Converting from Baquacil after 17 years!

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Shpibby

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Jun 11, 2016
21
Lynchburg, VA
17 years ago we bought our house and it came with a pool :) We had the liner replaced when we purchased the house and 2 summers ago we needed to replace the liner again (14+ years is pretty good - right?). My wife grew up with a pool but always hated the burning of the chlorine and the strong odor (we have come to believe that the upkeep of that pool was not done correctly). 17 years ago we were new to pool ownership and when we found out that Baquacil was an option we decided to go that route mainly because of the negatives mentioned above and the ease of upkeep. Over the years we have had our ups and downs but overall owning a pool has been a fun and positive experience... until we noticed the cost increases! Baquacil prices have jumped up recently and after spending way more than we have ever justified last year, my wife and I said that in order for us to continue opening our pool we have to figure out how to save some money! Here in VA it has been unseasonably cool so we decided to wait until after our beach trip to begin anew. We got back from the beach last weekend and began searching for Baquacil alternatives. I came across TFP and feel that chlorine may be the answer we are looking for - if done the right way!


Since we knew that we were done with Baquacil I did not add anything before covering our pool for the winter. When I took the cover off Monday evening I was met with a cloudy mess! I have been working on cleaning the mess off of the bottom as I have had time after work each day and I'm probably over half of the way finished. I started with the shallow end and have worked my way down toward the deep end stopping when the water got so cloudy that I couldn't see to continue. I've allowed the filter to do its thing and have not stirred the water in the past 2 days. This morning I can see the bottom of the deep end for the first time this season and have a clear picture of the muck and mire that I still need to remove. However, since taking the cover off it seems that algae has started to grow as the shallow end now has a green tint. Before doing anything else I decided to join TFP and ask for some advice. So after all of that background info (sorry for it being so long) here are my main questions:


1. As I finish cleaning up the nasty bottom of our pool should I add anything to the water? Keep in mind that I am concerned about the algae.


2. I have been spoiled over the past 17 years to a pool store that I have taken a water sample to every week, so I do not own a kit to test my own water. Is it worth purchasing a kit locally to at least get started and then (after being advised on which kit to purchase) ordering a good kit online?


3. Is there a better place to purchase bleach than my local WalMart and if I want to take advantage of the time I have this weekend can you advise me on the amount of bleach I should stockpile?


4. Besides the typical Baquacil branded products, I have 50+ pounds of Calcium Chloride flakes and 25+ pounds of Sodium Bicarbonate I have been purchasing from a local feed store for ALOT cheaper than my pool store!! Will I still need these? If so, are there other things that I may need that can be purchased cheaper elsewhere?


5. Should I try to sell the remaining Baquacil branded products that I have and if so, how do you recommend that I do that?


Lastly, please feel free to give me any advice I may have not thought to ask for as this will be a new experience for us after 17 years of using Baquacil.


Thanks,
Stuart
 
Shpibby said:
1. As I finish cleaning up the nasty bottom of our pool should I add anything to the water? Keep in mind that I am concerned about the algae.
Before you deal with algae, you have to decide if converting is what you want to do. And NOW is the time to do it since you think your Baqua levels are low. Once you start adding chlorine in to the pool you'll be working to overcome the Bacqua and get it OUT of there. Please read this: Pool School - Convert Your Baqua Pool to Chlorine


2. I have been spoiled over the past 17 years to a pool store that I have taken a water sample to every week, so I do not own a kit to test my own water. Is it worth purchasing a kit locally to at least get started and then (after being advised on which kit to purchase) ordering a good kit online?
Absolutely you need your own test kit. We only trust two on the market for their accuracy as well as having the right tests all together. I would recommend you order the TF-100 XL, with a speed stir device for ease of testing. It will ultimately save you GOBS of money, I promise. You can get one pretty quick via TFTestkits.net They ship from NC so it should be fast to VA.

