First partial closing - have questions

[TammyLynne]

This will be our first year closing a pool. I want to put the cover on tomorrow and let the SWG run a few hours a day until the water gets cold enough to completely close. The main reason I want to close now is because of all the leaves and junk that will continually get blown into the pool without me being able to get in and clean it. The water temp was 76 today and I'm not sure if I can go much lower. I think 74 would be my limit.

My questions are:

1. Should I add the poly60 tomorrow before I put the cover on?

2. PH is 7.7 today. Should I lower it?

3. Does it matter if I have the air pillow in place with the pump running?

4. CYA is lower than recommended, is this ok until Spring? We had so much rain this summer that I constantly had to drain the pool. Only once all summer did I need to add any water.

5. Is it ok to collect water for testing from the skimmer? We will have to put the cover on tight because we get a lot of wind.

6. When the temp gets to 60, can I use the super chlorinate option on the SWG to get it at shock level? Thanks to pool school I have never used this option.

Sorry for so many questions. They may sound dumb, but I want to make sure I do everything right.

Salt Level 3200
FC 5
CC 0
PH 7.7
CH 150
TA 90
CYA 60

Thanks for your help,
Tammy

 

[BoDarville]

I'll take most of your questions...

1. Should I add the poly60 tomorrow before I put the cover on?

No, since you will be running the SWG a few hours each day. The SWG will produce enough chlorine to keep the pool sanitized.

2. PH is 7.7 today. Should I lower it?

I would lower pH to around 7.4 to provide a little breathing room for the typical rise in pH from SWG.

4. CYA is lower than recommended, is this ok until Spring? We had so much rain this summer that I constantly had to drain the pool. Only once all summer did I need to add any water.

I would leave CYA alone, especially since pool will be covered.

5. Is it ok to collect water for testing from the skimmer? We will have to put the cover on tight because we get a lot of wind.

Yes, though I would collect the water while the pump has been running for at least 30 min to ensure it is well circulated.

6. When the temp gets to 60, can I use the super chlorinate option on the SWG to get it at shock level? Thanks to pool school I have never used this option.

No, you will need to use bleach to superchlorinate to SLAM levels. As the water temperature drops, the SWG produces less chlorine. Even at normal summer swim temperatures, the SWG is not designed to produce chlorine at shock (SLAM) levels. Once the water temp drops below 70°F, I would test FC daily to make sure the SWG is providing enough chlorine. At the point you find that it is not, I would turn off the SWG and use liquid bleach for chlorination. I would definitely turn off the SWG once you officially close the pool.

When the water temp drops below 60°F, then I would superchlorinate (SLAM) using liquid bleach. When adding liquid bleach, I would recommend adding it in front of a return jet as opposed to adding it through the skimmer. You may have to remove part of the cover to do this. Once the chlorine level drops about half way between the SLAM level and normal maintenance level for your CYA, then you may optionally add Polyquat 60 algaecide for a little extra insurance against algae.

This will help you determine the shock (SLAM) level for your pool based on the CYA level: Chlorine CYA Chart.

 

[TammyLynne]

Thank you so much for the reply and for all your information! I really appreciate this website and your willingness to help.

I guess I will put the air pillow in place and see what happens.