Opened for first time with old loop loc mesh cover green swamp

[Gretzky99]

The stuff in the shed did zippo..lol....oh well..
I am kind of letting it go until I put the new filter in. I don't want to waste more chemicals.
But I did a test...same...
Chlorine zero to low ..not sure why. What is a stabilizer level? All the shock in the world won't get me a chlorine reading it seems..
PH and Alkalinity Normal
Cyanic zero to low
Hardness zero to low
Will stick with the strips for now I have 40 left. Don't I have to test the morning each day I want to go in?
My dad is a retired chemist. He said
the test is more accurate when done by machine (still uses color for analysis, but it’s done using a spectrophotometer which doesn’t rely on eyesight),..so drops or paper still rely on looking at a color.

[BigDave]

... Will stick with the strips for now I have 40 left. Don't I have to test the morning each day I want to go in?
My dad is a retired chemist. He said
the test is more accurate when done by machine (still uses color for analysis, but it’s done using a spectrophotometer which doesn’t rely on eyesight),..so drops or paper still rely on looking at a color.

Throw the strips out. They are not better than nothing, they are giving you an excuse to put-off buying a test kit that will help. I'm sorry but you dad is wrong here, the strips are innacurate and unreliable whether read by eyes or machine. FWIW you can tell your dad that (with the exception of pH) the tests in the Taylor K-2006 are not color matching, they are titration tests and the results are quite clear.

[Gretzky99]

Yes I will go with the Ultra Loc II with the panels as long as it doesn't turn the water green upon opening..why should I get the loop loc solid with a pump? the pump will proabably break many times and why do i want to be outside pumping snow off my pool when my driveway is full of it?

[TomC]

In retrospect, for me, pumping out the cover is preferable to opening to a swamp that takes me a week to totally clear. I'd probably go with the mesh panel cover next time, just pointing out the options.

Tom

[Watermom]

Another option is to not cover the pool at all. I no longer cover mine and haven't for years because I hated the hassle of dealing with a cover. In the fall, I just scoop out leaves. By the time I close my pool, the leaves are already off the trees. I shock the pool and adjust the pH to around 7.8 or 7.9 to allow for some drop over the winter, lower the water level a little, disconnect pump, etc. and I'm done. I do get a little dirt in the pool over the winter, but that is easily vacuumed out in the spring. The water stays clear. I do open the pool pretty early because our temps get hot pretty quick and I want to be able to start chlorinating so algae doesn't get started. This works for me. I don't ever plan on using a winter cover on my pool again. Just wanted to throw this out there as an another option for you to think about.