Going to need to do major water replacement in spring....

[my2kidsmom]

due to high CYA. (100+, but my best guesstimate is that is is probably around 250-300.) I figure I'll have to drain most of the water out in spring. Because of this, is there a reason i would want to even bother with trying to balance the water over winter. (We don't cover the pool.) Should I just keep leaves out and deal with the water in the spring?

Today's test results:
TA 140
pH 7.6- 7.8 (must be 7.7)
FC 12

Thanks!

 

[JasonLion]

Even if you are replacing all of the water in the spring you do want to at least balance the PH and make sure TA isn't wildly wrong. However, you current PH and TA levels are acceptable, so you don't actually need to do anything before you close. Personally, I would lower the PH down to 7.5 before closing, but I don't think that doing so is particuarly important.

 

[my2kidsmom]

Since I live in the south and we don't get many days that are below freezing, I don't actually "close" the pool. So, is all I need to do is just run the pump a little and worry about the water in the spring? The pool looks great right now and although the FC is 12, I know it probably should be higher due to such a high CYA. I'm just wondering because my husband has asked about why I keep testing the water and adding bleach if I plan on draining most of it out in the spring.

 

[JasonLion]

If the water is cold enough, 50 degrees or colder, you hardly need any chlorine.

If you are leaving the pool "open" over the winter you should add a little chlorine and test and adjust the PH as needed every couple of weeks through the winter. That will insure you don't have to fight algae or have any scaling problems come spring.