Another year of opening the pool to crystal clear water !!!

[njkat]

Once again - thank you TFP !!!
Just took the cover off our pool - and as always - every year the water is crystal clear !!! Of course the water temp is only 62 degrees right now - but the weather is supposed to be warm next week so I hope the pool will heat up.

 

[jblizzle]

Congrats!!!

 

[Swimming Grandma]

Good for you! It looks beautiful!

 

[jimmerz]

I wish I could say the same!!! Grrr, freaking filter/pump keeps losing pressure, can't get the pool clear. I'm about ready to blow it up! ?

 

[anthonypool89]

Yeah...me too. I opened my inground and it was basically a worm-infested swamp. Still can barely see the drain after almost a week of filtering. Hmmm..maybe I should fill it in with dirt and put an above-ground pool on it?

 

[pooldv]

Nice pool!

 

[Perpetual summer]

Water looks so inviting

 

[DaviKoNui]

Hi, So I've never really winterized a pool. I normally empty it out 100%, store away pump/filter, and keep it uncovered. In the summer I wash it out and refill. I only recently realized that it is bad to empty out a vinyl pool since it can damage the vinyl and rip it.

So my question is, did you follow a certain guide, if so where can I find it? What steps did you use, how much did you empty the pool, did you leave the filter connected, etc? All help appreciated, thanks.

 

[Scout101]

I feel this is how mine would open, if it was above ground. With my inground, I can't stop the worms from returning to their ancient burial ground, so I have to scoop a bunch out and SLAM in the spring. Water is otherwise fine, though, and can see the main drain well on day 1, so not overly concerned. Mesh cover, too, so always pick up some things to work through for a week or so. Pool will be open before it's warm enough to swim in, so other than the PITA of doing bleach for a week or two, no biggie...

 

[njkat]

We have had our pool for 5 years now. From the very beginning we used the BBB method. All the info you need is available from this website. Just go to the Pool School section here and follow their directions. We drop the pool water below the skimmer and cover the pool. We unhook the filter & put that away for the winter. The information you get here at this site is amazing !!! After the pool is open I use the BBB method & test my pool water every day and adjust the chlorine level by adding bleach. I adjust the pH as needed also. We love how easy it is to maintain our pool by using the info we have gotten here. Good luck & enjoy your pool !!!!

 

[phonedave]

I wish my pool looked like yours when I open.

I have opened to a green swamp the last two seasons. I blame the pool covers. The original one never leaked, I could syphon off the water all fall and winter and open to clear water in the spring. Now, I can't find a good cover. Eveything starts leaking mid-winter. Pool water seeps up and rain water seeps into the pool. Expensive cover, cheap cover, new cover, old cover - it makes no difference. It also makes getting the cover off the pool a royal pain because I cant syphon off the standing water (new water just seeps through).

I opened my pool Saturday night, and started filtering on Sunday morning (because things decided to spring leaks on Saturday). This morning (Wed) it is crystal clear, and ready to go. I think I used 6 gallons of Pool Chlorine (10%) and backflushed 3 times, so in the grand scheme of things not a big deal, but clear water when I remove the cover is nicer.

A little tweaking of chemicals, and all should be good to go - except for the fact the skimmer drips and I need a new return fitting (that Aqualiminator is junk)

FC - 10 (Floating down from SLAM levels)
CC - 0.5 (or less)
Ph - 7.8 (need to find my acid bucket)
TA - 150
CH - 90
CYA - 30 (It was 40 at closing last fall - lots of rain got in the pool over the winter)
Borates - about 20 - maybe this year I will get around to increasing them


From dark green to this in 3 days - with only bleach.

-dave