Leaving for 16 day vacation - what to do with pool

[vim]

Hmmm no one has replied so I'll throw my 2c in.

What do you normally do for sanitation? What's your CYA level? Why consider a algecide? Do often have Algae problems?

I would add floaters and leave the cover on, and fix what happens when you get back.

The cover should reduce CL loss due to the sun so maybe you're CL will be high when you get back!

You should check your CYA when you get back, but I doubt 2-3 weeks will raise it that much.

Robert

Normally I just use clorine tablets and once every 5-8 weeks I shock the pool. I also use algecide, as algae is a problem. I am not at experienced in pool maintenance to know what is my CYA level.

Would you run filter pump for all this time away? Someone else recommended that I just supershock pool, add algecide and turn pumps off and no cover. Is that a reasonable option?

[day1]

I'd probably just shock, fill floater and leave it uncovered. It would be bad if you had very high temps while gone and it evaporated below safe skimmer line
with the pump running--pumps not designed to run dry.

[vim]

I'd probably just shock, fill floater and leave it uncovered. It would be bad if you had very high temps while gone and it evaporated below safe skimmer line
with the pump running--pumps not designed to run dry.

Thanks for reply. Just to clarify: You would not run pump? Is that right?
Sorry, its just that I am so not sure what to do...
Thanks,

[bbb]

On the old forum I remember PoolDoc saying that Algae is your real concern here. It is hard to give advice without knowing your current CYA level, but here goes. Your biggest concern here is that you don't want algae when you return, so adding polyquat is the best advice around.

Echoing other people's advice, and giving my advice from a shorter vacation I took last year, I would let your chlorine drift down a couple of days before you leave, then put in an "initial dose" (see the bottle for your size - could be up to a quart) of Polyquat (which is great at preventing Algae). 24 hours or so later, bring chlorine up to shock levels. For 16 days, assuming nobody can check in on the pool, I agree that leaving the pump on is risky, so I would turn it off. I think having floaters in the pool is a good idea. It's your call on the solar cover -- but if you are using floaters, 16 days of contact could hurt the cover, so I would keep it off (unless your cover is on its last legs anyway). There are people with much better advice than I have, though.

Link to further explain polyquat for you

[cajunfla]

On another thread here somewhere, someone had a great idea of taking several bottles of bleach, punching two 1/8 inch diameter holes in the bottom, and one in the top. String the bottles across the length (or width) of the pool, letting them hang below the surface of the water. The bleach will slowly leach out of the jugs. Something to do with the weight / density of bleach being different from pool water. He stated that he had done this before with no problems. The pool gets constant bleach, you get to relax knowing the algae is being taken care of. If your pool pump has a timer, let that run long enough to circulate your total gallons thru the filter about 2 times a day. Thats all you really need to run it, IMHO.

Good Luck