rklesla

Had it and it didn't work that well and was costly and made the water feel wierd.

Could be 2 things. Filter is dirty and blowing some dirt from there back out into the pool. Or you had algae and now its dead sitting on the floor. As far as stains, maybe bleach it, normally if it sits in a chlorinated pool, it will turn pure white.

Unfortunely this is a tough question. My main question is why when you live in Southern Cal do you need a heater? Wouldn't a solar cover be sufficient if you even need that? As far as no heat, does the water pass through the heater? Make sure the heater doesn't have a thermostat set to low and make sure there isn't a low setting. The heater you got could heat a pool twice that size fine.

Eh? You just shocked the pool, of course your chlorine is high.

Bugs need food to survive, so I'd start with what they are eating and kill that first. You might have some algae their feeding on.

Nice. I get bugs too from over winter, but never maggots. Usually maggots just eat decomposing flesh, so maybe you have a dead animal in there? Someone else that winterizes there pool might be able to help you better. I always drain the pool and refill every year so those bugs are in the creek after I drain it.

Composite is much better. You could also just get carpet on it or get those chemicals they sell that keep the decking cool in the sun.

Well, lets start with filter running. You should always run the filter when swimming regardless of the time. As far as when you away, that's where your have to test times yourself, maybe you can start with 11am-5pm and see if that seems good enough. Chlorine, get a tester kit. Add if needed. Depending on the use, sunlight and so on, you'll go through chlorine from once a day like some people do to once a week like I have too. Keep PH levels normal. If you burn through chlorine fast, invest in a solar blanket, that should hold it in more. Shock it before using it the first time. With all this, you should be good to go.

I just throw in 2 garden hoses and my 12'x24'x48" pool fills up in about 8 hours. I just call the water company and tell them that I'm filling the pool and they charge us just for water and not sewage for all that. So it costs us about $10-$20 to fill it up.

Get a solar blanket. It has other benefits as well. It holds in the chlorine very well, it heats the pool, and it keeps the heat in during the night.

I do that every year with my pool. I drain it in the spring and refill it. That way you get fresh water, less work, less chemicals needed. Plus you can do repairs if needed. The only downfall is it shortens your liner's lifespan with the stretching and shrinking every year, but by far worth the money and effort.

I normally just cut it up in 4' x 4' pieces and throw it in the trash on Tuesday's.

I suggest using a cover during non-use if the pool is in 100% sun all day. Chlorine burns fast in sunlight. Other reasons for quick chlorine loss, your floater might not be releasing it as fast as it should be, lots of sweaty people are swimming, and lots of leaves and twigs falling into the water.

This depends on your cituation. You should always run the filter when people are in it, this will circulate the chemicals and clean the pool. As far as running it while away, I normally run mine from noon to 8pm constantly. This is probably something you'll want to play around with a see what is best on your pool.