I bought a solid winter cover for the pool (24' round ABG in NH). Being up north, I'm anticipating lots of ice and snow.

When I bought the cover, the pool store "gave" me everything I would need to close the pool :ahem:. They gave me 2 gallons of winterizer, 2 floaty chlorine tab things, a 4x5' air pillow, antifreeze for the pump, etc. I'm not sure what of all that I really need. I bought those pool cover clips to use rather than the cable/winch.

I plan to drain below the skimmer/eye return and disconnect all the hoses. I also plan to bring the pump/filter right into the basement for the winter to avoid the whole freeze/thaw thing. I should also remove the 3 pieces of the eyeball, yes?

I figure to put the air pillow in, NOT use the winterizer they gave me since it's just strong algaecide of the wrong variety. I have some polyquat I'll use instead, right?

What about those floaty chlorine tab things? Are they at all useful? I can string them up with nylon rope. I know they'll have some CYA in them, but that's not a big issue (mine is <30).

Being up north, the weight of ice and snow can be an issue. I'm told that these clip things will give way at some point and that's not a totally bad thing since it will release some of the pressure. Is this correct? Do I need to bring water-filled bleach bottles into the picture at some point?