Spring opening...trying something a little different

[The Raddish]

Not too different, mind you, but hopefully a time saver since I don't have a whole day to devote to opening our pool this year.

What I'm doing is topping off our 24'x52" AGP with water before removing the cover. I drained to just below the return last fall and removed all of the flexible plumbing to store in the garage. So yesterday after work, I reassembled all of the plumbing. I peeked under the cover when I assembled my aqualuminator and the water is clear to the bottom.

Today I started putting water in the pool. The cover is still on, and I let the water run for a few hours. I still have another few inches to go, so I'll do the same tomorrow, maybe adding some bleach in front of the hose this time.

On Friday after work, I'm hoping that I'll be full enough to remove the cover and get the pump up and running. I'll test the water at this time and add chemicals as necessary, starting off with shocking with bleach.

My deck surrounds nearly half my pool, and I'm thinking that filling with water will also help in removing the cover. Has anyone ever tried it this way before? Is this a good idea or bad idea, or do you think it may even matter?

Another benefit that I can think of is that the black cover will help to heat the new water I'm introducing to the pool, making it swimmable that much faster, but it might not make a difference one way or the other depending on how chemically stable the water is.

I'm interested in hearing everyone's thoughts on this.

[NWMNMom]

Wow, interesting. We did not fill before removing the black mesh cover, but Mother Nature did it for us - we had a very big rain and with a mesh cover, it goes right through, so it filled to right below the return. I pulled the cover off and added bleach - stir a bit with the leaf net (no leaves, just a tiny bit of silt) but got that bleach all around in there. We did not leave the cover on for long though due to me being a worry wort and thinking I might get algae.

[CarlD]

Well, I finally did a full test of my water and came up with interesting numbers:
FC - 5.5
CC - 0
pH - 7.4
T/A - 60-70
CYA - 25 - 30
CH - 50
Temp - 79 (!)

Don't tell anyone but I had been using Hach strips (being lazy and knowing how to use them) and had surprisingly similar numbers.

While these numbers are fine (I have a vinyl pool with solar heating and no SWG) the surprises were T/A and CH. I guess I must have gotten more rainwater than I expected over the winter--the big drop was CH from around 140. CYA usually drops but I'm happy it's where it is...I'll chlorinate a little with Di-Chlor and it will cross 30.

Every spring brings new surprises!

[The Raddish]

Well, I finally took the cover off today. I had pre-filled the pool to just at skimmer level, and it did actually make it easier to pull the cover off with minimal cover water spillage.

My pool was not as clear as I first thought. I have some green soup, but still able to see the bottom.

I didn't run a test yet as it was too dark, but I did pour in two and a half Wal-Mart bottles of 6% bleach. I let the pump run with it on high for a couple hours to mix it all in, and then I stuck the bug in the pool.

I'll let the bug vacuum up the bottom over night, and in the morning I'll backwash and add another jug of bleach and let the pump run on low all day.

Tomorrow evening when I get home I'll do a full test and see where it stands. I'll post pics of my water later to track my progress.

I didn't throw the thermometer in yet, but the water feels a bit cold for swimming. We'll see how it goes in the next few days once I get the chemicals right.

[The Raddish]

Well, my numbers are somewhat puzzling this morning.

I put in two and a half of the big bottles of bleach last night, and this morning this is what I had:

FC = 0
CC = .5 (actually a bit more, but not quite 1.0)
PH = 7.2
TA = 130
CYA = 0 <-- I tested this three times, came up zero every time. If anything, the black dot got bigger.

I'm at a loss as to the CYA number. The reagent was newly purchased at the end of last season so should be fine.

I dumped in another two and a half big bottles (about 1.5 gal?) of 6% bleach and turned my return to bubble up. I'll add some borax this evening to get the PH up, I was very happy at 7.8 last year all year.

Why the loss of CYA though? I was a bit over 40 at closing last year, and drained about 14" of the pool so it shouldn't be zero, should it?

Also, my bug didn't get the whole bottom of the pool last night so I left it in today. I think the current was a bit too strong as it kept the bug pushed to one side. I turned the return facing upward so that should quell the current today and I hope the bug will get the whole pool by the time I get home from work this evening.

Any suggestions?

[aylad]

Well, my numbers are somewhat puzzling this morning.

I put in two and a half of the big bottles of bleach last night, and this morning this is what I had:

FC = 0
CC = .5 (actually a bit more, but not quite 1.0)
PH = 7.2
TA = 130
CYA = 0 <-- I tested this three times, came up zero every time. If anything, the black dot got bigger.

I'm at a loss as to the CYA number. The reagent was newly purchased at the end of last season so should be fine.

I dumped in another two and a half big bottles (about 1.5 gal?) of 6% bleach and turned my return to bubble up. I'll add some borax this evening to get the PH up, I was very happy at 7.8 last year all year.

Why the loss of CYA though? I was a bit over 40 at closing last year, and drained about 14" of the pool so it shouldn't be zero, should it?

Also, my bug didn't get the whole bottom of the pool last night so I left it in today. I think the current was a bit too strong as it kept the bug pushed to one side. I turned the return facing upward so that should quell the current today and I hope the bug will get the whole pool by the time I get home from work this evening.

Any suggestions?

It's a fairly common, although not completely explainable, phenomenon that CYA does sometimes disappear over the wintertime. Watermom experiences that, but I don't. The best explanation I've seen for it seems to be that algae actually breaks down the CYA that' in the pool, causing your levels to plummet. Sounds like you need to continue to shock it, and add some stabilizer but remember it takes a long time to dissolve, so I wouldn't retest for it or add more for about a week.

Janet

[Watermom]

I usually lose all my cya over the winter, but keep clear water. No algae upon opening in the spring. This year, I didn't lose it all. I closed with a cya reading probably around 40-45 and opened with it around 25 or 30. Who knows why it was different this year?

While you are fighting to clear your water, I'd leave your ph alone. Chlorine seems to be more effective when the ph is a little on the low side. Just make sure it doesn't drop any lower. At 7.2, you are fine. Then, you can bump it up a little when your water clears up.

[PhantomAndy]

Good idea on filling first.

I have an 18x36 IG with a solid cover (with mesh drain in the center) so the rain drains into the pool all year long. I have to pump water off constantly throughout the winter (usually 3 or 4 times, about 6 inches of water each time).

In the spring, I leave the water level high (higher than my usual operating level - almost to the coping). It makes removing my very heavy (over 100Lbs) solid cover easier, and gives me plenty of free water to vacuum to waste with.