Hello, this is the first time that I will be opening my pool. Below is a picture of the closed pool as of today, from the previous homeowners closing it. I have seen other pools where they had some sort of inflatable under the cover so the water does not accumulate like mine did. My question is, when I take the cover off, can the water on top of the cover stay in the pool since it is pretty clean? Or should I drain it somehow? Thanks. One step at a time...
Noob Opening Pool for First Time
- Thread starter bjagd02
- Start date
That depends on how desperate you are for water. 
Using the water on the cover usually means getting algae and aways means some extra chemicals to get everything cleared up and good to go. I'd only recommend it if you have a water shortage, or some problem (like high CH or iron) with your regular fill water.
Using the water on the cover usually means getting algae and aways means some extra chemicals to get everything cleared up and good to go. I'd only recommend it if you have a water shortage, or some problem (like high CH or iron) with your regular fill water.
If you dont want the water in your pool, yoiu can rent a Bilge Pump at a rental store to pump the water off the cover.
As an option, you can buy a bilge pump relatively inexpensive at Harbor Freight.
As an option, you can buy a bilge pump relatively inexpensive at Harbor Freight.
For folks with city water, do you usually just siphon it into your drain? I have well/septic, so I'll have to research the effects of putting that much water into my system at one time.
Thanks!
Thanks!
When I do partial drains to lower CH buildup, I water the lawn.
I'm not on a septic, but I know that too much flow too fast will stir the settling tanks up and you run the risk of clogging your leach lines. It looks like you have room to let it flow on the yard.
I'm not on a septic, but I know that too much flow too fast will stir the settling tanks up and you run the risk of clogging your leach lines. It looks like you have room to let it flow on the yard.
I think it's much better to take the water off, right? Just my opinion since you're the new owner then it might be good to replace the water with a new one.
The two years ago my cover got really beat up, and the cover wasn't a barrier. So, when I pumped the water off the cover, I ended up dumping a good bit of pool water as well.
Last year I ended up letting more water from the cover into the pool than I wanted to, but the only consequence was that it took and extra day or two to clear. No algae, but I also started chemical additions very early, so the water was very cold.
This year, my cover is now completely shredded around the edges from the snow and wind, so there's no way to prevent mixing. While there are a lot of leaves in it, the water on top of the cover is clear. My plan is to hook up plumbing and start balancing the water in the next few days. After a couple more weeks when the nights start to stay a little warmer, I'll skim the leaves off the top, but let the water from the cover stay in the pool.
My theory is that even if there's a small amount of algae living in the "cover water," it will only amount to about 5% of the volume of the correctly balanced bulk pool water, and won't have much more of an effect on the chemistry than a cpmparable amount of rain.
That's the long story. Short answer, if you drain it, drain it to the yard. Don't put it in the septic system.
Last year I ended up letting more water from the cover into the pool than I wanted to, but the only consequence was that it took and extra day or two to clear. No algae, but I also started chemical additions very early, so the water was very cold.
This year, my cover is now completely shredded around the edges from the snow and wind, so there's no way to prevent mixing. While there are a lot of leaves in it, the water on top of the cover is clear. My plan is to hook up plumbing and start balancing the water in the next few days. After a couple more weeks when the nights start to stay a little warmer, I'll skim the leaves off the top, but let the water from the cover stay in the pool.
My theory is that even if there's a small amount of algae living in the "cover water," it will only amount to about 5% of the volume of the correctly balanced bulk pool water, and won't have much more of an effect on the chemistry than a cpmparable amount of rain.
That's the long story. Short answer, if you drain it, drain it to the yard. Don't put it in the septic system.
- Sep 22, 2011
- 204
I don't think you'll need a pump to get that water off the cover. You should be able to take a short hose and totally submerge it on the cover, under the water. You need to make sure the whole hose is completely filled. Once it's filled, cap one end with your hand or finger and keep the other end under the water. Take the capped end and pull it over the pool edge and on to the ground, so it's lower than the other end. Uncap it and the water should just start flowing out of it. Just make sure the top end stays under the water and no air gets in.
Kevin
Kevin