I used baquacil in my pool this year and want to switch to chlorine. My local retailer suggested that I add 4 bottles of chlorine before closing my pool for the winter, leaving me completely unprepared for the chemical reaction which ensued. Now, I seem to have started a massive conversion that I'm feeling very intimidated by. I've read many threads here and it seems to only be adding to my intimidation factor (since I'm totally unfamiliar with all the terms being used... ppm? FC?). My main question is this: wouldn't it be easier to empty the pool, clean the liner, clean the filter and then refill the pool and start from scratch? What would the main drawbacks to this be? Thanks in advance for your help!

Remember to post pictures of the conversion! They really help along the way.

How big is your pool? Care to post some numbers?

I would raise the chlorine to at least 20 ppm and keep it there day and night while backwashing and brushing often. Do you have a sand filter? You'll have to replace the sand during the process.

It is a 21' round above ground pool and I do have a sand filter. Will I be able to replace the sand while the filter is still attached, or will I have to disconnect everything and then reconnect it when done?

Dave welcome to TFP Draining the pool is not recommended, you can run into liner issues, etc.

Have you visited pool school (button on upper right of this page) Read through it a few times and especially this article pool-school/baqua_chlorine_conversion

I think you will find you will need a lot of liquid chlorine, but it is worth the investment

You can empty the sand when the conversion is done and the pool is full. Simply disconnect your hoses at the pump and the filter and sling them over your pool wall while you are working on the filter.

Good luck with the conversion...oh yeah and you will want to invest in a good test kit. For Baqua converters I recommend the TF100XL from tftestkits.net, although the TF100 or the taylor k2006 will do just fine as well. The TF100XL has more FC testing reagent than the tf100 but you can read about the test kits we recommend here

pool-school/pool_test_kit_comparison

If your pool is plumbed with ridged pipe you won't be able to "sling them over the wall"! Hopefully if you have ridged pipe you will also have valves and unions that will allow you to disconnect the filter and change out the sand.

If you aren't sure how the plumbing is set up post a couple of pictures of the equipment showing how it connects to the pool and we can offer even more advice!

After the conversion, I will be closing my pool for the winter, so changing the sand then will be easy. Having your help here is making me much more comfortable about going through this process. I guess my biggest concern now would be the cost of going through this conversion. The testing kits alone are quite pricey and, as you mentioned, I'm sure I'll need lots of chlorine. Would any of you be able to estimate the total cost of this conversion? If it's something I just can't afford to do now, how bad would it be to close the pool as is and then complete the conversion upon opening it next year?

Rough guess is about $100-$200 in chlorine. The test kit is really needed regardless of whether your converting or not. The ket to a Trouble Free Pool is knowing your water chemistry and how certain chemicals affect it. A good kit helps you know what's going on and saves you money. I'd hate to ask what it cost you to run Baq this season? I run a cheap intex swg and if I spend $20/month to keep the pool under control, I'd be surprised. Compare that to when I relied on pool store advice and silly test strips, I was shocking once a week, add a quart of this a lb of that and my water looked horrible.

You could certainly just cover the pool and do the conversion in the spring...it may take a few more gallons of bleach, but should not be a big deal. Although I'm not 100% sure since you already added chlorine

So, I am now leaning toward covering the pool and doing the conversion in the spring. However, I do have leaves and debris in the pool (which I cannot now see due to the color of the water) and I'm wondering if that would cause any problems if left in the pool all winter. Would it be safe to cover it like this?