Baquacil to Cholorine Conversion

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I am just posting my results so I have somewher to put them....LOL
Not sure if I can go back and edit and put pictures after the fact or not... I have been busy so havent checked on putting the pictures in there yet.

Here are my readings... 6:15pm
FC - 3
pH - 7.2
TA - 120
CH - 0
CYA - 0
Added 189oz Bleach

I am not sure if I will be able to check again tonight... might see if hubby will do it for me while I work... but I think he is afraid to touch the pool... so if it is screwed up he can say I did it and he didnt have anything to do with it...LOL

Can I put a chlorine puck in it tonight or shock or anything??? I know my chlorine isnt gonna stay high overnight so that isnt an issue, but I was wondering if that might help kill some more of the Baqua-Crud. Any input on that would be great.

0608sixfifteen3.jpg


Thanks
Susan
 
Last check of the night.... :)

Here are my readings... 8:15pm
FC - 3
pH - 7.2
TA - 120
CH - 0
CYA - 0
Added 189oz Bleach

Well it dosent have that thick foam yuckiness on it... so that is a bonus... it is a lovely green color... hopefully tomorrow it will be prettier...LOL.. I know wishful thinking

0608eight2.jpg
 
OK I didnt use any pucks or anything just let the pool circulate with the bleach that I put in it... I am amazed that it looks better today... I can actually see the bottom thru the green water... and no scum floating around or in the skimmer. I cleaned the filter out this morning also... it was yellow (yuck but ok)

Here are my readings 6/9 @ 6:30am
FC - 2 (color between 1-3)
pH - 7.2
TA - 120
CH - 0
CYA - 0
Added 205oz Bleach (I know that I added a bit more than this.)
0609sixthirty2.jpg



I am hoping to get the worse of this conversion done today... I am a WAHM so I am here all day so I can check it often and add more bleach as necessary... I know hubby would love to see a pool that isnt too yucky when he gets home... LOL

Thanks
Susan
 
OK these tests are weird....
OK I know I am just using these strips till my test kit comes (got the email that states the shipping label has been printed...YEAHHH)

Here are my readings from 8:00am
FC - 10 (highest the strip will read)
BROMINE- 20 (highest strip will read... where did this come from, it has always been zero)
pH - 7.2
TA - 120
CH - 0
CYA - 0
Added 0oz Bleach
I added nothing to the water at this time... and will retest it at 10:30 when I get done working to see what the results are. I know I added a bit more bleach that I was to do, but not that much... and the added bleach was old bleach that we had for a couple of years... so I figured it wasnt very potent either... it was generic bleach also.... mmmmm
0609eightam1.jpg


Is there something I need to do ??? The picture looks a bit greener, I dont know if that is just the sunlight or what.

Thanks
Susan
 
Add the CYA upon completion of the conversion. It will be wasted if you add it now.

To get the most "bang for your buck" out of the chlorine (keeping it out of the sunlight), dose the pool up to shock level just as the sun goes off the pool in the evening. Next, test and bring it back to shock again just after you go to bed. If you're an early riser, dose it again very early in the morning. I would not dose any further until the following evening.
 
For a baquacil conversion you add CYA when the FC level remains the same overnight and CC is below 5.

Ignore the bromine reading. You aren't using bromine, so it doesn't matter. The bromine test often responds to the FC level, so it isn't surprising that it is non-zero.

When your FC level stops being near zero after an hour you are entering the second phase of the conversion. In the second phase the FC level will not drop nearly as quickly as it did in the first phase and FC loss to sunlight starts to become a more significant issue. Adding bleach during the day will still speed up you conversion, but more of it will be lost to sunlight. Either today, or more likely tomorrow, you will want to switch to adding bleach only in the evening so you aren't losing all of it to sunlight.

Have you been backwashing/cleaning the filter as needed?
 
Thanks for all your quick responses...

I have been cleaning my filter as needed... it hasnt had sticky gunk in it like I thought, but rather a yellow stuff... still gross but it still comes off the filter pretty good.

I am going to check the readings again at 10:30 and will add chlorine as needed today to keep my levels high, tomorrow I will only add it early in the AM and then again when the sun leaves the pool and before bed as needed.

It is nice to know that the conversion is going pretty smoothly and I am moving into phase 2...whooohooo

Hubby would love to be swimming in the pool by this weekend... is that an unrealistic goal??

I havent gotten in the pool to scrub down the sides or anything yet... kinda scared of the water...LOL... when should I start doing that?

Thanks again for all your help
Susan
 

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Well I am not sure how fast the green should be dissapating... it looks clearer to me but i am not sure....
I am wondering if I should be putting my shark in the pool or scrubbing the sides and bottom of the pool with the scrubber on a pole. I do see yellow stuff on my stairs (easy since they are white).

I think I will scrub around for a bit then clean the filter again around noonish... then not test again till around 2... since the sun is out so good...

