Pool Closing chemistry with Leaf cover

[reetriever]

I 'm getting ready to shut down my above ground pool. I no longer cover it for the winter months. I put a leaf net on it, and remove it when the leaves are done falling. My water balance looks pretty good to me except I will raise FC. My question is, do I want to raise my PH as my pool will have rain water, and snow added to the water over the winter? Do my other figures look good for closing? Water temperature is 52. Thank you.

FC 2.99
PH 7.6
TA 110
CH 420
CYA 45

 

[Mdragger88]

Ph looks fine.
Raise fc to slam, do an
Overnight Chlorine Loss Test especially since your fc is currently below minimum for your cya of 50.
FC/CYA Levels

& probably go for some polyquat 60
after fc falls a little since the sunlight and degrading leaves will degrade your fc before spring.

How are you testing?
We recommend you use one of the
Test Kits Compared & not make changes based on pool store data.

Closing Pool for Winter - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[reetriever]

Ph looks fine.
Raise fc to slam, do an
Overnight Chlorine Loss Test especially since your fc is currently below minimum for your cya of 50.
FC/CYA Levels

& probably go for some polyquat 60
after fc falls a little since the sunlight and degrading leaves will degrade your fc before spring.

How are you testing?
We recommend you use one of the
Test Kits Compared & not make changes based on pool store data.

Closing Pool for Winter - Further Reading

www.troublefreepool.com

Thank you for the information. I am testing everything except chlorine with my Taylor 2006C test kit. I ran out of reagents for chlorine, so am using my Lamotte Color Q Pro7 kit for that. I quit going to the pool store for testing a few years ago. I added 1 gallon of 12.5% chlorine last night, but it only brought my FC to 4.51. I added 2 more gallons tonight. Lamotte is close to Taylor on chlorine, but not quite the same, so readings on chlorine are close, but not exact. I do have a bottle of polyquat 60 that I plan on using. Do I add that when FC drops to 1/2 of slam? I'm hoping to get this shut down soon as it's getting cold here in western NY. Will I be okay as long as I am running the pump 24/7 now that the nights are getting cold (30*)? Thanks again.

 

[Mdragger88]

Do I add that when FC drops to 1/2 of slam?

Yes 1/2 slam would about 14ppm
{1/2 way between target (8ppm) & slam (20ppm)}

Will I be okay as long as I am running the pump 24/7 now that the nights are getting cold (30*)? Thanks again.

That is up to you but it should be ok unless there’s a power outage - ideally you want to have your equipment drained well before freezing occurs. You don’t have your signature filled out so I am not sure what you’re working with and how easily it can be evacuated of its water.

the idea is to close after you’ve confirmed you’re algae free (slam+ oclt),
With enough fc to get you through the closed period without falling below minimum
(using polyquat 60 as insurance for the latter half of that period incase fc doesn’t quite last),
Then open early & algae free so you are actively maintaing fc by the time the water temp rises above 60 degrees.

 

[reetriever]

Yes 1/2 slam would about 14ppm
{1/2 way between target (8ppm) & slam (20ppm)}


That is up to you but it should be ok unless there’s a power outage - ideally you want to have your equipment drained well before freezing occurs. You don’t have your signature filled out so I am not sure what you’re working with and how easily it can be evacuated of its water.

the idea is to close after you’ve confirmed you’re algae free (slam+ oclt),
With enough fc to get you through the closed period without falling below minimum
(using polyquat 60 as insurance for the latter half of that period incase fc doesn’t quite last),
Then open early & algae free so you are actively maintaing fc by the time the water temp rises above 60 degrees.

Thank you. I filled out my signature, with pool information. I will keep the pool running 24/7 for the next few days. We are supposed to have a couple of warmer days this coming week, will close it then. I am struggling getting my chlorine levels up to slam. The 3 gallons I added the last two nights only brought me up to 8.41. Have one gallon left that I will put in tonight. I'm sure I will have to get more. I'm wondering if I should buy a couple bags of 73% dry cal hypo shock to get this done?

 

[Mdragger88]

Check your dates on the liquid chlorine- you may have just gotten old stock so its degraded.
Large doses of cal hypo can cause cloudiness which can complicate matters.
Not to mention adding more calcium of which you already have plenty.
Try ocean state job lot for liquid chlorine if you have one near.

 

[reetriever]

Check your dates on the liquid chlorine- you may have just gotten old stock so its degraded.
Large doses of cal hypo can cause cloudiness which can complicate matters.
Not to mention adding more calcium of which you already have plenty.
Try ocean state job lot for liquid chlorine if you have one near.

I checked the bottles of chlorine, and the box they came in, and could not find a date. I'm wondering if it was old stock, or if this brand is just not good. Seems like I have had trouble with this pool store brand in the past. It's 12.5%, and the Walmart 10% brand I bought this summer seemed to work better. No ocean state job lot where I live. I did buy some 73% dry cal hypo today. I put one pound in at 5:30. Just retested at 8:30, and I'm up to 12.54 FC. My CC is over .50, which it has been doing now that I'm trying to increase my chlorine level. It has been under .50 all summer long. My CH has increased 20ppm. My water is clear, not clouded, and my daily chlorine loss over the past few weeks has been less than 1 ppm per day. I will check my chlorine levels a couple more times through out the night as I'm a night owl. If I don't have more than 1 ppm loss I'm not sure I will raise the level further as I need to close it down. I'm getting crunched for time due to the weather. Does a higher chlorine level have an effect on CC, raising it? There is not much of anything on the pool floor other than some dirt that has gotten in from the leaf net. There are some leaves sitting on top of the net, but not rotted. Maybe that's the problem with CC. I will scoop them off tomorrow.

 

[Mdragger88]

The organic material could be the culprit. You do want that lowered to 0.5 ppm or less.