So after doing some reading on here and another board I decided to take the plunge. I haven't opened the pool yet, so I figured now is the time while my softswim levels are low.


I took a water sample to the pool store down the street from me and had it tested. the tests were as follows.

softswim B: 6 ppm
softswim C: 0 ppm
PH: 7.1
total alk.: 49
total hard.: 79

that was all that was tested as I know there is -0- chlorine in the pool.


I added some PH booster to raise the PH slightly. Vacuumed all the debris to waste, and prepared myself for the leap. Following Jasons pool calculator, I dumped 3.4 bottles of regular 960z. clorox into the pool slowly. The water turned emerald green by the end of the first bottle and only darkened up a bit by the end of the third. I can still see the bottom of the pool, but only slighlty and through a thick green watery haze. Should be interesting.


I told the pool store I would be back around 3:15 to check again. This time I will have them run a test for softswim as well as a test for chlorine. I don't have a good test kit, but am ordering one from the link on this site. My pool store is only a mile away and they told me my best bet was to just bring it to them and let them run the tests for me untill I can get a kit. They have a couple kits there, but nothing that rates over 3ppm chlorine.

My wife (who is completely against me changing the pool to chlorine) has the camera, so no pictures for right now.

I just walked out to check the pool. It has gone from a green to a light blue and I can see the bottom easily. I'm guessing either the softswim has eaten all the chlorine already, or this won't be as painful as I thought it would be. Which would be a great bonus point to put toward convincing my wife this was a good idea. Its been 45 minutes to an hour since I added the clorox.


I guess I should add what I am working with here. I have a 21' above ground pool rated at 10,500 gallons. A hayward power-flo Matrix 3/4 or 1 hp pool pump and a hayward 100 lb. capacity (iirc) sand filter.

You will love your pool after the conversion! My pool has never looked better. And it's so much easier to maintain! Just pick up what chemicals you need (bleach, baking soda, borax) at your local grocery store or big box store and you're set. And once you get your new test kit, it really couldn't be easier. It takes me 5 minutes a day, tops, to maintain my pool now.

PH: 6.9
TA: 47
chlorine: 1.3


Not sure what the cc is. My pool store people are a bit frustrating. She tried to tell me that my conversion is complete. I explained to her what the steps are to the conversion, but she said, no, if the water turned blue and your chlorine level is 1.3 that is good. I just smiled, said thank you, and walked out of the store. I really need to get my test kit.

question about the test kit. Will it measure up to 15ppm of chlorine or will I still have to go to the pool store to get that high of a reading? I plan on getting the TF100 test kit.

TF100 will measure up to 50ppm

The XL option may be good for you since you will be test for FC and CC a LOT at the start.

I was thinking the same thing. At the risk of jinxing myself, I think mine will go relatively smoothly as the water has already cleared considerably. Its not clear, but it is a light hazy blue and I can see the bottom easily. It was green for about 15 minutes before it cleared. I was figuring it would be green/brown/purple/etc. etc. for a few days before it started to turn.

I recommend raising TA to around 70, and PH to at least 7.2. Other than that, keep working on it as described in the conversion article in Pool School.

I had errands to run this morning so I had to put off the pool for a little while.

I adjusted the jet up to break the water surface last night in the hopes it would raise the PH. The water is clear and looks really good.

the numbers...

FC: .5
PH: 7.9
TA: 42


So I am gonna punch the numbers into the calculator and run to the store. I am out of bleach anyway. Is the PH alright, or should I bring that down as well? I am gonna turn the jet back to the normal position once I am done typing this.

What you need to know is the combined chlorine so I'd say to add your bleach, let it circulate and then take a sample to the pool store for testing. (bet you can't wait for your test kit to arrive, heh...) Additionally, are you going to manually add CYA or do you plan on using trichlor at any point? I ask because once you begin with the trichlor, it'll drop the pH. You don't want CYA till your conversion is really complete, so knowing the CC and softswim numbers will help you decide when to add CYA. I don't think you're quite there yet though...

Raise the TA like Jason said. And if you're still converting, by all means lower pH to 7.2'ish now manually. Looks like you are maintaining a consistent pH rise at the moment. Higher alkalinity will help maintain less pH fluctuation so absolutely tackle TA right away. Do you have any water features running? Any thing that creates bubbles? That will raise pH, so if you do, maybe turn those off more often. You'll be able to run them more when TA is around 70, it'll be more difficult to raise it with aireation actually.

The paper I got from the pool store has it listed
tot. chlorine: .5
free chlorine: .5
I'm guessing the total chlorine is .5 and the FC is zero.



I haven't really thought about it to much, but I will probably just add it manually.




the only thing I had to airate was turning the jet up toward the surface to break the surface of the water. I turned it down before I went to the store. I am going to add another dose of bleach and some baking soda to tackle the TA, give it an hour or so and head back to the store for another reading. Luckily my pool store is only a few minutes away.

Yeah, get some chlorine into the pool and then look at the TC and FC numbers. With it being so low right now, those results are quite suspect. Report back here and ask questions any time you need.

You don't need to aerate, that is part of the process of lowering TA. To raise TA you add baking soda.

Ok thank you. I did go to the store and got 4lbs. of Baking soda per the calculator and added it. I am just letting everything sink in before i go back for another reading.

My new numbers....


total chlorine: 9.5
free chlorine: 8.4
PH: 8.4
TA: 65


Should I try to raise the TA up to 70 or is 65 "good enough" Not sure if I should be striving for perfection or leaving well enough alone.

I also have some low-n-slo. Can I use that to lower the PH or should I just toss it and get some muriatic acid? If the low-n-slo will work I would like to use that (for now, untill it is all gone as I have a full bottle) but if it will end up giving me headaches I will just not use it. I just looked, and I have 100% sodium bisulfate left, it just says ph decreaser. I guess I will use that first untill someone responds with a yay or nay on the low-n-slo


Gonna go put some more chlorine in the pool.

total chlorine: .3
free chlorine: 0
PH: 7.1
TA: 73
Total hardness: 72

Not sure if you were looking for a response to the last post or just record keeping.

Obviously you need more chlorine.

Posted with Tapatalk ... sorry if I sound short ... hate typing on phone

Nope, I was just keeping record, but any response is welcome.

This is a long process for an impatient person.

temp. 75
CYA: 0
tot. chlorine: 1.5
free chlorine: .6
PH: 7.5
ALK: 79
tot. hardness: 79


back to add more clorox. I got lucky this week though. My local grocery store has the 96oz jugs on sale 2/$4, and if you spend at least $20 on them you get a $7 off coupon for your next visit. So the last batch (10 jugs) I bought cost me $21.20 and this batch will only cost me $14.20 as will the next. Hopefully that will be all I need as I am hoping to have this thing up and usuable by the weekend.

It does take some POP especially toward the end when things are slowing down.

Two good indicators of how much progress you have made are how much chlorine you are losing overnight and what the CC level is first thing in the morning.