I tried to make it simple for myself, so I called the pool guy and asked him to convert from baqua to chlorine. He said no problem, took a water sample to this office, came back and poured 40 gallon 10% sodium hypochlorite shock in my 30,000 gallon pool. When I came home was surprised to see 40 (=fourty !!) empty gallon-sized chlorine shock containers... Though it is too late now, I did the math, and calculated that he raised the chlorine level to 164 ppm with this one large dose of chlorine shock. Is this one of the reasonable conversion methods ? Seems kind of aggressive to me... Please advise (=should I change part of the water before such high chlorine level damages pump/filter/tubing/etc or it is not a concern?!). Thanks

Absolutely not. If you have a plaster pool, he will probably get away with it (if you have a vinyl liner and low CYA, there is a good chance your liner has been bleached) but what we teach on the forum is a carefully controlled process that keeps chlorine (and everything else) in a manageable zone.

It's an AG pool... seems pretty darn high!!!

Karmen, I am sorry to hear about your troubles, but now that it is done all you can do is deal with it, keep a careful eye on your pump and filter for leaks, replace seals that may have been damaged before any water leaks get too far (to the pump motor, etc.) and be aware that the life of your liner was probably greatly reduced if it is a vinyl pool, if it is too bad it may require replacement.

Ike

Get your camera and take pictures of the pool and all your equipment, plus all those empty chlorine containers. Document what he has done to the pool so far in case any damages show up. How old is the liner and equipment?

This is exactly what crossed my mind seeing what the guy did to my pool - possibly shortening the life of the vinyl liner. I will document everything and keep receipts. Thanks for the responses.