closing pool questions

[New and confused]

Hey everyone! Well the pool season is winding down for me; we're back to school and work and the weather is cooling down. It was a very trouble free pool season thanks to my friends here at TFP. So now I have a new question for all of you. What are some of your suggestions for shutting down a pool for the winter. Last winter we had the coldest on record in Chicago and quite a bit of snow, too. How did past pool owners survive it and any tips for me. We have never closed up a pool before and were just wondering about some ideas to make the process go smoothly and with very little trouble over the winter. How much snow can a pool cover hole before you have to try and scrape it off? Should I bother with pillows? I read the suggestions TFP gave for shutting down; that sounded simple enough, but then I read the threads of past pool owners and I got a little nervous; buckling pools and trying to chip away at frozen pools does not sound like fun. So.... any advice is welcome. Thanks again!

 

[tjroux]

I followed the methods here last year... opened my pool to a few leaves on the bottom and crystal clear water. I fully intend on doing the same this year except I will be using plastic warp around edges of pool to help hold the tarp along with bleach bottles

 

[New and confused]

Hello again. Well we wanted to close up the pool last weekend, but my cc level was over .5, so we slammed the pool for two days and made sure nothing was growing. It has stayed at 0 cc all week. My cl level has been a bit high at 7, but it has been cool and cloudy, so I figured that was why it was taking so long to drift down. Anyway, we wanted to close up the pool this weekend, but I wasn't sure if I needed to shock it again in preparation for closing. I also bought an algaecide (Nature's Way Pro Algaecide at 30%), but when I got home and read the directions again I realized I needed it at 60%. Can I just double the amount of algaecide? Also, I was wondering if I could just put it in and close up the pool, or do I need to run the pump for 24 hours? TFP's recommendation was 24oz for 14000 gal pool, but the bottle I bought said 14-24 oz per 10000 gal for a newly filled pool, and then to maintain a clean pool add an addtl. 4.5 oz every 5-7days. Should I be doing this all winter? Please help. It's getting cold around here and I don't want to put this off any longer than I have to. Thanks!

 

[samt]

Hello again. Well we wanted to close up the pool last weekend, but my cc level was over .5, so we slammed the pool for two days and made sure nothing was growing. It has stayed at 0 cc all week. My cl level has been a bit high at 7, but it has been cool and cloudy, so I figured that was why it was taking so long to drift down. Anyway, we wanted to close up the pool this weekend, but I wasn't sure if I needed to shock it again in preparation for closing. I also bought an algaecide (Nature's Way Pro Algaecide at 30%), but when I got home and read the directions again I realized I needed it at 60%. Can I just double the amount of algaecide? Also, I was wondering if I could just put it in and close up the pool, or do I need to run the pump for 24 hours? TFP's recommendation was 24oz for 14000 gal pool, but the bottle I bought said 14-24 oz per 10000 gal for a newly filled pool, and then to maintain a clean pool add an addtl. 4.5 oz every 5-7days. Should I be doing this all winter? Please help. It's getting cold around here and I don't want to put this off any longer than I have to. Thanks!

I never use the stuff. But I don't close my pool until the water is below 60 and falling. I open before it gets 60 in the spring. I close and open to clear water.

I think that stuff is good for people whose pool bounces back and forth from the 60 temp mark.
It's good insurance if your pool does that. For me it's not the case.

 

[New and confused]

Thanks for the response. We just decided to use it without running the pump. We mixed it around with the skimmer and it seemed to be okay. We'll see next year. I am more worried now about the snow being too heavy on the cover and pulling on the sides of the pool. We drained the pool to about 6 inches (maybe more) under the skimmer. Again, I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

 

[New and confused]

Hello! I am so excited for a new pool season. I opened my pool to clear water (until I dumped some of the cover contents in ) Anyway my readings are as follows after shocking last night:

ph 7.0
TC 5.0
cc .5
TA 130
CYA - I can't determine the reading. I filled thetube it all the way to the top, and I can still see the black dot clearly. I assume that means 0 CYA. I read on a previous thread that when the water temp is too cold the CYA won't register correctly. How warm should the water be? I don't have a heater, so should I wait until the weather is warmer? I put 2 pounds of stabilizer in a sock by the return output just to get the readings to 20, but I am not sure how long that will take given the water temp.

The other question I have is about the PH should I also add borax right now? Pool math says a little over a box. Pool water is clear - it needs a vacuuming though a lot of material on the bottom of the pool. Thanks in advance for any help.