Over winter Algae treatment

[Guest]

Hello everyone
This will be my fourth winter with my new pool. I have a mesh safety cover and every spring I open to a real mess. I close my pool according to the instructions on this forum. I have been reading posts in this forum and it seems that a solid cover prevents this problem.
My questions are:

1) Would it pay me to put a solid cover over my mesh, giving me the best of both worlds?
2) Is there a way to add bleach over the winter when the pump is not working?

I feel that the cost of the cover will be offset, over time, with the savings from the amount of bleach that I will not have to use in the spring to get my pool bright and clean. Not to mention the power savings by not running the pump for 24 hours a day for 4 or 5 days.
Thanks for any help that you can give me.
Beachbob

 

[frustratedpoolmom]

YOu can purchase a small submersible pump from Home Depot or Lowes and lower it into the pool, add bleach use it to circulate the water for a while and then take it out....

 

[Guest]

Thank you Mod squad, simple solution to my problem.
Should I keep my pool at shock level over winter or do I keep it at normal level?
Beachbob

 

[JohnT]

Should I keep my pool at shock level over winter or do I keep it at normal level?
Beachbob

Most often, you can avoid algae by simply closing a few weeks later and opening a few weeks earlier. You use very little chlorine in the cool water. I close mine near the end of October and open it around the first of April. Both are several weeks from the swimming season in Indiana.

 

[Guest]

Thanks John T
Sounds like a plan. Here at the Delaware beach I could proberly keep it opened into Nov.
Do I still want to add chlorine over the winter and circulate with a small pump?
Thanks for all the help. I could not stand to open to another swamp, it's real ugly.
Beach bob

 

[chem geek]

If you are able to test the water and add chlorine to it over the winter, albeit infrequently since chlorine usage is so low, then by all means do that. Those that live in very cold climates where the water level is lowered and freezes over are unable to do that, of course.

The main issue with adding chlorine in the winter is that if you've lowered the water level and shut off the pump and blew out the lines due to potential freezing, then you don't have circulation in your water. So doing something to circulate the water, such as the suggested submersible, is one idea. You just don't want to add the chlorine and have it sit in one place. However, once mixed, it stays mixed.

 

[Guest]

Thank you all
I think this winter I will do a combination of all of the above and see what happens next spring.
All I need to do now is get an the right pump.
Great forum, thanks again.
Beachbob

 

[Casey]

I usually close my pool with a shock level of 20ppm. I cover with a solid cover in Sept <in the process now, should be done by Wednesday>. My pool water right now is 66* and I even had a the solar on it for a few days. It's too cold and time to close.

Last year, I closed in September at 20ppm of cl and opened at the end of March to 2ppm cl of crystal clear water. It was gorgeous and I was really happy with it. I believe the key is to bring it to shock, close when the water is around 60* or so and the most important I think is to open when the water is still below 70*

I've never had a green pool yet.