New Mexico Closing

[aromo]

I just want to make sure I am closing my pool right. I am thinking of doing a partial closing, if that's a thing. My area does get to freezing sometimes, but not for extended periods. Snow is rare, our rainy season is in the summer. Can I get my pool to ideal levels after shocking, but not drain the water below the skimmer and put my safety cover on? Basically it would be "open" chemically and water level wise but closed because of the pool cover. I normally run my pump 24 hours a day. For nights when it is colder should I increase the speed? My usual night speed is about 1300 rpms. Can I just have the pump only run at night, or should I continue to run it 24 hours over the winter?

 

[mknauss]

Covering the pool is fine while still running the equipment. You will want to test your water chemistry each week, at least, and manage the FC and pH. I assume you have a proper test kit. If you posted a full set of current test results we can provide guidance.

Really no need to run a pool pump 24/7 any time but it does not hurt anything, except the consumption of electricity. You can certainly run it during the cold hours only during the winter. Does the Superflo have freeze protection?

 

[aromo]

The manual doesn't say it has freeze protection so I am going to assume not. I was running it 24 hours because my neighbors tree dumps leaves in, won't have this issue once the cover is on. Do I need to worry about the surface freezing at all and take precautions to prevent cracking the tile or skimmer?

 

[mknauss]

Unless you stay well below freezing for several days your water surface will not freeze enough to do damage. Especially if you keep the water moving some.