Need advice on pre-pool spring maintenance.

heres my pickle. every year i drop the ball and open a green monster pool. i try to chlorinate it before i remove my mesh cover every week but i guess im just not on top of it often enough. here are my thoughts please let me know if im heading down the correct path. i open on memorial day weekend and live in maryland

1-Try to keep FC about 3-5 by adding chrlorination every 2-3 days as needed(will take some persistance of course)

2- Purchase a tarp/cover to fit over the mesh saftey cover i currenlty have to block sun from forming algae.

3-Adding a large ammount of algaecide instead of either of the above.

Im trying to pick the best and most cost efficient option. I feel if i had purchased a solid saftey cover instead of mesh i would not have to worry so much about fc levels in the closed pool since the solid cover blocks the sunlight.
Is my thinking correct here also, no sunlight means no algae growth even at low to no FC levels?

First, do you have a lot of trees and vegetation over the pool? If not the safety mesh should be fine. I've been using one for 10 years and the only time I open to algae is when I open late. But if you have a lot of detritus falling on your cover a solid cover may help: Caveat: Solid covers fill up with rainwater so unless you have winter pillows underneath prepare to pump it clean with a cover pump regularly.

Second: FC of 3-5 is meaningless at this point. Sorry to be blunt. If you have algae you must clear it out and shock and re-shock until the algae is dead. FC= 3-5 is only useful as a maintenance level of free chlorine, and only when your stabilizer level (AKA, CYA) is between 30 to 50 ppm. IF your CYA is there, then you shock by raising FC to 15ppm and keeping it there. But if CYA is higher, FC=3-5 won't be sufficient for maintenance. That's why I said it's meaningless.

Third: The BEST algaecide, by far, is chlorine. It's also the cheapest. We only recommend one algaecide: Polyquat, sold under many brand names. Polyquat is good as a preventative and acts to clear your water as well. It's good stuff, but pricey and NOT what you need.

I think your real problem is how you close and when you open. Opening for filtering and chlorinating should begin well in advance of opening for swimming. Since algae growth is inhibited when the water temp is below 60deg F (Please, others, correct me if I'm wrong on the temp) when the water is close to or above that you should start opening. When I open properly, I open to clear water (and a lot of dust on the bottom). When I open late, I get algae and green water.

In the fall, I try not to close until the water is down to 60, though I usually have to start when it's just below 65. I shock the pool, make sure it's algae-free, add a quart of Polyquat and wait 48 hours. The Polyquat drives the FC down. I then raise FC back to the shock level and shut down the pump and close.

I hope this helps.

Yes i have lots of trees around the pool and i get heavy pine needles and stuff that blows under the mesh cover sides.as of now i looked thru the cover while my head was on it and i can see the bottom of the shallow end so that tells me its clear. i do open later than i need to so doing it a week early or so may help.

im just seeing what option works better for me. My thought was to block the sun and keep a bit of chlorine in the water till i open and it may help. i feel like unless i check/adj the chlorine every 2 days or so before i open it than it turns green and bits me in the butt.

Does anyone feel a solid tarp cover over the mesh will also help since it blocks the sunlight.

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Originally Posted by pbotz2000

Yes i have lots of trees around the pool and i get heavy pine needles and stuff that blows under the mesh cover sides.as of now i looked thru the cover while my head was on it and i can see the bottom of the shallow end so that tells me its clear. i do open later than i need to so doing it a week early or so may help.

im just seeing what option works better for me. My thought was to block the sun and keep a bit of chlorine in the water till i open and it may help. i feel like unless i check/adj the chlorine every 2 days or so before i open it than it turns green and bits me in the butt.

Does anyone feel a solid tarp cover over the mesh will also help since it blocks the sunlight.

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When we had our pool installed in 2004 we went with a mesh cover. We are in SE VA. As long as I closed the pool once the water temp dropped below 60 and opened before it got above 60, I didn't have algae upon opening. However, this meant waiting until late Nov to close and opening by beginning of March. This meant several months a year of running the pool without being able to use it; seemed like a big waste. Also, spring cleanup was a pain because the mesh cover allows a lot of fine dirt in the pool. Since winters here can be mild or cold, sometimes we still had a green pool when opening.

Some years ago I decided to try exactly what you suggested, covering the mesh cover with a solid tarp/cover. I can now close the pool when we stopped swimming, usually early Oct, and open it in May when it gets warm enough to swim. Since going with the solid cover, not once have I opened to a green pool. Also, spring cleanup is MUCH easier! A couple years ago when I removed the cover in May, the liner had pulled away from the sides so had to be repaired. Well, my local pool guy couldn't get to it until June 8th, so I just covered it back up and hoped for the best. June 8th came and to my surprise the water was still clear!

Btw, I do not ad anything to the pool over the winter, I just keep the water pumped off the cover.

So my suggestion is to try the solid cover. I think you will like it.