I am new to this wonderful site this year. I know it's early, and I just got my water "Pool dealer" free from all their chemicals by using the BBB method. At the end of next month or the beginning of October, I will have to close the pool. I live in Ohio and winters are totally unpredictable. I have read Pool School and it looks like all I will need is Liquid Chlorine and PolyQuat. Is that correct? I have never heard of PolyQuat. Is any other type of algaecide ok?
closing pool - inground
- Thread starter Mellott98
- Start date
You want to avoid algaecides that have metals in them. Most of the cheaper algaecides have copper in them. You want avoid those because copper can accumulate and turn things green like hair and pool surfaces. The only algaecide that we recommend here at TFP is polyquat algaecides. Specifically, we recommend Polyquat 60 since there are no metals to stain things.
What you have to do is look at the chemical names on the label. If the chemical name has "poly" in it, it is probably what you want. The full chemical name for Polyquat 60 is... Poly [oxyethylene(dimethyliminio)ethylene(dimethyliminio)ethylene dichloride] 60%.
What you have to do is look at the chemical names on the label. If the chemical name has "poly" in it, it is probably what you want. The full chemical name for Polyquat 60 is... Poly [oxyethylene(dimethyliminio)ethylene(dimethyliminio)ethylene dichloride] 60%.
OK. So Polyquat 60 is not the brand name of the algaecide, but what is in the bottle! Based on my pool, how much would I need?
I will go online and make the purchase.
Thanks for your help!
I will go online and make the purchase.
Thanks for your help!
- Jun 14, 2012
- 2,668
- Pool Size
- 13500
- Surface
- Vinyl
- Chlorine
- Salt Water Generator
- SWG Type
- CircuPool Edge-40
Alegecide is not always needed when closing. I don't use it in my pool when I close. I make sure my levels are ok, then I check it periodically throughout the winter. Key is close late, open early.
hey.....Toronto, I know where that is! Located down in Mingo myself.
Last year was the first year I used the BBB method for closing. I brought the pool up to shock level and added one bottle of Polyquat 60 Algaecide. I myself bought it from Olivers in Wintersville....but it's about $10 cheaper on Amazon.
We opened to a greenish pool this year due to the warm winter we had. It took about 2 day's of shocking to clear it up in April after we got the pool topped off. There's no doubt in my mind had we had a normal colder winter....the pool would have been opened to clear water.
As for the amount to use.....I just used an entire bottle for our 25,000 gallon pool.
Last year was the first year I used the BBB method for closing. I brought the pool up to shock level and added one bottle of Polyquat 60 Algaecide. I myself bought it from Olivers in Wintersville....but it's about $10 cheaper on Amazon.
We opened to a greenish pool this year due to the warm winter we had. It took about 2 day's of shocking to clear it up in April after we got the pool topped off. There's no doubt in my mind had we had a normal colder winter....the pool would have been opened to clear water.
As for the amount to use.....I just used an entire bottle for our 25,000 gallon pool.
Hey Leebo!
EVERYTHING is cheaper at Amazon compared to Olivers! They (Olivers) made their last $$$ off of me!
Last year was such a mild winter, especially in Feb and March! Heck - it was in the 80's in March! We did not open the pool until May and I regretted waiting that long. But you never know about this Ohio weather. 2 yrs ago we had 2 feet of snow, and last year hardly anything! When we opened the pool, it was clear and I had it looking good. But then came the 4th of July weekend and the temps in the 100's, and I forgot that the pool needs chlorine! Silly me!
I woke up on Sunday morning (the 8th) and my water had turned green. This was before I found this site. For 3 weeks Olivers kept telling me, just keep shocking with TurboShock. I saw little improvement. The last time I went in to Olivers for a water test, I peeked in the testing room, and the woman was testing my sample with test strips! Heck! I did that at home! I wanted help, not bad advise. So, I found this site, purchased a TF-100 test kit and with the help of the good people on this site, my water is crystal clear, balanced and healthy!
We use a safety cover on the pool during the winter, and I'm wondering if adding some bleach during the mild winter months would help. I have a friend who peels back a small corner of his cover and starts treating his water in March, then puts the cover back on. Sounds like a good idea.
Good talking to you! Keep in touch and thanks for your advise.!
K
EVERYTHING is cheaper at Amazon compared to Olivers! They (Olivers) made their last $$$ off of me!
