Green/Black Pool with Safety Cover Advice, Prevention.

[Scooter2U]

We live South Jersey, it just snowed yesterday 9 April 2016. A little early for opening the pool but this is when i start thinking about it.

Hopfully this isn't OBE.

There are a number good ways to prevent a Green pool when you finally remove the safety cover, but the best one I know of I learned several years ago while standing in line at the pool store waiting to buy chemicals, etc.

The simple method I was told about, and it works, is to cover the safety cover with Black Plastic available at most home stores. The plastic keeps the Sun's Rays from penetrating and aiding algae growth. It also keeps a lot of other garbage (pollen, etc.) out. I put a small pump in the middle to pump off rain water that will accumulate. My pool is in ground so I use some extra paving blocks I have to weigh it down on the patio around the pool.

When I'm ready to open in mid-May, I pull the plastic off on to the lawn, hose it off and store it away for next year.

Since I started doing this my pool water has been clean and clear every year.

 

[JVTrain]

I have a porous safety cover and I've opened clear both seasons now when I closed properly. Late when the water is cold, bump the FC to shock level and cover. Open early before the water gets near 60 degrees. Used algaecide the first year, none this year and pool is clear, just a little dust and a couple stray leaves on the bottom. Haven't opened yet but nothing should change in the next few weeks before the water gets warm. From my experience, closing late, opening early is the most significant factor in having a clear pool in the spring. I'm sure the plastic does prevent sunlight from hitting your pool and keeps your FC from disappearing as quickly. How much difference it makes depends on the opacity of each cover. Many safety covers are at least 90% opaque, 95% more common and even some mesh covers are labeled as 100%.

 

[DICKHOUTT]

I was also wondering about that- 2nd year with pool. When I opened the pool last year - hired someone- and they said the pool look liked it was closed in the seventies. empty bleach bottles scattered on the surface, large black tarp being held down with water tubes. They said for safety i should get a mesh cover. We were thinking about it, we have a dog and child would make sense. The water was clean- nothing was in there.

So mid summer when I saw a sale I purchased a "micro" mesh cover... I had the cover installed and closed by the same company that opened it.. This year it is a green colour and some pine needles.. I am going to hold my judgement on the mesh cover, as we had foundation work after the pool closed and perhaps some debris got in at that time....I will look into the Algecide for the closing this season...

 

[jblizzle]

If you close and open as we recommend in Pool School, there should be no worry about algae ... and no real need for algaecide either, although it is insurance.

 

[kcindc]

I live in the mid-Atlantic and our seasons can be unpredictable at best. Take this year, we had a warm winter, sub-freezing late winter/early spring, and this week it is in the mid 80s. Nine days ago we had low temps in the mid 20s with much colder temps just 30 miles west and north of me. Heck earlier this week we had low temps just below freezing (albeit not a big freeze danger).

With a mesh cover and dramatic temperature swings, it can be difficult to say that open/close when water is below 60 is bullet proof for clear water. I think our area needs algaecide to help protect us during the freak warm spells (polyquat 60 only). I don't have freeze protection on my equipment, so I don't open until the night temps will no longer be below 30. Solid covers are much easier, but mesh covers and temperamental mid-Atlantic weather, not so much.

I had one year of clear, most years are so so on cloudiness scale but clean up quickly, and one year was a hot mess.