3. Is there a better place to purchase bleach than my local WalMart and if I want to take advantage of the time I have this weekend can you advise me on the amount of bleach I should stockpile?
You can price out higher percentage liquid chlorine at local pool stores but Wallyworld also carries 10% pool chlorine for about $2.50 I've read. Most laundry bleach these days is 8.25%.


4. Besides the typical Baquacil branded products, I have 50+ pounds of Calcium Chloride flakes and 25+ pounds of Sodium Bicarbonate I have been purchasing from a local feed store for ALOT cheaper than my pool store!! Will I still need these? If so, are there other things that I may need that can be purchased cheaper elsewhere?
Vinyl pools don't need calcium so perhaps you can sell that on Craigs list? You might need the baking soda over time, but I'd venture to say you have a life time supply :) For a bacqua conversion you only need liquid chlorine at first...then later you'll add CYA stabilizer. You'll also need to change the sand out in your filter when the conversion is complete. Bacqua-goo will have coated your sand with slimey stuff so can't be cleaned.

5. Should I try to sell the remaining Baquacil branded products that I have and if so, how do you recommend that I do that?
Can you return them and use the credit towards liquid chlorine?


Lastly, please feel free to give me any advice I may have not thought to ask for as this will be a new experience for us after 17 years of using Baquacil.


Thanks,
Stuart
Click to expand...

You're going to LOVE how easy your pool is to care for once you get that Bacqua-goo out. Its going to help your wallet a LOT too!!

Start reading Pool school too- ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry

(*we LOVE pictures of bacqua conversions.. please?)

Yip :flower:
 
One more thing- when pools smell strongly of chlorine its because they're overwhelmed with contaminates believe it or not! The chlorine present isn't high enough and the pool is reeking with combined chloramines (aka "cooties)

Your wife won't believe how clean your pool will be after you convert. Honest!
 
The conversion process uses chlorine dosed and maintained at 15ppm with NO stabilizer (CYA) in the water. So the amount of oxidizing hypochlorous acid in the water is HUGE (about 150X what is normally found in chlorine pools).

Don't worry about algae, it will all be destroyed by the chlorine.

You're also going to need muriatic acid to adjust the pH down to 7.2 before you add any chlorine. But ultimately, to do it right, you need a test kit first. While you're waiting for that, keep manually clearing the muck out of your pool, the conversion will go better when all solid mass is removed.
 
Since I don't have a test kit yet I took a water sample to a pool store. Here are the results:

Temp - 78
Sat. Index - 0.1
TDS - 500
BQ - 18
pH - 7.6
Tot. Alk. - 90
Tot. Hard - 288

With this info, it there anything I can start doing before my test kit arrives?
 
Not really. The good news is your Baquacil level is a lot lower than most people's when they want to convert so hopefully that bodes well for the speed of your conversion.

Just get as much of those solids out of the bottom of the pool as possible. If you have time, you might give your sand filter a deep clean out - Deep Cleaning a Sand Filter

The conversion process itself is going to crate a lot of oxidized Baqua-goop and the cleaner your filter, the better. Also, see if you can get hair nets for your skimmer to use as cheap, disposable skimmer socks -

Disposable Hair Net, Spun-Bonded Polypropylene, White, 100 per Bag: Science Lab Hairnets: Amazon.com: Industrial Scientific

Catching and keeping the goop out of your filter will help a lot.
 
Before you do anything, order one of the recomended test kits. Yes, it may seem like a substantial outlay of dough, but it is nothing compared to the $100s you will save (nay...$thousands over time) by no longer buying BQ products.

Second, Get your pH to 7.2 and buy a s___load of liquid chlorine.

Third familiarize yourself with PoolMath and the Conversion procedures.

Once you get your test kit, test your water yourself.

Finally put all of your theoretical knowledge to practice. In as little as a week's time, the rest of the season, and for seasons to come, you'll be happy you went through the process.
 
Ordered the TFT-100 XL and SpeedStir (as recommended by Yip!) Hopefully will get my order in just a couple days! I want to go ahead and purchase some liquid chlorine - how much is a good amount to have ready? 20, 25, 30 gallons? I'l get whatever y'all think I'll need. Just want to be ready - my kids are giving me a hard time ... They better be this excited to use the pool when I'm done :)
 
Make sure you get new sand for your filter as you will be replacing it after the conversion.

