How much bleach for 7000 gallon pool?

[Budlight592]

Wrong section but since you and I have discussed how close we live to each other I was thinking soaler cover and clear to put on soon and do you use a cover for the winter. Also do you drain your pump and filter for the winter or let them run year around. It hardly ever get below freezing here.

[aylad]

I don't own a pool cover, but I don't have any trees in the back yard, either. The only leaves that blow in are from my neighbor's trees, but it's nothing a leaf rake won't handle. I don't drain pump/filter, either--I leave everything connected and running. I maintain my pool chems throughout the winter, but once the water gets cold, it requires very few doses of bleach to do so. I run my pump overnight on nights when the air temp is below 30 degrees, and cut any other run time to a couple of hours/day, not getting upset if I miss a day or two.

This way my pool stays clean and clear all winter, and when the water warms up, the only "start up" I have to do is turn the pump on and go swimming

One thing you need to consider is the potential for kids/animals to get into the water. My kids are old enough that I don't have to worry about it, and my dog is an inside dog so that's not a problem either. We have a tall privacy fence around the yard to eliminate the possibility of neighborhood kids getting in accidentally, as well. I would definitely remove your steps, and then decide whether you need to cover the pool or not.