pool care while gone for a week

[Rbnhd21]

Will be out of town for 8 days . what can I do to the pool in my absence . 24 ft round above ground . I plan on adding algaecide , super chlorinating, and running filter 0n timer for 2 4 hr increments daily . Should I keep the solar cover on or leave it off ?
Thanks

[PoolDoc]

1. Superchlorinate, brush, and vacuum.

2. Clean the filter.

3. Add a DOUBLE dose of polyquat (http://pool9.net/polyquat/)

4. If you have time, raise your pool's borate level to ~60 ppm. (11 boxes of 20 Mule Team borax + about 2 1/2 gallons of 31% muriatic acid.) See http://pool9.net/ma/

5. If you have someone stopping by your house, you could have them add a 2nd double dose of polyquat mid-way through the period.

Please note that polyquat is the ONLY algaecide that can be double dosed without negative effects.

[Rbnhd21]

Lowering ph level ? Never thought about that . What about solar cover ? On or off ? It's on every night now . Thanks for reply .

[BigDave]

The muriatic acid is to counter the pH rise caused by the Borax if you decide to add borates to your water not to lower pH.

You'll also need to have the skimmer cleaned out periodically - espcially after storms.

[PoolDoc]

Solar cover? Probably off -- higher water temps = greater chance of algae.

BUT the solar cover also reduces chlorine loss to sunlight. So, I guess it would go this way:

1. If you try to 'SHOCK' (high chlorine) your way thru the vacation, use the cover

BUT

2. If you use polyquat, per above, then leave it off. Polyquat is NOT lost to sun, and the lower temps will reduce the chance of algae.