What maintenance is required if I do NOT open my Anthony gunnite 25,000 gal pool? Can it harm the pool?
Due to illness in the family, I am not able to open my inground pool this summer in Northern New Jersey. Is there anything I should do for maintenance? Can it damage the pool by not opening and circulating the water?
I used to work for the only Anthony dealer here in southern Ontario, so I reckon I can help.
If the pool was closed correctly and equipment winterized properly , it’ll be fine. There are only 2 things to consider. What type of winter cover if any and the water underneath it.
If the cover is a poly tarp and water bag, just make sure all the bags are ok. Drain off as much water as you can from the top of the cover, as well as remove debris, if possible. The water is the bigger issue of the two. If the level gets up to your tile line before freeze over, it may crack some tiles. Check the water under the cover for Cl content. If it’s 0 then add a shock and re cover.
If the cover is what we call a “safety cover”, like a trampoline, then just do a pump out down to the returns again. Keeping the water clear in this case is difficult. It will likely go green, if it hasn’t already. Safety covers are porous and let a lot of stuff in. You best bet, is liquid chlorine a few times this summer, followed by a dose right at ice in. Break a hole in the ice if you have to. The results in spring will be worth it.
The Marbalite finnish won’t get hurt any more than in a normal operating cycle with the exception of the steps where you may notice more spider webbing (hairline cracks) or spalding (coin sized wafers of marbalite disloged). Normal, it will happen eventually in any Marbalite pool that has to be drained for winterizing. Californians and Floridians are lucky in that respect.
The pool walls may become more stained than usual, but that’s going to be two winters of staining, and to be expected. It WILL come clean next spring, just a little more work.
Hope all this helps. I miss working on Anthony DE filters, they are, in my opinion the best out there. Unfortunately the Dealer I worked for, went under, there are only 3 guys in Ontario left that know the pools or the systems and we rarely get to see one anymore. Most have been retrofitted with Hayward or worse junk.
