Leaving for 12 days without pool care. How to keep from going green

Jump to latest Follow Reply
M

mjustison

0
Aug 7, 2017
30
Burbank, CA
Hello all,

I finally have my pool in good shape after two months rife with issues.
However I'm going out of town for 12 days and I don't have anyone to handle pool care.

I've done some reading on this site and several mentions of shocking it, covering it and keeping the filter on a timer.

I can do all of these things but I need some clarification:
For my pool size (about 7000gal) how much is too much chlorine to throw in for that amount of time?
Is covering with the filter on a good idea? I'm not terribly concerned about the thing getting sucked into the skimmer. I don't suspect there will be anything weighing it down (it barely ever rains here). I figure if I can leave a ventilation gap that may help things breathe a bit better.
My pH is currently hovering around 7.5-7.7. Is it wise to drop this down in case it starts going up over that time period?
How long should I filter daily? I think my filter runs about 6 hours and I'm not sure I can change that time without buying a new timer.
As insurance, should I throw in some algaecide? Is there a downside to doing so?

As always, thanks for the advice!
-Mark
 
12 days is a long time with no method of chlorine addition.

Raise the FC up to the shock level for your CYA, see the [FC/CYA][/FC/CYA].
The cover will help protect the chlorine and make it last longer.
I would lower the pH to the lower 7s prior to raise the FC level.
Only need to run the pump a couple hours to circulate.
Add algaecide (poly 60) actually consumes some of the FC which is counter to what you want to do.

You could float some tablets to help maintain the FC level, assuming your CYA is not already too high.

But, again 12 days is a long time, so do not be surprised if you have clean up to do when you get back.
 
I'm still rather unsure about my CYA levels. I refilled my pool from fresh about 2 weeks ago and added some clorox stabilizer initially. I took a reading about 9 days later and its around 35-ish. I added about 10oz more via a sock (probably about 3lb total in all) yesterday and I was going to wait a week to retest.
I don't think I'm too high so tabs will probably be okay. I do have someone coming by to check in and I'm sure I can task them with reloading a floater.
 
I went out of town for 8 days in July and I did what you're talking about:

-Raise to shock level
-Cover
-Set filter to run 6 hrs a day

Came home to a clean, clear pool. FC had dipped slightly below recommended level by the time I got home. Next summer vacation I will float a puck or two or have my neighbor dump in a pre-measured dose of bleach half way through the week.
 
Thanks for all the input.

I think in reality my CYA is probably below 50 but I've had a hard time testing it and seeing anything greater than maybe a 35. I wonder if I simply haven't been giving it enough time to register. I mostly have the pucks for just this sort of occasion but it was never anything I wanted to rely on. I suspect that and/or granules used by the previous owners were the reason I had high CYA before. It's spooked me a bit from using pucks :)

Does it normally take a while for CYA to register? I did my primary addition over a week ago (the first 2.5lbs) through a sock hung over the return. I've had the filter running either constantly or during daylight and I've cleaned the filter once since then. I tested 2 days ago and it's *maybe* 35? I figured the taylor test was fairly bulletproof as it's one of the easiest tests to do (outside of pH). I added about 10 oz yesterday. When is the earliest I should retest?

Also, does pH typically go up or go down with time? I was hovering around 7.2 a week ago and now I'm up to 7.6-7.7. Is that normal? What could cause this?

Thanks!
 
I just turned my SWG off for 12 days because my cover doesn't let chlorine go away now that the sun isn't so strong.

Covered really holds the chlorine in!
 
I have done 17 days vacation this summer in CA. I setup 2 floaters, one with 3 tablets, one with 4 tablets. I put solar cover on and it holds the floaters still. I remove skimmer socks. I pour in 2 gallons of Cl and 50% extra pool acid before I leave. When I come back there is still little tablet left on both floaters. Cl is above 6 ppm, ph is under 8. There is still a little tablets left on both floaters. Water temperature is about 85 degrees. Pool is great.
 
Just got back from an 8 day trip from our honeymoon. Put on solar cover, raised to shock level, and put in 3 tablets in a floater. Came home after the trip, pool was clean and still had a FC of 12. We did have gloomy days when we were gone though.
 
Mark,

I'm semi-retired so we travel a fair amount. Longest I've been gone is 3 weeks. We balance the pool and raise FC level to SLAM level then add 4 3" trichlor tabs. When I get back the FC level is about perfect and there's a little trichlor left. This means it's probably as long as I can go. I run my CYA on the low end (about 50) and this increases it a little (about 5 ppm by my best guess on the CYA test).

You should be able to ratio to a little more than half of my chemicals and have similar results.

I hope this helps.

Chris
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply