First Pool closing ....advice for my pool

[Lykly]

As some of you know this is my first year with a pool. I bought this house in December, and the pool was in terrible shape, all green, had to be drained and replastered. Want to make sure I close it properly when the time comes. I do not have to drain it, as very seldom do we get a hard freeze, although it does get below freezing pretty commonly at night. It does have a temperature sensor which will kick on the pump, but I don't think I will use it now that I have the variable speed pump. I will probably just let it continue to circulate at a very low rate when the temperatures are below freezing at night. I guess my question is, what do I do to the water to prepare it, and also to maintain it. Do I continue to test it as I do now just keep all the levels as I do during the summer? I gather from reading that the SWG will quit generating chlorine at some lower temperature, and I will have to manually add bleach at that point. My plan is to leave it full, use my variable speed to circulate when temperatures get below freezing, and maintain levels as I have all summer with the only exception of having to manually add bleach. Is there anything else I should do or am I off base on my thoughts? Live in central Oklahoma, still have a little time as my pool temperature is at 79°. Just want to be sure I'm doing it right. Thx


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[pooldv]

You are right on track. I run the pump at night usually at the regular old speed, 1100 rpm. If it is going to be extra cold for a bit then I'll run it 24x7, like especially temps near freezing during the day and colder at night. I have only had a little ice form on the pool once and it was some ridiculously cold temp like 13 or something overnight, I think the high was in the 20s. Don't laugh you north living people!

I turn off my SWG when the water temp gets below 70 because it starts to be hit or miss. I keep cya at 70-80ish. I let FC drop to 8 or 9, test PH and then add a jug of bleach, sometimes two. One jug adds 4 ppm FC to my pool. Once the water is below 50ish this only needs to happen every few weeks. I don't usually brush and I haven't looked at the Discovery manual to see if it is allergic to cold water or not. I just net out any stray leaves and empty the skimmers occasionally. But, there isn't usually much to do after the trees are bare.

 

[Lykly]

Thanks pooldv,
Can I expect the pH to continue to drift up as fast as it does now? I'm still adding around 16 ounces MA every other day to keep pH below 8.



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[pooldv]

No, not nearly as much pH rise because the SWG and splashy swimmers are both big drivers of pH rise. And it should be better next summer as your plaster gets settled in.

 

[Lykly]

Good to hear on the pH. I'm thinking Cousin Eddie (robot) Will be swimming year round, I can't imagine cool water temps affecting him much. I know you have a lot of trees, so do I.......do you try to put any kind of mesh cover or tarp over your pool? Or do you just stay after it with the leaf net and such?


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[pooldv]

No covers. They are messier than netting out leaves IMO. My neighbor used to cover their pool. It was a beat down. No thanks. Yep, I'll probably run him once a week or two. Hey, you need to update your sig! No more creeper.

 

[Lykly]

DONE ......Thanks for the reminder, I use my iphone and it does not show up.