Well, well, well what do you know, the FC held at 15 overnight.

FC 15
CC 4.5
ph 7.2
TA 120
CYA 0

Will test again this evening and see if chlorine holds overnight and the CC comes down any. Looks like we're getting close though. Should we change out the sand tonight or give it one more night since we're supposed to get more storms this evening?

Looking good!

Given the high CC and the forecast for rain and not sun, I'd say keep it at shock another night.

Will do!

We're getting close. The FC only dropped 1 last night and the CC has come down a bit. Here's this morning's test.

FC 14
CC 1.5
ph 7.2
TA 120
CYA 0

Great! Since FC only fell by 1 you are ready to replace the filter media and then start adding CYA. Continue to keep FC at 15 until CC is 0.5 or lower for 36 hours.

Woohoo!

Will it matter if we wait till tomorrow to change the sand? We have more rain/storms coming through today.

How long after the conversion is complete & the water is balanced should I wait to add the borates? I have ordered the Lamotte test strips and was planning on picking up the borax/muriatic acid next week when I go to the store.

There is no harm in waiting to replace the filter media, just be sure to raise FC up to 15 this evening.

You can add borates as soon as the FC level comes down to normal levels, ie after adding CYA and having CC remain at 0.5 or lower for 36 hours.

Cool! Does this mean we can swim this weekend after adding the CYA? It's finally supposed to hot & sunny again and I'm starting to get the 'mom, can we swim now?' questions. lol

I really want to thank you & this forum. You guys have made this process so easy. Everyone is so helpful.

You can swim 24 hours after adding CYA as long as CC is 0.5 or lower. You can add CYA right after you replace the filter media.

Great. thanks.

It finally stopped raining & the sand has been changed and I filled a knee high nylon up with 2lbs (half of the recommended TPC dose) of CYA. We are rockin' n' rollin' now. LOL

Once the 2lbs of CYA is dissolved, should I test the CYA level before adding the 2nd half of the dose or not worry about it just yet?

Go ahead and add the rest of the CYA tomorrow. Then wait a week, test the CYA level again, and decide if you need to adjust it further.

ok, so I 'think' we're done with our conversion. We changed the sand & added CYA in a sock yesterday, it was dissolved by late evening, topped up the chlorine to 15 and these were my numbers this morning.

FC 14
CC .5
ph 7.2
TA 120
CYA 30

Do I need to raise the ph any right now or give a couple of days?

Water looks great, will get some updated pics today.

Congratulations! You are done!

In terms of fine tuning, I expect your PH will creep up slowly over time, so you might as well let it do that instead of raising it now. 7.2 to 7.8 is swimmable. If the PH goes down at all you should raise it.

Woohoo!

Thanks for all the info. Guess I'll go start hanging out other sections of the forum now. lol

Added some updated pics here.