Won't be able to open pool until July but want to avoid algae

[Dschmerl]

Hello all!

I have been a long time lurker since I bought my house which has a pool. Due to this site and everyone's guidance, I've been able to have fun filled summer after summer without ever once having an algae issue or needing to hire a professional to manage my water chemistry.

This year, we are adding an addition onto our house that will run up against the pool. My contractor asked that I not open my pool until he finishes framing the addition to avoid materials falling into the pool.

We expect this to mean I will be able to open the pool in the beginning of July. For context, I live in Maryland and we have a 30k gallon in ground pool. I typically open the pool in March so I can make sure I get way ahead of any possible algae growth and have all my chemistry perfect by the time the weather is nice enough for swimming. When I open the pool in July this year, I'm really nervous about it being completely filled with algae and taking me an additional few weeks and lots of my time before it's even ready to use.

As we move into warmer weather, what actions can I take to prevent algae growth and have the water as close to ready as possible by the time we're ready to actually open the pool in the beginning of July?

Thanks for any advice and insights you all have!

 

[Leebo]

Welcome to a long time lurker, first time poster!!


May I ask, when is construction of the add-on set to start? Could you do a 1/2 hearted opening, add chemicals, and then close again before they start??

 

[Newdude]

If you have a safety cover you can run the pool indefinitely under it. Once a week you can pop a corner and keep the FC elevated. It'd be even easier if you had a SWG that added it daily for you but the cover would shield most of the daily FC loss so you'd probably only have to add LC to SLAM weekly.

With a tarp cover you can aim the returns down to not have any surface movement and so the same.

I 'soft open' every spring.

 

[Homebrewale]

I agree with Newdude. Not only do I soft open every spring, I soft close every fall.

 

[Bperry]

Hello all!

I have been a long time lurker since I bought my house which has a pool. Due to this site and everyone's guidance, I've been able to have fun filled summer after summer without ever once having an algae issue or needing to hire a professional to manage my water chemistry.

This year, we are adding an addition onto our house that will run up against the pool. My contractor asked that I not open my pool until he finishes framing the addition to avoid materials falling into the pool.

We expect this to mean I will be able to open the pool in the beginning of July. For context, I live in Maryland and we have a 30k gallon in ground pool. I typically open the pool in March so I can make sure I get way ahead of any possible algae growth and have all my chemistry perfect by the time the weather is nice enough for swimming. When I open the pool in July this year, I'm really nervous about it being completely filled with algae and taking me an additional few weeks and lots of my time before it's even ready to use.

As we move into warmer weather, what actions can I take to prevent algae growth and have the water as close to ready as possible by the time we're ready to actually open the pool in the beginning of July?

Thanks for any advice and insights you all have!

Contractor probably just means keep the cover on. There’s no need to keep the pool winterized.

 

[Mdragger88]

Soft open!
Pull the cover back to get things going & cleaned up & put the cover back on.
Peel it up in an area away from the construction near a return to get samples and add stuff as needed while the cover is on.
What kind of cover do you have?
I use a tarp style solid cover and do this every year (run the bot under the cover etc.) just have to keep it pumped off or I can get some water displacement.

 

[Newdude]

Water sample hack

The cover is still on and the skimmer has an oil slick and I don't have any tennis balls yet this season. It's been running for a day and I just want a round about baseline to get an idea where I'm at. Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[Dschmerl]

Thanks for all the feedback everyone. The concept of a soft open never even crossed my mind, but that definitely sounds like the way to go.

We have one of those solid safety covers with anchors in the ground that could hold an elephant. It's definitely a production to take the whole thing off and put it back on, but doing a corner here and there is no big deal. We also have a SWG, so it makes keeping the FC at ideal levels easy to do, especially with no one in the water and no sun on the pool.

Thanks again everyone for the fast and high quality responses!

 

[Newdude]

We have one of those solid safety covers

We also have a SWG

Problems solved !!! The SWG will need much less runtime with the cover on and will do 98% of the work for you. Grab an occasional water sample once you get a feel for the daily loss from the skimmer or the air relief valve on the filter and adjust the SWG as normal.