Closing suggestions???

[danimal67]

Last year I used a winterizing kit and cover.
I think the winter chemicals skyrocketed my Calcium, don't have stats handy, but went from 100-ish to 350-ish.
I opened too late also and had a bad algae problem, the pros here and my TF100 helped fix it!

This year i'm thinking of keeping it open instead to see how that works instead.
I live in San Diego, so i don't think we're in danger of freezing, we've had very light frost in the past, but i doubt enough to freeze a pipe or pump.

I've read the 2 stickies about closing, but i still have a few questions hopefully somebody can help with..

1. What CYA level should I target before closing?
2. Do i still need to bring it to shock level one last time or am I OK maintaining the normal FC level from the CYA/FC chart?
3. I plan on covering it to keep it clean, but wondering how often I should clean the walls durning the winter?
4. How often/long should the pool filter run?
- Should I use the timer and do 2-4 hours nightly? Or does it need daily filtering at this point?

Just ready the post on deep cleaning the sand filter too, will be doing that next spring!

Thanks folks!

 

[MarianParoo]

Give us your current test results and we can go from there.

 

[Texas Splash]

A little feedback about your questions above:
1. Maintain the recommend 30-50 CYA range
2. No. Since you are not actually closing your pool like those up north, just continue to monitor chemical levels normally; obviously the FC usage will drop significantly as the water temp drops
3. Really up to you based on the colder water temp and what you feel like doing; you may get by with running a brush around one every 2-4 weeks; if you see more build-up, brush as needed
4. Run long enough to pull any surface debris into your skimmer and/or mix chemicals; if you expect a rare freeze morning, let it run to keep water moving

When the water temp drops below 60, your pool will really begin to go into a hibernation mode of sorts. Our pools will be much alike in that they will be open but won't need much attention. It's still good to give them a little "TLC" on a nice cool/brisk day. Chemical usage/testing will slow down considerably. You can run the pump occasionally, but it won't need to be ran nearly as often. And it's always a good idea to remove any significant debris from the pool just so it doesn't get stagnant. Hope this helps.

 

[danimal67]

OK, results today

Water Temp = 65°
FC=2.5
CC=0
PH=7.8
TA+130
CYA=15-20
CH=425

It rained about an inch in the pool last night (didn't have it covered) Does that skew my results any?
Also, since i do have a dark cover I'm putting back on, should i still raise CYA to 40?
Does it need CYA if it's not getting direct sunlight?

Thanks folks!