Well I decided to convert from Baqua b/c my oxidizer wasn't lasting 2 days. Thought as many post as there are here I could do it by reading them and not asking questions. But of course I have a question now.

I somehow missed the fact that PH should have been 7.2-7.4.I have used 20some bottles of bleach, vacuumed, scrubbed, backwashed, all numerous times. My water is just slightly hazy only in the deep end. Shallow is crystal clear. Oh, and I started on Wednesday(2 days ago).

Didn't get my kit until later today but I still had some FC this AM based on a test strip. I added some bleach throughout the day today but tonight I have raised my levels and FC is 15.5. My PH however is 7.8.

At this point I am wondering if it matters and if I should go ahead and lower it. Just out of curiosity, what is the reason for PH needing to be this?

Thanks for all the help!

You're in good shape!

When FC gets 10+ in a pool, the pH test becomes unreliable and tests falsely high.

The 7.8 you are now testing is probably lower than that. In any case, don't do a thing about it for now. Focus on keeping the FC where it belongs, vacuum, backwash/clean your filter when needed, brush when you can and you'll soon have a sparkling pool.

When you don't have any CYA in the water, which is true during a baquacil conversion, chlorine is more effective at lower PH levels. It isn't a huge problem or anything, but well worth lowering the PH to around 7.2 to 7.4 the next time your FC level is below 5.

You guys are quick! Thanks a bunch! I'll keep reading but can't promise I won't have another question or 2 or 10.

Oh, I knew I had another question. Can I turn my heatpump back on? I turned it off b/c I didn't know what effects it would have on it. Thanks!

We love questions and I'm not sure I know the answer to that one. My gut reaction would be to leave it off but others with heaters will be along soon and give an answer that's meaningful.

I would agree with leaving it off -- why spend the $$ to heat a pool if you won't be using it for a few days?

Well, because I feel like I'm close and it takes at least 2 day to heat. So if it's no big deal to go ahead and start it why would I want to wait until the day I can get in it and have cold water?

You can run the heat pump if you want, but I would wait until the final stage of the conversion. When you get to the point of adding CYA (when overnight loss is 1.0 or lower) you are usually about two days from complete.

Thanks, I will wait until then. Last night it went from 15 to 10.5. So maybe soon!

Yesterday am FC dropped 1 and I checked CC and it was .5. So I changed sand, added CYA. This AM FC dropped 3, CC were 1. I retested and got a 3 point difference on the FC. SO I checked again and got another completely different from the other 2. This was all from the same cup of water.

I am completely confused as I thought things were going so smooth. And I refuse to change the sand again, too tough for a woman to do alone more than once a year or so. So don't even suggest I need to do that once the FC is stable. I thought it was!

I seen someone else complain about the level of the powder you add for FC having to be heaping. This is also an issue for me, I scoop dump and rescoop until I get the amount I think I had at the previous test. Also, the granuals are all different sizes, sometimes none of the big stuff gets in my scoop. I assumed none of this mattered, but know that I have 3 different results from the same cup of water I'm wondering if it does.

So now I'm frustrated. Advice please? Thanks a bunch!

I can not tell you why you are getting a difference in your FC testing but the amount of powder you use doesn't matter as long as you use enough to turn the solution pink.

Don't fret too much about it. Keep the FC at 15 and continue.

When performing the FAS-DPD test you can either use one heaping scoop or two level scoops. Don't worry about the big chunks. Another thing you should do is thouroughly swirl the mixture. Not swirling enough will cause inconsistent results. I use the speed-stir and can replicate the results within one drop every time and most of the time it's dead on every time. When I was doing it by hand it would be off by two or three drops because I would get lazy swirling.

Okay, I'll try to be more consistent when swirling. How long should I keep my FC at 15? At what point is it safe to swim? I did the CYA test last night and this am and although I could still see the dot I could definitely tell a difference in it.

The FC level will drop during the day even when everything is perfect. How much FC drops at night is interesting, but how much it drops during the day is not.

It is common for the CC level to fluctuate a little towards the end of a conversion. Having CC show up as 1 is normal, and just means that you aren't quit done yet.

It is fine that you changed the sand. You are very very close to complete, so it will be fine.

Using the same water sample you should get the same FC level if you test several times in a row. However, this is not always true if you are testing outdoors in the sunlight. Sunlight can be using up chlorine while you are in the middle of testing, changing the results you get.

When testing the FC level, you need to move along fairly quickly. If the entire FC test takes more than one minute the results are often wrong. Ideally you should be swirling constantly and adding drops about once per second, or just a little faster, until you get near the end of the test. Right near the end you need to slow down to be sure you spot the transition to clear correctly. Keep an eye out for the sample turning almost clear but just slightly pink, which still needs another drop to go completely clear. As soon as the sample turns completely clear for 15 seconds you are done with that phase of the test.

You probably don't want to do the CYA test too often. It uses a lot of reagent and you will run out if you test CYA too often. Normally you want to wait a full week after adding CYA before testing the CYA level again.

Keep your FC level at 15 until the overnight FC loss is 1.0 or lower and the CC level has been 0.5 or lower for two days in a row.

Maybe it was the time it took to do the test wasn't comsistent. Still trying to get the swirl while dropping thing down, kind of like the trick where you pat your head and circle rub your stomach at the same time, LOL!

So at the point where FC loss is 1 or less and cc is 0.5 x 2 days, what do I maintain my FC at? Is this the point when its okay to swim?

When FC loss is 1 or less and cc is 0.5 x 2 days you switch to following the normal recommendations, where your ideal FC level depends on your CYA level as shown in this chart. Yes, when you get to that point you are good to swim, though it is good to double check all of your other levels at that point and make sure nothing else is out of range.

Had the neighbors who are teenagers over to swim this evening, first time anyone has been in since converting. While they were swimming I asked them if they could tell a difference in the water. I was thinking oh I hope they don't say it smells like chlorine. They said it smells better, not like a pond anymore
And that the water before felt thicker! So I put my legs in and it does feel different! So glad I switched. Thanks to everyone here!

I think anyone who was like me and didn't really have issues with baqua needs to know that you will not necessarily know you have issues until you swith and feel and smell the difference.

THANKS !!!!!!!

I tested my TA with my test kit this evening and I am unsure of the results. Instructions say count drops it taked to turn red. Well mine turned pink, and took many drops to get it to dark pink. Should I go with the # when it first turned pink? I just kept adding drops b/c I assumed when it said red it meant red not pink. This test kit is bittersweet I must say. It's making me crazy right now.

You add drops until it starts turning any color in the red/pink family. Then you continue adding drops as long as the color continues changing every drop. The first drop that does not change the color further means the test is over and does not count towards the TA level.