Winterize in Southern California

[Watermom]

Hi and welcome to the forum! Sorry you haven't gotten a reply yet. Ben has had some issues he has had to deal with the past few days and thus he hasn't yet been able to move these new posts into the general part of the forum where you'll be able to get some advice. But, he'll hopefully be able to do so soon. So, sit tight. Just wanted to let you know that your post has been read and that you aren't being ignored!

[PoolDoc]

You're adding a GALLON of muriatic acid every week to a 24,000 gallon pool? That's pretty unusual. I think you need to test your water -- not with strips -- and see if it's OK.

But, to your question: whether you can cover it and let it go all winter is pretty doubtful. If water temps stay below 65, you *probably* can (but I don't know), if you make sure it's cleaned and shocked before covering.

Maybe someone with experience closing a warm water pool can comment.

[kirkinsd]

Hi Ben,

I'll wait to hear what others in So Cal do but I value your thoughts on just shutting it down. I was hoping I could leave it off.

As for the acid - do you think that's too much acid? I add 1/2 gallon twice a week and that seems to keep the PH correct. I came to that amount after a few trips to Leslie's to have the water tested.

What would you consider a proper amount of acid on my size pool?

Thanks

[PoolDoc]

It's not so much what I consider proper as it is, wanting to understand why your pool needs so much.

A starting place would be a Taylor test kit (linked below) and some good test results.

[kirkinsd]

I tested last night with a drops kit and came up with:
FC=3+
CC=3+
PH=8.2+
Alk=140

What else would you like to see tested?

Thanks

[aylad]

I'm a little suspicious of your drop kit results--it would be highly unusual to have a CC (combined chlorine--which is chlorine that is actively fighting something in the water) of 3+ unless you're in the middle of a Baquacil conversion or have some other major problems going on. FC + CC = TC. Did you maybe mean TC of 3+ ? Also--if you're using an OTO test, you can dilute your pool water with equal parts distilled water, test from that sample, and multiply your result by 2 to get a ballpark of what your chlorine actually is.

What is your CYA level?

Janet

[mas985]

I live in Northern California under somewhat similar conditions although we get a bit colder up here. Anyway during the winter (Nov-Feb), I tend to run the pump for about 2 hours per day just to keep the leaves off the bottom (suction side cleaner) and to keep the water chlorinated. When water temps get below 50 degrees, only a couple weeks out the year, I found that algae doesn't really grow here so I can allow the pool to go "idle" for a few days or weeks without the pump running or adding chlorine plus the SWG stops working anyway so it is a win win.

Your water may not get as cold as mine so you may not be able to allow the pool to go idle but it takes some experimentation to know exactly what you can get away with. If you let the water go idle, watch it carefully and note any small changes in water color which could indicate a pending bloom.

[kirkinsd]

Janet -

I don't have a drops tester for CYA but from the strip it appears to be around 60ppm. And I did mean TC of 3+. Should I go pop for a better CYA test?

Mark - Surprisingly, I've left my pump off for the last three weeks and the test results I gave were just the other night. I'm going to go add a gallon of muriatic acid to lower the PH. I was hoping that with no pump running my PH wouldn't rise. I guess I really don't have a clue.


Kirk