Didn't winterize this year, a few issues, have questions

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Glock

Glock

0
Jun 3, 2012
866
Mesquite, Texas
I chose to leave my pool operational this winter and for the most part its been a great idea. I had one day when the temps got down to about 18 and we had a 18 hour power outage. The lines started getting slushy and with no ETA on power restoral I had no choice but to disconnect the lines and let the pool drain below the return to avoid equipment loss. The next day power came back and I put it all together, refilled and bumped the chlorine to normal.

A few weeks ago I had dropped the garden hose in the pool to top it off. When it was done I left it in the pool but turned off the faucet. About a week later we were expecting sub-freezing temps again so I disconnected the hose from the faucet and put on the faucet cover. The next day I noticed the pool was down about 12" from the day before. After some Sherlock Holmes investigating I found the hose had achieved a syphon and had slowly drained overnight. I refilled, checked and added chlorine and we are once again good to go.

Now, I said all that to explain why I now have 0 CYA. All my other numbers look good except my PH which is a little low (7.4) but that is to be expected. My question is, would it hurt to use a floater and some Trichlor tabs to slowly increase the CYA over time since it is still winter here while also adding chlorine or should I just buy the CYA. I had a 25lb bucket of CYA but I am out now and was about to order but I am looking for alternatives to having socks full of cya in my pool for more than a few days. I was thinking of using the floater and checking the CYA once a week until it was 30-50ppm then switching back to liquid bleach. Any feedback is appreciated.
 
Tabs aren't a bad thing, when used correctly. Your plan on using the "leftover" tabs is dead on the money. Just keep track of your results and you'll be just fine.
 
+1 to what Leebo stated.

If you regularly test the CYA as planned, you will be fine. The chlorine demand is low right now as the pool water is likely at, or close to, its lowest temperature of the year combined with the limited sunlight of winter. That gives you the luxury of building up your CYA slowly using the tabs. Just be aware that as we get into the second half of March in the DFW area, that equation begins to change rather quickly as the days get sufficiently longer and the sunlight becomes more intense. Both of these factors will increase the chlorine demand. By then, if your CYA is not within a few ppm of 30, you might consider adding a supplemental dose of 100% CYA by adding it to an old (but clean) gym sock and placing it in the skimmer or hanging it in front of a return line. But for now, the tabs are the easiest way to bring the CYA up while keeping your pool chlorinated.

One other thing...Keep an eye on your pH while using the trichlor tabs. Tabs are acidic and will lower the pH. If your pH falls below the recommended range, use washing soda or soda ash to increase it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply