Closing early

[gato]

I injured my shoulder getting piles of leaves out of my pool so I have no choice but close early. The water temperature is 67 degrees and the weather is going to be unseasonably warm this week so it will probably be a few more weeks before water temperature drops below 60. I plan on adding some polyquat 60 to the pool the night before the pool service comes to close it since I've got a older mesh cover and I'm closing early. Since there has been a lot of leaves in my pool, I'd like to shock it before I add the polyquat as advised on here, but I'm afraid that the FC will be too high for adding the polyquat if I do this now since the closing is in 3 days . If I shock it now and the FC ends up being too high on Thursday for adding the polyquat, could I lower the chlorine level with some sodium thiosulfate, or could this product cause other issues? If this isn't recommended, should I just skip the pre-closing shock and just keep it at half shock level until we close since combined chlorine is .5 and I don't see any evidence of algae? I'd also like to know if there is anything else I could do to decrease the chances of an algae bloom starting before the water turns colder. My biggest fear is that an algae bloom will start before the water turns colder and we will experience permanent staining as a result. Would it help if I added some more polyquat or liquid chlorine to the pool in a few weeks if the water temperature is still above 60 then?

 

[Texas Splash]

Another member was in the same boat as you ......... minus the shoulder injury. I think they decided to go the Poly route. I wouldn't go to SLAM level only to manipulate it lower later. Maybe increase the FC slightly for now (about 1/2 SLAM level), but let the Poly hold you over during this warm weather. That should by them (and you) enough time until the temps drop. Once the water temps do drop, if you are able, maybe test the FC level again even though it won't be mixing, just to see if you need to add a little more chlorine in the colder water?

 

[gato]

Another member was in the same boat as you ......... minus the shoulder injury. I think they decided to go the Poly route. I wouldn't go to SLAM level only to manipulate it lower later. Maybe increase the FC slightly for now (about 1/2 SLAM level), but let the Poly hold you over during this warm weather. That should by them (and you) enough time until the temps drop. Once the water temps do drop, if you are able, maybe test the FC level again even though it won't be mixing, just to see if you need to add a little more chlorine in the colder water?

FC is now at half shock level and I plan on adding polyquat tonight so it is mixed in real good before closing tomorrow. I used polyquat once before at closing and it decreased FC level down by half after it was added so it was below my normal chlorine level. If it decreases FC down to less than normal chlorine level again, will it still protect the water against algae or should I add some chlorine to get it back up to normal chlorine level or half shock level before closing?

 

[Texas Splash]

If it decreases FC down to less than normal chlorine level again, will it still protect the water against algae or should I add some chlorine to get it back up to normal chlorine level or half shock level before closing?

While letting the FC fall below minimum levels is always a risk, the Poly "should" keep you safe for a while. Hopefully you don't lose that much FC after the add. Take a peek at the link below for more info though.

Algaecide - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com