroyed by the sun too quickly. Once the cover is on this is no longer a concern. Depending on the weather, you might have to boost your shock level during the day to keep it up where it belongs. We usually close every Labor Day here in Boston and as long as the cover stays on, our opening is pretty easy.

Forgot to add; wealways close the pool with 20 oz of polyquat 60.