Switching from AquaSilk to Salt Water

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tommypl77

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Apr 1, 2014
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Hello. I'm not a pool professional....just trying to take care of my pool...The pool was run on Aquasilk for 2 years. There was a SWG installed but not running. I wanted to switch to Salt and local store told me to put salt, wait 24 hours and then turn on the cell. Which I did. Seems like the the salt and chlorine levels went up. It's been few days and the water is way cleaner than before and algae that I could not get rid of before clear overnight.....but then I start reading all the comments here about the process, bleach etc. The store guy never mentioned things like that. Hope is not too late. I would appreciate any advice at this moment to make sure the convention is getting the right way. Thank you

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They won't, unless you have a commercial supply store nearby. Don't be surprised if they have no idea what you are talking about or tell you it is not needed. Also, it is NOT the same as the DPD test.
 
The FAS-DPD test is actually easier to do correctly than any of the color matching tests. It is the same process you are currently doing with the CH and TA tests, but you are changing the color from pink to clear and counting drops.
 
Ok....following your advice I purchased the DPD Complete Test Kit . Did the tests.....Also seems like I have to add more salt as the strip test shows little more than 2000 ppm and I guess that's way the system shows low salt level and the chlorinator Off.
Also some of the test shows different colors, could it be because of the AquaSilk products are still there (Biquanide).

These are the results: again I'm pretty new to it and I followed the instructions....:

FC - 0 or less than 5.1 (didn't change color)
TC - 0
PH - 7.6
TA - 40 ( the color turned purple instead of red)
CH - couldn't tell as the sample turned blue right away instead of red) any ideas why ?
CYA - has to be less than 30 as I could see the black dot on the bottom with full sample.

Please send your advices my way.....hope is not too late and I will be able to manage the levels and get the water balanced . Thank you for your time....

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Our advice was not to buy the DPD test kit ... it was to buy the FAS-DPD test kit which is a completely different way of testing FC and CC.

I can only guess that the pool store told you they were the same thing :hammer:

In fact, is what you bought the same as the K-2005 you already had?

You can add the FAS-DPD to your kit to have the equivalent:
http://tftestkits.net/FAS-DPD-Chlorine-CC-s-test-p47.html

I don't think you finished the TA test and the CH turning blue means that your water is VERY soft with almost no CH in it.

Check this out: Extended Test Instructions
 

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Well....is there any way to see what could be done to balance the water ? I just added 2 bags of salt ...I'm sure it will take some time to show in the system.....

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Yes it looks similar.....and I told the guy which test I have.....I guess once they see you are new to those stuff they tell you whatever they want.....

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All the tests in the 2 kits you now have are the same as those in the recommended test kit with the exception of the chlorine tests.

So you can balance everything except having a good feel for the actual FC and CC levels.

You should always turn your SWG off for a day after you add any salt.

Read the extended test instructions and try the TA again. And get some bleach in the water!!!

You will also need to start adding some CYA at least to get a reading around 30-50ppm, then verify no SLAMing is needed, then you can raise higher for the SWG levels.
 
Thank you.....how much bleach should I add ? The pool is 17000 gallons. Thank you for the advice about cell..I didn't know that....so this test even if includes the test for FC and CC is not really as accurate and good as the one you recommended ?

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You should do the full baqua conversion process, see the instructions in Pool School (How To section). The process will go more quickly because you have already added some chlorine, but you still have a significant ways to go before it is complete.
 
I didnt know about this forum and the store guy told me it's a simple process just put the salt and turn on the cell.....I didn't have any idea this will be more complicated ....is the pool ok to swim at this moment ?

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If FC is zero, then no not safe to swim. FC at zero is what I expect in the first third of a baqua conversion.

However, I saw you weren't completely sure of that reading. If the sample doesn't change color in a DPD chlorine test it either means FC is zero or that FC is above 10. The purple color in the TA test just slightly suggests a high FC level, though not very strongly as other things can cause that. I don't see any clear reason to suspect high FC levels, unless you added a lot of chlorine and didn't mention doing so. If you have an OTO chlorine test you could try that. The OTO test is very reliable at testing FC at or near zero vs FC really high, though not very good at all at telling you exactly what the FC level actually is. But the OTO test does not come with a Taylor K-2005 or K-2006.

Sadly, you need to make up your mind about switching away from baqua (AquaSilk) or not and commit to one path or the other. It does take some work to do a conversion, and simply running the SWG for a while will not do it. For that matter, I don't recommend using the SWG until a full conversion is complete. During the conversion there tends to be a goo produced that can foul up a SWG (and the filter).
 
Take a look again at Pool School on Converting your Baqua Pool to Chlorine. Having done this conversion myself two years ago I can promise you that there is NO way your SWG will keep up, and it's less likely that your local pool store will give you the correct advice on this conversion. In fact, our local store came out to visit during our conversion, as they had never even heard of such a process. The swap will take a TON of chlorine and a good bit of your time. In the end however you'll be left with a pool that takes minutes a day to maintain, for just a few bucks a day.

Read the article in Pool School and ask any questions you may have. I'll gladly give you any assistance from first hand experience that I can.......unlike your pool store, who's leading you in the wrong direction.

For starters........Please update your location. A pool in Texas will be maintained slightly different than a pool in Ohio. We like to work each pool separately, to help each member out best. :D

Welcome to TFP!
 

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