Just started my conversion

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Jonny23

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Jun 22, 2013
10
Hi folks,

I am brand new to the forum. Last year I moved into a house with an above ground 21' round pool knowing nothing about pool ownership or maintenance. My wife and her family grew up using baqua so we went with that plus some second hand pump and filter. The chemicals were expensive and the equipment was sub par. The filter actually broke at some point and we never got the pool 100% clear. It was fun but a pain to deal with so over the winter we decided to purchase new equipment and switch to chlorine. And so this story begins . . .

I ordered the TF100 test kit. We now have a 1hp pump and 18" sand filter with fresh sand all hooked up. Yesterday I pulled the cover off to a generally clear pool. Some baqua goop and lots of particles had fallen to the bottom. I vacuumed almost all the heavy debris to waste, brought the water level back up, and then started the filter.

Just after the cover came off and water added.
[attachment=1:311woudu]pool-dirty.jpg[/attachment:311woudu]

After vacuuming.
[attachment=0:311woudu]pool-vacuumed.jpg[/attachment:311woudu]

Then the baqua test strips . . .
SoftSwim B (bigaunide) - 25
ppm Softswim Clarifier - 20

The TF-100 tests
Chlorine - 0 (obviously)
PH - 8.2

I then added ph Minus which brought the pH to about 7.3. Ready to add bleach.

10:30 pm added 155 oz. of 12.5% pool shock. I have about 12 jugs of this I got for $3 each at Ocean State Job Lot. Unfortunately it was dark out so no pics but it did look like the water was clouding up. I'll take a pic tomorrow morning. Stay tuned . . .
 

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Go for it! Follow the instructions on this forum and keep us posted (this is my favorite subject!). I made the conversion about four years ago after 10years on Baq. I now use BBB and have never regretted it for a minute. (And at $3/gal. for 12.5% bleach make sure you keep that dealer on speed dial.)
 
We now have a 1hp pump and 18" sand filter with fresh sand all hooked up.
Click to expand...
The end process of the conversion is to change the sand....not before. When you conversion is complete, you will at the very least need to reopen the filter and thoroughly clean the sand. It is conceivable you may need to replace it again....perhaps not if you colean it well.
 
Here is a pic towards the end of the first full day of adding bleach. Sun on the pool pretty much all day. Not a cloud in the sky. Water is kind of a blue green and very cloudy.

[attachment=0:1dz0jn2s]pool-day1.jpg[/attachment:1dz0jn2s]

Here's a rundown of what today's FC readings looked like.

6:45am 0 ppm
10:30am 0 ppm
11:30am 3.5 ppm
12:30pm 10 ppm
1:30pm 8 ppm
3:00pm 9 ppm
4:15pm 10ppm
5:30pm 9ppm
7:15pm 10ppm
9:00pm 15ppm

End of day 1 and so far I have gone through about 8.5 gallon jugs of 12.5% bleach. I brushed the sides of the pool mid day and vacuumed the bottom in the evening although I couldn't see the bottom. Backwashed in the afternoon even though the pressure had only increased by 4psi. The flow was kind of weak. Backwashing fixed it.
 

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At the end of day 1 I backwashed for good measure and added the shock before bed. Woke up in the morning on Day 2 and shocked a cloudy pool. The wife came home mid day to a clear pool. Day 2 got shocked 3 times, morning, midday, evening, and night. This mornings FC was 13ppm. Pool is still clear. No increase in filter pressure.

Morning of Day 3 (this is what it looked like most of Day 2 as well)
[attachment=0:1b2aqoqw]pool-day3.jpg[/attachment:1b2aqoqw]
 

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Day 4 - taken this morning
[attachment=0:1w7nf0st]pool-day4.jpg[/attachment:1w7nf0st]

I brushed and vacuumed yesterday evening. Water is looking real clear and all the debris is gone. I am psyched on the water clarity and cleanliness. We never got it looking this good last season. Filter is maintaining pressure.

The night before last it lost 2 ppm of FC. Last night it lost 4ppm. Maybe because I brushed and vacuumed? What do you guys think? I really want to move on to changing the media and adding CYA.

Any suggestions on a good starting number for CYA when I get to that step? My pool is 10,400 gal 21' round. On a clear day it gets direct full sun probably 9am-5pm with part sun another 2hrs.
 

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Even though the pool looks great keep following the conversion procedure. You still have residual baqua-stuff consuming chlorine according to the overnight test.

from the converting your baqua pool to chlorine article
7. When you lose 1 ppm of chlorine, or less, overnight it is time to clean out your filter and change the media. Once the filter is cleaned up, add enough CYA to reach 30 ppm. Continue to maintain FC at 15 ppm.

Have some POP (pool owner patience) and hang in there. You are almost done!
 
Just an update:

At the end of Day 4 the FC was at zero. I brushed the pool and brought it back up to 15 around 9pm. 2 hours later no FC loss. Still at 15ppm. This morning (Day 5 ) I tested before the sun could get to the pool - 13ppm.

I'm hoping the OCLT tomorrow morning will show an FC loss of 1 or less so I can change the media.

For when I get to the CYA step in the conversion . . . I bought granular CYA stabilizer at Ocean State Job Lot but they didn't have any skimmer socks. The directions on the container say to add it directly to the skimmer and avoid backwashing for at least a week. My question is do I need a skimmer sock for the application? I thought I read that somewhere in the forums.
 
Just grab one of you long cotton sport socks and fill'er up. I then take monster rubber bands and attach it to a pool noodle to float around in the pool willy-nilly. You can also make an "x" out of two short pieces of pool noodle and hang it in the center so the fat hanging sock can't get too close to the walls. Works a charm for me.

As for skimmer socks- I love them in my skimmer basket. Particularly when pollen is heavy.
 
My conversion is now complete! It was very painless and went smooth thanks to the helpful advice from forum members and good instructions. And a TF100 test kit . . . I'm in control this season, no more pool store, no more expensive baqua products, more time floating in the pool with friends and delicious beverages :party: :cheers:
 
I just started my conversion today.
22,000 gal white cloudy would never clear up. Used Baquacil for 8 years in this pool.
Just put in 6 gal pool shock, turned yellowish green. Hope mine looks as good as yours in a few days
 

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