I got brave today and went in to try and locate the leak. The water was clean and clear with the help of our Dolphin cleaner. I don't know how I would have gotten it that clean short of completely refilling the pool first so the skimmer and filter would be working. The Dolphin acted as a stand-alone filter, so I didn't have to add much water at all. Just enough so the Dolphin could work properly.

Anyway, after about 15 or 20 minutes of looking (and freezing), I found a hole!!! It was located near the bottom of the cove, about 1" above floor level (on the wall). It is between 1/16" and 1/8" in diameter (a hole, not a cut or rip). When you drip the red dye by the hole, it definitely sucks the dye out. But, now I have a concern. I am so paranoid at this point that I find it hard to believe we could lose that much water over the winter from such a tiny hole. I would estimate we lost about 7,000 gallons of water.

I guess my question is......should I continue looking for more leaks, or do you think that could be the whole problem? I don't plan on refilling and "opening" the pool for our use for about 3 weeks. I need to get the deck cleaned and sealed (an annual project) first. So I thought I would repair the hole, add some chlorine, and put the cover back on for a few more weeks.

What type of patch kit works best? Are there any brands that work better than others? I did do one repair a couple years ago, and it is now ugly and yellow. I would prefer it be blue to match the liner.

Thanks again for all you who gave suggestions. They REALLY helped.

Sandy