Switching from baquacil to chlorine when we reopen in the Spring, (with new liner). I've read a lot about the pink algea or sludge that may be on the walls of my underground plumbing. Should this be flushed somehow, or will the bleach take care of it when we restart? We have an inground pool.
Baquacil build-up in plumbing
- Thread starter Lafrog
- Start date
Welcome to TFP. Bleach should take care of the plumbing with the exception of the filter, changing sand or cartridge would be recommended.
I've changed many pools over from baquacil to chlorine and haven't had the need to change the sand in any filters yet. Can someone explain the purpose of changing sand? I can see rinsing a filter cartridge but not the reasoning behind changing sand. Should note that when I add chlorine I add it via the skimmer when the pump is running and the filter is in the filter position.
The conversion form Baquacil to chlorine if done by shocking with chlorine will create new combination chemicals that some call Baquagoo. They are very sticky and the assumption was that they were not readily cleared from filters, even by backwashing sand filters. Some who have done the conversion and not changed their sand have found unusually high chlorine demand and when looking at the sand filters there was goop left in them. Changing the sand fixed the problem.X-PertPool said:
So if you are doing something that is able to clean the sand filters from the Baqua goop that occurs during a conversion to chlorine, please let us know since that would probably be better than changing the sand.
Maybe it breaks down from continually shocking via chlorine through the skimmer. I found that only the first few inches of sand ever really looks dirty to begin with in any case. Maybe taking a couple inches of sand out would be enough as opposed to changing the whole tank
I used Baquacil's sand filter cleaner and didn't change my sand when I switched to chlorine from baquacil 6 years ago and didn't have any problems with the sand.
Hello;
I too switched from baquacil to chlorine last year after 12 seasons with biguinide products. Just getting way too exspensive and never really cared for the oily feel of the water. I have an above ground 21 ft. by 52 inches round, 11,000 gals. I live in Massachusetts... Here is what I did... In early May, on a cloudy, gray day, I vacuumed the pool out to WASTE and I bought a sump pump and emptied my pool down to about an inch of water left across the bottom. Occasionally, I sprayed the side walls of the pool with water... Then, I refilled the pool with water and took a reading. Obviously, the baquacil reading, sanitizer, was nothing ! I changed the sand in my filter and started the pump once the pool was filled up with water again. ( About 2 days later for me... ) Everyone's water pressure is different... I had also cleaned out the pump resovoir and bought new hoses. They are cheap enough... So as the pump began running, I started adding chlorine, BY THE GALLONS, to the water. Much to my delighted suprise, the water got just a li'l bit of a hazy tint to it and after a few days, ( 4 1/2 ) it was sparkling clear with the fresh smell of chlorine !!! I personally think that allot of people out there are trying to change over with a decent amount of baquacil left in the pool water, pump, filter and hose lines. The higher the level of baquacil, the harder the change over will be. My advice is to do exactly as I did. Remember to please use common sense. Like, DON'T go out and empty the pool down to 1 inch of water under the direct sunlight with the temperature at 104 degrees !! You WILL damage ( SHRINK ) your liner. Watch the 5 day forecast and wait for those cloudy, gray days... Your liner then will be fine. Its like anything else... COMMON SENSE... The only downfall is YES ! You WILL use GALLONS of chlorine but the end result is so worth it !!! Yes, you can use household bleach. The difference being in the strength between the two. Household bleach is at 6 percent while pool chlorine ( bleach ) is at 12 percent strength. You figure out the math as to which one you can get on sale and save... Naturally, by using household bleach, you will have more bottles to throw away... So, best wishes to you and enjoy the outcome !!!!!!
I too switched from baquacil to chlorine last year after 12 seasons with biguinide products. Just getting way too exspensive and never really cared for the oily feel of the water. I have an above ground 21 ft. by 52 inches round, 11,000 gals. I live in Massachusetts... Here is what I did... In early May, on a cloudy, gray day, I vacuumed the pool out to WASTE and I bought a sump pump and emptied my pool down to about an inch of water left across the bottom. Occasionally, I sprayed the side walls of the pool with water... Then, I refilled the pool with water and took a reading. Obviously, the baquacil reading, sanitizer, was nothing ! I changed the sand in my filter and started the pump once the pool was filled up with water again. ( About 2 days later for me... ) Everyone's water pressure is different... I had also cleaned out the pump resovoir and bought new hoses. They are cheap enough... So as the pump began running, I started adding chlorine, BY THE GALLONS, to the water. Much to my delighted suprise, the water got just a li'l bit of a hazy tint to it and after a few days, ( 4 1/2 ) it was sparkling clear with the fresh smell of chlorine !!! I personally think that allot of people out there are trying to change over with a decent amount of baquacil left in the pool water, pump, filter and hose lines. The higher the level of baquacil, the harder the change over will be. My advice is to do exactly as I did. Remember to please use common sense. Like, DON'T go out and empty the pool down to 1 inch of water under the direct sunlight with the temperature at 104 degrees !! You WILL damage ( SHRINK ) your liner. Watch the 5 day forecast and wait for those cloudy, gray days... Your liner then will be fine. Its like anything else... COMMON SENSE... The only downfall is YES ! You WILL use GALLONS of chlorine but the end result is so worth it !!! Yes, you can use household bleach. The difference being in the strength between the two. Household bleach is at 6 percent while pool chlorine ( bleach ) is at 12 percent strength. You figure out the math as to which one you can get on sale and save... Naturally, by using household bleach, you will have more bottles to throw away... So, best wishes to you and enjoy the outcome !!!!!!