Hi,
I'm fed up with Baquacil, and want to convert to Chlorine as soon as possible !!! My water is green at this point. Just looking for some tips on the easiest way to do it, and what I need from W-Mart, K-Mart. Bleach and chlorine amounts also. I have a 16x32 Doughboy above ground, with a deep area. 15,000 gallons. HELP !!!???
Thanks

Welcome to the forum !!

There is a section in our "How To" section on Convert Your Baqua Pool to Chlorine.

Read through that get your supply of bleach ( and then some), have a camera ready, sit back and watch the color show.

Post pics, we love to see pics ......



Good Luck !

Just finished my conversion on Thursday. You won't regret it. Get yourself a good test kit like the ones described in the Pool School section. That will be very helpful to you.

Thanks for the info. My computer is acting up, and I can't seem to use the pool calculator. Anyone else convert a 15,000 gallon pool ? If so, could you tell me how many bottles of bleach I may need ? I want to head out tonight and get some, to start the process. Also : is that the only thing you do to your pool when first starting to convert it ? Just keep adding bleach until it clears up ? Then balance everything ?

No, you need a good test kit, and you need to be able to use the Pool Calculator to determine how much bleach to add. You do need the PH to be about 7.4 before you start. The once you start it's alot of bleach, testing the FC/CC levels (why you need a good kit) and then once the FC holds (using the FAS-DPD test) then you'll know when your conversion is ready for the finishing touches.

You can easily use 40 small jugs of bleach to edit: convert end edit....depends on how high your Baq levels are.

Describe the problem with the Pool Calc. Maybe you just aren't entering the values correctly....

Correction: you are not pouring 40 jugs in all at once - that's why you need to use the Pool Calc.

The total amount of bleach you will need is very difficult to predict. It depends on way to many factors to be figured out in advance. Conversions in the past have used anywhere from 20 to 120 gallons of 6% bleach. Getting 30 gallons of bleach to start with is fine. Even if your conversion goes very quickly, you will still use it up in a reasonable amount of time.

Thanks. How many bottles should you put in to start, and how many every few hours ? I know it will depend on the Baq. levels, but I want to start tonight. Thanks again for the help

When you said you could get the pool calculator to work....

You enter your gallons, then in the "now" column, you enter your current levels. In the case of FC, your level would be zero. Then in the "target" column, you enter 15. You hit calculate. In the box to the right, it will tell you how many ounces of bleach to add. If you move your cursor over that box, the # of jugs will display in the box above...

This first dose I get 2.6 (182oz) jugs of 6% bleach. This will be consumed within an hour, and you have to repeat the addition. This is why you go thru alot of bleach, and why you need a good test kit to measure the levels. So each time you test, you take that current result, put it in the "now" and 15 is your "target". As the conversion progresses, the amount you have to add will be different each time. This is why you need to be able to get the pool calc to work for you. Give it a try again.

Ok. Thanks. I'm going to go and get some startup bleach. Also wondering what happens during the night time hours, and hours when your at work. Obviously, you cant check the levels then. Just keep the filter on, and continue where you left off in the am and after work ?
Thanks

Yes, it's usually a good idea to start on like, a Friday afternoon where you can dedicate most of the weekend hours to hourly testing and bleach additions. This speeds up the process, so that during the week, the before/after work additions are still enough to keep pace. If you start tonight, and only dose before/after work, it may take your conversion a bit longer....I'd plan on dedicating next weekend to the process if you can...

I just converted my pool from Baqa#### last week. I was worried about the whole science experiment going bad. So, I went ahead and emptied it. I figure it was cheaper where I live to pay the extra $15 for my water bill going up 13k gal than all the money for the bleach and than worrying if I made some kind of toxic stew!

It was worth every minute of effort! The pool finally looks great. It has been 5 beautiful pool days. No bad chemical smell or taste, no algae issues, just sparkly clean water! I went with a salt system since It was a little more hands off once you get it up and running.

This is a great site! I only wish I had some knowledge to share!!

Dave

I'm surprised to see no one mention the convient 1 qt bottles of "back to chlor" or flip out. They are made for changing pools from baquacil back to chlorine. They are not very expensive and among everything else they work. Is there a reason why they weren't mentioned? I just thought it was weird when I read you may have to add 40 jugs of bleach and watch the pretty colors

http://www.troublefreepool.com/alternative-approaches-to-conversion-t10384.html

The alternatives have been mentioned.

TFP is all about using everyday readily available products from the grocery store or Wal-mart, etc., big box stores, avoiding typical (and usually expensive) pool store chems.

Yeah,
I checked out that stuff, and it's like 39.00 a bottle. I would need 1 1/2 bottles, then follow all kinds of instructions. I've had it with the overpriced pool place chemicals that NEVER corrected the problems !!! Can't wait till' Friday !!!!

Ok,
I couldn't wait, and started the conversion around 8:30 pm today. I'm still new to this, so I'm going to research a little on here. Any advice is GREATLY appreciated !!! I just want to get an idea on how long before the water starts to get a little close to clear again. ( ha ha ). I guess the main thing for me tonight, is to check the fc level every hour until I go to bed, and add as needed. Any advice in the morning ? Add a little more for the day, or wait until later in the day when the sun isn't hitting the pool ? The water turned yellow in like 5 minutes. Weird to look at I guess it will stay yellow, orange etc. for quite a few days ???
Thanks,
John

The longer you can keep the FC level at 15, the faster the conversion will go. The first day or so the bleach will almost instantly be consumed by the baquacil and you'll have to add a lot. I ended up using about 40 gallons for the conversion. My pool took about 3 days to get clear again, but I was putting bleach in every hour as needed to keep the level at 15. I didn't care if the sun was shining on it or not. I just wanted it to be done as quickly as possible. Just keep adding bleach and be patient and you'll have a clear pool in no time. Follow the instructions in Pool School and it will go flawless.

I'm guessing a week or so?

I suggest taking photos and posting them here, I don't think that I have see a yellow conversion yet! And, when you think that you are not making progress, you can refer to the photos and see that you are indeed getting through it all.

Thanks for the info !!! I can't seem to get the pool calculator to work. I'm just putting in the now level, and the level I want to get to in the fc box. When I hit calculate, nothing happens. Even when I hover over the box. Do I have to change all the goal levels to make it work ? My FC was zero, and went to in between 2 and 3 after the initial dose. I'm going to add another three 182 oz bottles, then come back in to see if I could get it to work. Do you think I will be adding another 3 bottles before midnight tonight ? I picked up 10, and will get another 10 tomorrow. I did click a pic or two when I started. We'll see what happens.
Thanks again,
John

I have found the calculator to be slow at times . Be patient ....