What To Do During Vacation?

[DanB]

I'm leaving for vacation tomorrow morning for 8 days. Water is pretty balanced. I just added 176 oz of 6% Cl to get it to 4 ppm. Should I put the solar cover on to preserve the chlorine and risk heating the water up too much or leave the cover off and shock when I get home. The pool is already 88-90 deg. Any other options?

[DanB]

Here are my last readings from yesterday.

TC = 4.5 (now)

pH = 7.2

TA = 40

CYA = 50

CH = 200

[jkusmier]

Here are my last readings from yesterday.

TC = 4.5 (now)

pH = 7.2

TA = 40

CYA = 50

CH = 200

All numbers look good but if I were you I'd leave the cover off and shock it to 40% of CYA (20ppm FC) given the water temp. Will burn out any unsavory organics and probably ensure a clear pool upon your return. But since you're leaving tomorrow and I am posting so late, you probably won't read this before leaving. Also, you'd need to let the pump run for several hours to circulate the water after shocking and have someone shut it off tomorrow evening (unless you have automated controls). That said, any issues upon return will involve FC levels, which you can quickly fix by shocking, vacuuming and skimming upon your return.

[PaulR]

Actually leaving the cover on is better, it will reduce the loss of FC from sunlight. If the FC drops below 2 or so, there's gonna be algae. I'd rather have clean water that's too hot than an algae infestation at a nicer temperature.

--paulr