Pool Maintenance/Monitoring While on Extended Vacation

markdpratt · Mar 31, 2023

My wife and I will be on an extended almost 4-week vacation in Australia starting next week. I have our pool pretty well lined out using TFP methods and my Taylor test kit to where I really only test the water, clean the skimmers, Dolphin robot, and add MA on a weekly basis.

The IG plaster pool is still fairly new since its start-up in September 2022 and the pH constantly drifts up to the 8 - 8.2 level which is why I’m adding acid regularly. I’ve got my salt levels good at 3000; my TA is at 110, my CH is at 220; my CYA at 70; and I’ve got my SWCG running at 20% and FC at 9; CC at 0.5. The pool water is TFP-crystal clear. All my logs and notes should be visible.

I run my pool pump 24/7 at 1750RPM and have the bubblers and scuppers, each on separate pumps, running an hour/per day to ensure they stay chlorinated and algae free. My oversized sand filter has recently been back-washed and is at 8psi - it’s “clean” pressure. We have no mature trees/shrubs around the pool and so little debris falls into the pool.

I have asked a friend to come by twice/week to clean the skimmers, Dolphin robot basket, and add 16 oz of MA at each trip. He knows nothing about pools and will not be doing any testing. I can also monitor the general pool condition by my on-line security camera and the water temps by my IntelliCenter2 remote access.

With the weather warning up in south Louisiana, I’m planning on ramping up my SWCG to 30% to be on the safe side while away. The pool water temp is now in the upper 60’s - low 70’s. Do I need to do anything with the TA and CH levels?

Is there anything else I should do preemptively before departing next week?

Thanks,

Mark

mknauss · Mar 31, 2023

Can your friend do the pH and OTO comparator block test? Have them take a picture and text it to you. That is what I do when we are on extended travels.

With your high TA, you likely will start to get scale from the SWCG. Try to get that lower if at all possible.

markdpratt · Mar 31, 2023

mknauss said:
Can your friend do the pH and OTO comparator block test? Have them take a picture and text it to you. That is what I do when we are on extended travels.

With your high TA, you likely will start to get scale from the SWCG. Try to get that lower if at all possible.

Thanks Mark. If I crank my SWCG up to 30%, I’m thinking my FC levels will rise to over 10 and invalidate the pH test? To get my TA down, should I run our water features more?

mknauss · Mar 31, 2023

I am more concerned with too low of pH. So the test would at least be a data point.

If you can work the TA down a bit before you leave that would be a good idea. Test pH every other day and push it down to 7.2. The run the water features to aerate.

If you can get it to 80 or less, you may need to have your friend add less MA. Check Poolmath.

jark87 · Mar 31, 2023

I’m in a similar situation, but my pool is 16 years old, so I’m pretty comfortable with how to manage it. I’ve been running FC high all winter long - in the 8-10 range. My SWCG is already at 40% and I’ll probably kick it up to 50% before we leave. Spring tends to be problematic with our pool because it’s surrounded by trees that produce all kinds of pollen and seeds. We’re in the middle of that right now and I’m hoping most of it will be past us before we leave in just over a week. I have a cover and will leave it on until we return, which helps. My son will come by once a week to empty skimmer baskets.

markdpratt said:
With the weather warning up in south Louisiana, I’m planning on ramping up my SWCG to 30% to be on the safe side while away.

This is the one thing that I’d suggest you confirm is adequate. 30% would be on the lower end for my pool, but I also run FC in the 8-10 range all summer. 30% would barely keep me at 5, especially in the spring. My pool water is already at 65° and chlorine demand rises with temp in my pool.

markdpratt · Mar 31, 2023

jark87 said:
I’m in a similar situation, but my pool is 16 years old, so I’m pretty comfortable with how to manage it. I’ve been running FC high all winter long - in the 8-10 range. My SWCG is already at 40% and I’ll probably kick it up to 50% before we leave. Spring tends to be problematic with our pool because it’s surrounded by trees that produce all kinds of pollen and seeds. We’re in the middle of that right now and I’m hoping most of it will be past us before we leave in just over a week. I have a cover and will leave it on until we return, which helps. My son will come by once a week to empty skimmer baskets.

This is the one thing that I’d suggest you confirm is adequate. 30% would be on the lower end for my pool, but I also run FC in the 8-10 range all summer. 30% would barely keep me at 5, especially in the spring. My pool water is already at 65° and chlorine demand rises with temp in my pool.

Thanks for the feedback jark87. My pool is substantially smaller than yours (14.65k vs 25.5k) and I intentionally way oversized my SWCG with the IC-60 based on TFP recommendations, so my 100% chlorine output should be 2 lbs/day vs the 1.25 lbs for your AquaPure. Maybe that’s the difference?

I did check my FC this morning and it was 12 with my SWCG still at 20%. I just brought my CYA up to 70 from 50 several days ago, so that’s probably helping too. I do wish I had more summer run time on it before leaving, but I will try to get the TA down per mkknaus’ recommendation and perform more FC tests on it between now and when we leave.

We will see!

Mark