I just want to already thank you all for the information you've already given to us, and this is my first post! We are converting to chlorine from Baquacil after wintering. Our pool store told us to drain it and shock the water that we left in the bottom, but that seemed counter intuitive since if you can shock that water, why not all the water? And everything we read said don't drain an above ground pool unless you have to, because it's dangerous to do yourself.

We bought a house with a pool, had the pool professionally opened (without chemicals) so we could see where things went. The previous owners used Baquacil and the water is beautiful after wintering with no algae and no slimy feeling on any surfaces. But we don't want Baquacil due to cost, the many multiples of stories of people liking it one year and hating it the others (they only used it one or two years), and the fear that as new pool owners (neither grew up with a pool either) that if there is a problem we would not be able to easily fix it. So, no Baquacil.

We simply HAD a large bucket of cal-hypo from Walmart (HTH brand) so we are using that instead of bleach. If we use this up, we'll go to bleach. We used the pool calculator online to figure out how much to add to raise the free chlorine to 10ppm, 33 ounces. We have an above ground oval 28 x 16 x 4ft deep pool so from what I understand, with a vinyl pool 10ppm is what we're aiming for until this is done. (Right?)

As soon as we put in the cal-hypo, the clear water turned a cloudy green. So, now we're going to be testing and watching the colors turn! We hope we don't ruin it!

There is a real good article in our pool school section about Convert Your Baqua Pool to Chlorine.

Welcome to TFP!

Did you do a full set of water tests on the pool before you started? If you don't have test results, it would be a good idea to get some water test results. If you have them it great if you posted them. We might might be able to help you with something you missed.

Cal-hypo adds calcium to the pool. If you add to much your calcium level can get too high and cause calcium scaling. This doesn't normally happen right away, it usually takes a while. But if you don't know your starting calcium level you won't have any idea how much is safe to use.

Also, we love to see pictures of the water as you progress in the conversions

Hi mkat and welcome to the forum

Once your conversion is completed you will surely be a much happier pool owner with a pool that you will be able to control.

When you get a momemt, please add your pool & equipment specs in your signature and your location in your profile. This will be very helpful, in fact needed, if you should have questions concerning your pool.

What test kit are you using?

Good luck with the conversion and don't forget the pix!

Good luck, conversions are always interesting for us to follow!

I'll second Joyce, you need a good test kit, you can read about the recommended test kits in pool school, but an FAS-DPD test kit is essential when doing a conversion. (I personally have a TF100, and I highly recommend it.)

Thanks! That's what I'm following

JasonLion:
Here's the workup from the pool store.
0 Free Available Chlorine
0 Total Available Chlorine
- Bromine
7.4 Water Ph
100 Total Alkalinity
200 Calcium Hardness
0 Cyanuric Acid

I'm taking pictures as we go along, but I can't find my usb cord to upload the pics (well, moved recently). Hopefully, I'll find it and begin to post them. Right now the pool is very cloudy, green, and has a tan/cream colored foamy **** on top. I can't seem to KEEP chlorine in it at all, every time I test it after a few hours it's virtually gone! Is all of this normal?

Butterfly and frustratedpoolmom:
Thanks for the advice on the signature! Right now, we're using a cheap test strip kit from WalMart but have the TF-100 on order!

Yes, the foam is normal and so is having to add chlorine what seems like constantly.

Your test numbers look good.

You do not want to use more than 25 or perhaps 30 lbs of cal-hypo. That is a fairly large amount, but many conversions use more chlorine than that.

Everything you describe is normal.

Oh, thank goodness. Thank you for sharing that!


We're almost out of a 16lb container of cal-hypo, we'll go to regular 6% bleach after this is gone. That should be in about when we add more in about an hour. Thanks for helping me on this, I can't imagine trying to figure this out based on what our pool store was telling us.

A question: we should be backwashing, right? Why is that?

You do want to backwash any time the filter pressure goes up by about 6 PSI over the starting pressure. You do this because otherwise too much gunk builds up in the filter and blocks the flow of water.

How about the color changes in the water ?? Arent they spectacular ?
Any chance of sharing them with us. We love to see Baqua converts !

Let's hope he finds his USB cord cuz I'm getting anxious to see pics too! *rubbing hands in anticipation*

Well, I'm a She

I can't find the stinking USB cord in the boxes...yet, but I'm at least taking the pictures.

Right now it has a LOT less foamy gunk floating on top and it's turning a bluey-green instead of the muddy green it was. It seems to be holding chlorine longer and not racing through it so fast.

I hope we're getting there!

Oh, and yes, backwashing several times a day is definitely helping!

I knew when I wrote that, I was taking a chance. My guess was wrong! Sorry! <I'm a she too>

Keep taking pics! Can't wait to see them!! It sounds like you're on your way!!!

WE HAVE BLUE!

Yesterday, we definitely saw a major improvement. The water is now as clear as it was before we started this conversion, the robot is cleaning up some debris on the bottom, there is only a bit of sludge to brush off from the water line...but the water is clear and holding chlorine beautifully! Today, I think we might actually be done but it's hard to tell until all the debris is cleaned up (I actually wonder if the debris is from the cal-hypo?) and we brush the pool, then we can see just how clear the water really is.

I received the TF-100 test kit today, a great deal and so much more accurate. Thank you so much for making this! Right now, our free chlorine is at 7.5ppm, and I just added bleach to raise it to 10ppm, possibly for the last time. I want to see if it's holding now that I have a more accurate kit and I think the water could be a bit clearer.

Really, though, this conversion has been so much easier and cheaper than we were told it would be by the pool store guys. I'm still looking for that darn USB cord, but when I find that in the mess of moving boxes, I'll be sure to post the day by day details and a summary. I'm grateful for everyone else's pictures and stories, it was the only way we knew we were on the right track and that everything was normal. Because oh BOY did things look awful at first!

Thank you! I'll keep updating

I know your excited. But this is where POP comes into play. I can pretty much assure you that even though you see blue, it's very likely you are not done shocking.

From the Pool School article on conversions:



An overnight test means you test after sunset, add more bleach to reach 15 if necessary, and if you do add bleach wait a half hour and test again. Then in the morning, before sun hits the pool, test the FC again and compare it with the last test. If you lose 1ppm or less of FC, you are golden!

So after your FC holds at 15 overnight, you will want to do # 8 which is change the sand in your filter. Your conversion will not be complete until you do so. After you change out the sand, you need to add CYA. Use the pool calculator to determine dosing. Add 2/3 of the recommended dose to start, as it's best to sneak up on your CYA target, you don't want to overshoot.

I hope this all makes sense. Great job!

P.S....After you're done shocking, and you are ready to take the next steps.... before you get CYA in the pool the sunlight will consume all of your FC. So frequent testing with the OTO test (in the little blue box part of the kit) to make sure you still have a FC residual in the pool at all times is essential. YOu will likely have to add bleach twice a day to make sure you have enough FC. Once you add CYA you will see the FC holding for longer periods.

frustratedpoolmom: Thank you for the info! I don't know if it makes sense quite yet, but as I go along things are getting easier to understand.

About the changing the sand, our sand is brand new...what is accomplished by changing it after a conversion like this?