Here are my readings at 10:30am
FC - 3
Bromine - 6
pH - 7.2
TA - 120
CH - 0
CYA - 0
Added 189oz Bleach
0609tenthirty2.jpg

Thanks
Susan
 
Well I was going to wait till 2pm to test but I just couldnt wait...LOL

Here are my readings at 1:00pm
FC - 1
Bromine - 0
pH - 7.2
TA - 120
CH - 0
CYA - 0
Added 221oz Bleach
0609one1.jpg

I scrubbed the pool the best I can without actually getting in the water and cleaned the filter again it was still pretty clean. I dont see much of anything on the bottom or sides of the pool. When can I actually get in the pool and scrub it... I am kinda weary to get in it with the bleach level being so high.

I havent put the shark in the pool yet as I havent wanted it to get all full of gunk... is it safe to put it in there now. My shark runs right thru the skimmer to the pump so the only filtering would be thru the shark... is that ok...

I have also been running my pump on HIGH during this process, should I leave it on high or can I put it back to low?

Thanks again
Susan
 
Well the sun is starting to go behind the 1 tree that shades the pool... so I checked again.

Here are my readings at 4:30pm
FC - 1
Bromine - 0
pH - 7.2
TA - 120
CH - 0
CYA - 0
Added 221oz Bleach

The pool looks pretty good... still a yellowish/green ting to the water but clear other than that
0609fourthirty1.jpg


I have some stuff in the bottom of the pool, I know it is prob from that tree that is near, so I need to put the shark in ther for a bit tomorrow. I am kinda nervous to put the shark in there today as I dont want to ruin it or the good hose that we have for it (I used the cheapo hose earlier when I scrubbed the pool. I have to work at 7 so I will do a quick test and re-bleach at just before 7 and then again just after 9 and let it be for the night.

Tomorrow I will check the pool at 6:30 - 7am (before the sun is all the way up) then again at 4pm when the sun is starting to go behind the tree.. then again at 9pm. Do I need to check it more or less or what... I want the conversion to go quickly, but I dont want to waste all the bleach... kwim?

HOLY MOLY... my test kit has shipped already today.... cool beans... now that is fast, I just ordered it yesterday (sunday). Not sure how long DHL takes to get to me...but cant be that long...LOL

Thanks
Susan
 
Hubby is impressed that the pool looks as good as it does... YEAHHHHH

Here are my readings at 6:30pm
FC - 3
Bromine - 20
pH - 7.2
TA - 120
CH - 0
CYA - 0
Added 189oz Bleach
0609sixthirtypm2.jpg

I will test it one more time tonight and make sure I get the levels up again... I will prob put the shark in it tonight also... maybe letting that do its thing over night will help. I know I keep changing my mind on what I am doing...LOL Im just a girl... LOL

The stairs look like they need some work... so I will take them out tomorrow and scrub them down... I can see the yellow buildup at the bottom of the stairs... that cant be too good.

When can I actually get in the pool and scrub the walls and such... I am going to have to get in to take the sand bag thingy off the steps so they can come out.

Thanks again
Susan

Will post after my 9:30 check
 
Well today is the beginning of Day 3 of my conversion and my pool looks beautiful...LOL

I checked my stuff last night at 9:15pm
FC - 3
Bromine - 20
pH - 7.2
TA - 120
CH - 0
CYA - 0
Added 189oz Bleach

Numbers arnt really changing much at all... not sure if it is the strips or just the pool is just being consistant.

Here are my readings at 6:45am on 6/10
FC - 3
Bromine - 6
pH - 7.2
TA - 120
CH - 0
CYA - 0
Added 189oz Bleach
0610sixfourtyfiveam1.jpg

My pool looks clear today and pretty... the shark is still in there as it got stuck on a high spot last night and didnt get everything.... I might just leave that little sucker in there all day today.

It rained a bit this morning and looks like overcast with a bit of rain today too. Which is good since I need to add a bit of water to the pool because the level is a little low.

Since it is gonna be rainy and overcast most of the day... how much would you check the pool today??

Thanks
Susan
 
How much you should work to maintain the FC level today depends partly on how you feel about carrying bleach bottles home from the store vs getting the conversion done as soon as possible . The more you maintain the FC the faster the conversion will be over, but at the same time you will start losing more and more of your FC to sunlight if you maintain FC at 15 during the day. The clouds will help, but not eliminate the issue.

For me personally, I would slow down on adding bleach during the day at this point unless it is heavily overcast. But the conversion will be done sooner if you maintain the FC level all day.
 
Susan,
I finished my conversion from Baq almost 3 weeks ago and my pool looks and feels great. I was reading about your progress and it caught my attention when you mentioned that you were taking your stairs out to clean them. I also cleaned my stairs and as I was about to put them back in the pool I thought of those weights full of sand that hold the stairs down. My stairs were full of BaqGoo and so I thought the sand in those weights might be full of that gunk too, so I replaced the sand before I put them back in the pool. Not sure if there was Baq gunk in there but did not want to mess up the conversion if there was so I suggesat you consider doing the same.

Good luck - you are really making progress. You are almost at the sparkling water stage. It happens quite soon after the light green/blue water stage and after the yellow gunk is off the bottom.

Russ
 

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