We are going on a 5 day vacation next week and we can't run our pump while we are away because our 15-year old pump is having issues, we have no timer, and we have several trees that hang over the pool. We live out in the country so we do not want to ask anyone to come over here twice a day and dump out the skimmer baskets and check on the pump. We plan on getting our pool up to shock level (20 ppm) before we leave and just deal with the algae when we get back. Before we leave, I have a few questions:
1. Would trichlor tabs in a floater help since the pump won't be on? If it might help, does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep the floater away from the walls? I can attach the end of the tether to one of my pool cover anchors near the deep end but I'm concerned that it will park itself near the wall by the step or light and stay there.
2. Since there are several trees near the pool, should I put the solar cover on so leaves won't fall to the bottom, or could this speed up the algae process since the solar cover heats up the water and the water will be stagnant?
3. How low should I lower the PH before getting the pool up to shock level, and how long should I wait after adding muriatic acid before shocking? PH tends to stay around 7.8 for some reason so I know it will need to be lowered before we leave.
4. Should I shock the night before and run the pump all night, or wait to add it an hour before we leave in the a.m. (Or does it matter)?
I have slammed my pool several times before so I'm familiar with the process. My only concern about leaving the pool for 5 days is that the leaves will stain the pool when algae takes over so I want to do whatever it takes to decrease the chances of this happening.
1. Would trichlor tabs in a floater help since the pump won't be on? If it might help, does anyone have any suggestions on how to keep the floater away from the walls? I can attach the end of the tether to one of my pool cover anchors near the deep end but I'm concerned that it will park itself near the wall by the step or light and stay there.
2. Since there are several trees near the pool, should I put the solar cover on so leaves won't fall to the bottom, or could this speed up the algae process since the solar cover heats up the water and the water will be stagnant?
3. How low should I lower the PH before getting the pool up to shock level, and how long should I wait after adding muriatic acid before shocking? PH tends to stay around 7.8 for some reason so I know it will need to be lowered before we leave.
4. Should I shock the night before and run the pump all night, or wait to add it an hour before we leave in the a.m. (Or does it matter)?
I have slammed my pool several times before so I'm familiar with the process. My only concern about leaving the pool for 5 days is that the leaves will stain the pool when algae takes over so I want to do whatever it takes to decrease the chances of this happening.
