Green monster - a couple of questions

[pfitz4]

I am opening the pool today and majorly regretting letting it get this green. We had such a warm winter at times (with very cold snaps here and there) which I am sure contributed to the green monster. The water temperature is showing 58. But the water is the greenest I've seen in my 8 years of owning the pool! I have not done any testing since it is so green, but I am assuming the CYA is 20.

Question 1: I have the equipment up and running and I started by adding 2 gallons of liquid chlorine. I am tempted to leave the cover partially on and just add chlorine for a day or two, so the sunlight won't add to the algae's stronghold. The downside of leaving the cover on is that I can't brush the pool. What would you do?

Question 2: Do I add the salt now, or wait until the water clears? At what point should I turn on the SWG vs. just using liquid chlorine?

Question 3: How do I prevent this from happening next winter, aside from opening earlier? My water started turning green mid-winter. I don't have a way to circulate the pool water while the equipment is closed down for the winter.

 

[clduncan]

You are going to want to follow the SLAM process if you have algae. I would take the cover off so that the CC can burn off. Wait on the salt until after the SLAM you will not be using the SWG anyways. To prevent it from happening again make sure you close properly. Open early close late. You can also peak under the cover every now and then to add some chlorine during the winter.