So in order to go from 0 to 15ppm FC in your 21000 gallon pool, you're going to need 466oz of 8.25% (standard laundry) bleach. That will be approximately four 121oz bottles of bleach. If you can find 10% chlorinating liquid for cheaper, then you'll need 403oz, or approximately three and one-tenth bottles (128oz jugs). Figure the minute you pour in the bleach it will get completely consumed with oxidizing the Baquacil and it won't even register on the FC test. It could take 3 to 4 rounds of additions before you get any FC to hold. So 15-20 bottles of bleach is probably a good start...don't worry, you'll use it all. And when you roll out of Walmart with a palate cart full of bleach, you will be starred at as either insane or someone trying to clean up a murder scene...
 

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Oh my gosh, you ALL are going to be so excited when its done. It will be cleaner and more sparkly than you ever saw!!
It won't take long to get that test kit, it ships from next door to you in VA.

Take a moment to price out basic 8.25% bleach from the market (Walmart is fine) against the 10% liquid chlorine in the pool department of Walmart, and even ask your local pool stores or feed stores if they sell liquid chlorine? When they do its generally higher percentage which means you'd use less each time. Also, you'll want to check the production date on the bleach/liquid chlorine. Its common to see it as a Julian date (2016163 = 2016 June 12th) or something similar. Or an expiration date which is commonly a year after production. Get the freshest you can, no more than 3 months old. Don't buy it from Lowes or HomeDepot or any store that stores pallets of chlorine out in the garden center or sun as that weakens it enormously.

I'd get about 20 bottles to start, I think? And have a place picked out to get more at any time you run out so you don't lose ground.

Go Get'em Shpibby!! Woohoo! :super:
 
Bought lots of 10% Chlorine from Walmart last night to be ready to start my conversion tonight after my test kit arrives. Got my test kit and checked my ph - 8.2 (or higher). I really want to start converting tonight, any advice as to what I need to do first?
 
Follow the directions in the conversion article. Your first step is getting your pH down to 7.2. You need to measure pH and TA and then stick those numbers (along with your pool size) into Pool Math to see how much muriatic acid you need to add.

Run your pump 24/7 from now on and add acid. Give it 30mins or so to circulate and see where your pH and TA are at. Keep working on your pH until you get to 7.2.
 
NOT AN EXPERT! Just wanted to say that. I'm pretty sure you'll need to adjust the ph down before you add chlorine. Ph tests are unreliable at higher chlorine levels. I use dry acid from Walmart (in the pool chem section ) to adjust my ph down. It's a small white bucket with a yellow lid, it just says dry acid on the label in blue letters. There may be other (read cheaper ) alternatives but I get it from Walmart because it's convenient. Like I said I'm not an expert so hopefully someone who is will chime in.

- - - Updated - - -

Lol ignore my post looks like an expert did reply!
 
Last edited:
Wait about 30 mins, no more. Then test. Don't be surprised if you measure zero FC as the Baq is going to get oxidized by it.
 
I want to make sure I'm doing this right. It's been another 30 in since my 2nd dose of 10%. The test I ran now shows FC of 18. Let me recap what I did:

In the TF-100 kit there are instructions for a test called "Chlorine Drop Test". There are 5 steps with the last 2 being for CC. Each time I have only followed through step 3 which gives me the FC reading. I count the drops of R-0871 solution until my sater sample turns clear. The secon test took 36 drops to turn clear, however within a few moments the sample back to pink again. Is this normal?
 
Yes. Totally normal. The dye is being slowly oxidized so it starts to turn a pale pink. This is we recommend the speed stir and that your add drops at a rate of 1 drop per second or so. As soon as it goes clear, that's your FC. You should also do the CC part of the test where you add the 5 drops of R-0003 and then titrate again to determine CCs.

Your goal is to got 15ppm FC and maintain it as best you can.
 

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