Last year was such a mild winter, especially in Feb and March! Heck - it was in the 80's in March! We did not open the pool until May and I regretted waiting that long. But you never know about this Ohio weather. 2 yrs ago we had 2 feet of snow, and last year hardly anything! When we opened the pool, it was clear and I had it looking good. But then came the 4th of July weekend and the temps in the 100's, and I forgot that the pool needs chlorine! Silly me!
I woke up on Sunday morning (the 8th) and my water had turned green. This was before I found this site. For 3 weeks Olivers kept telling me, just keep shocking with TurboShock. I saw little improvement. The last time I went in to Olivers for a water test, I peeked in the testing room, and the woman was testing my sample with test strips! Heck! I did that at home! I wanted help, not bad advise. So, I found this site, purchased a TF-100 test kit and with the help of the good people on this site, my water is crystal clear, balanced and healthy!
We use a safety cover on the pool during the winter, and I'm wondering if adding some bleach during the mild winter months would help. I have a friend who peels back a small corner of his cover and starts treating his water in March, then puts the cover back on. Sounds like a good idea.
Good talking to you! Keep in touch and thanks for your advise.!
K
Olivers is just like 95% of pool stores out there. They know very little about the science of the water....but alot of what the pool chemical reps' tell them. For years they convinced my in-laws that Baquacil was the way to go. More or less spit out a tagline right out of the companies web-site every time we went into the store. After finding this site I've only slipped up once and went in there to purchase some CYA.....which I overpaid for after checking out Wal-Mart. They're not "bad"......just lazy.
As for closing, if you're able to pull back the cover some and run the pump to mix up the chlorine, then it will help a TON. As long as there's a good level of chlorine in the pool, it should remain clear. We're not able to easily do this, as when we close we use a huge tarp and a ton of bleach bottles. To pull back the cover is a pain. Alot of people on the site do just like you stated, and it seems to work well. The biggest key however is just as stated above. Close late and open early. If my memory serves me, we only used maybe 5 gallons of 10% chlorine to both clean and maintain the pool almost the entire month of April. It wasn't much more in May either. May 1st my daughter was swimming in VERY cold....yet clear water.
As for closing, if you're able to pull back the cover some and run the pump to mix up the chlorine, then it will help a TON. As long as there's a good level of chlorine in the pool, it should remain clear. We're not able to easily do this, as when we close we use a huge tarp and a ton of bleach bottles. To pull back the cover is a pain. Alot of people on the site do just like you stated, and it seems to work well. The biggest key however is just as stated above. Close late and open early. If my memory serves me, we only used maybe 5 gallons of 10% chlorine to both clean and maintain the pool almost the entire month of April. It wasn't much more in May either. May 1st my daughter was swimming in VERY cold....yet clear water.
I can't run the pump because I have to lower the water level to below the skimmer and I want to keep antifreeze in the lines. But, I can put liquid chlorine in the pool and put in a submersible pump to move the water around a bit. Sounds like a plan.
We try to close by the beginning of October due to falling leaves from a maple tree and a cherry tree. Then, we try to open in the spring after the "helicopters" fall from the maple tree. That is usually in the middle of May. But, if I can keep up with the leaves and the helicopters, I can stay open longer.
Do you have any problems with leaves???
Do you have any problems with leaves???
A lot from pine trees right next to the pool and maple as well. We'll empty the skimmer 3-4 times a day in the spring and only run the pool 8hours a day. Vacuum gets ran daily in the spring.
Water is often colder than anybody wants to swim in, so keeping it sparkling isn't a major concern. Just clear and algae free. We tried a home built solar heater (fail) this year, and may try a set of solar panels next year. For now though the colder temps help keep the algae at bay and the FC use low.
Water is often colder than anybody wants to swim in, so keeping it sparkling isn't a major concern. Just clear and algae free. We tried a home built solar heater (fail) this year, and may try a set of solar panels next year. For now though the colder temps help keep the algae at bay and the FC use low.
Is this Polyquat 60 the right stuff - from Leslie's Pools : http://www.lesliespool.com/Home/Pool-Ch ... 14025.html
Looking at Amazon.com, it is more expensive on Amazon for similar stuff & quantities. As much as I hate $tealers, at least I don't have to pay shipping ...
Looking at Amazon.com, it is more expensive on Amazon for similar stuff & quantities. As much as I hate $tealers, at least I don't have to pay shipping ...
I never use an algaecide when closing the pool. The key is to limit the amount of sun light that can get through the winterizing cover. On closing I add liquid chlorine to shock level, run pump for 24hrs, use a solid cover to close, and open in the late spring to a pool full of clear water. Obviously this will not work if you use a mesh cover.