Close Pool Now or SLAM and Wait

[Earthman Bob]

Well, a few weeks ago I thought I was closing my pool, and so I slammed it (FC up to 35), got all the levels in check and thought I was ready to go. Then life got in the way, couldn't get my helper, and paid attention to other deadlines. So I found myself in November with a pool full of leaves. I consider this my first year as a pool caretaker, so I'm learning from my mistakes!

As of yesterday, my plan was to close the pool ASAP. So between yesterday and today, I've cleaned all the leaves out. Even though the water is in the low 50s, after cleaning it, it became obvious that the pool was green and murky. The FC level was 2.5 and my CYA was still high at around 80+. So yesterday I added an initial dose of algaecide.

At this point I'm guessing the only way out of this is to slam it again, and wait till the levels are back down. Last time I was told to bring the FC up to 35, and then wait till that was cut in half.

Is that still the way to go? I know it is, but thought I'd check to see if there were any other options

I hate to wait more since it's so totally free of leaves right now, but I'll do what I have to do.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Texas Splash]

With algae brewing, the algaecide you added won't do much since it's not designed to kill algae, just prevent it. Doing a SLAM with the elevated FC level would also oxidize the algaecide. So at this point the choice is yours really. You can either:
1 - Implement a SLAM Process now and complete it thoroughly before closing (if you can). Your available time and weather may drive that one.
2 - Cut your losses and close now. Bump-up the FC level, cover it, and deal with the algae in the spring as soon as you can. (Probably what I would do)

Don't forget to check your pH at closing as well.

 

[Earthman Bob]

Dang, I love this forum. Someone's here to help, even in November. Thanks so much for the help TS!

So if I went with bumping up the FC, what's the highest level I can safely elevate it to before putting the cover on?

And I'll check the PH again. My Calcium Hardness was way off. Is that an issue for closing?

 

[Texas Splash]

Your FC can go up to SLAM level based on your current CYA. So if your CYA is at 80, the FC could go as high as 31.

As for the others, I would test pH, CH, and TA one last time, then enter those along with your water temp into the PoolMath tool. Do a sanity check on your "CSI" result after entering those numbers to see if there anything really waaaaayyyy off. If not, then your pH can probably be anywhere between 7.5-7.8 at closing. But let the PoolMath tool confirm just to make sure.

 

[Earthman Bob]

Your FC can go up to SLAM level based on your current CYA. So if your CYA is at 80, the FC could go as high as 31.

As for the others, I would test pH, CH, and TA one last time, then enter those along with your water temp into the PoolMath tool. Do a sanity check on your "CSI" result after entering those numbers to see if there anything really waaaaayyyy off. If not, then your pH can probably be anywhere between 7.5-7.8 at closing. But let the PoolMath tool confirm just to make sure.

AOK. Adding the chlorine now and will check other numbers too!

 

[wireform]

With a FC of more then 10 don't expect a accurate PH reading

 

[Earthman Bob]

With a FC of more then 10 don't expect a accurate PH reading

I just happened to be reading that PH readings won't be accurate when slamming...

 

[Earthman Bob]

Decided to slam, run the filter, and wait a few days before closing. Nice windy day here, so I'm doing some net and robot work to keep up!

My CH was way low at 90, so I ordered the remedy and will add tomorrow. I'll have to check to see if CH readings are impacted by slamming...

Thanks again for the timely help--