Starting conversion tonight!

[nperry410]

Hi Everyone!

We just opened our 24 ft. AG last night. The previous owners ran a Baqua pool and we struggled with water mold most of last summer . We've decided to convert. We have the test kit. Checked the pH last night and it was 7.8. We added about 25 ounces of muriatic acid. Planning to start to add chlorine tonight. Just wanted to start a thread in case questions/issues arise. Will add pictures as we go! :grin:

 

[JasonLion]

Welcome to TFP!

Looking forward to it!

 

[js8390]

Good luck! Hopefully there are some overcast days coming up to save you from rapid chlorine loss, and you won't need to go through so much chlorine. I converted when I opened my pool this year and it has been the best thing I've done for the pool yet.

 

[nperry410]

Thanks! It's actually really sunny/humid this week. We increased back up to 15 ppm every hour last night (3 times). Pool was green (I
ll try to upload pictures later). But this morning it's brown-ish, like mud-colored. Is that a typical color change? It dropped to 3 ppm this morning so I increased it back up before work. We did have a thunder storm last night so maybe all the rain caused a problem?

 

[rcroller4711]

Good luck with your conversion. I learned through my conversion that you must have patience with each step. I was adding 1jug of bleach each hour sunrise to sunset for the first two days. With a 8600 gallon pool I used about 75 128oz jugs of 6% bleach. Also after your water clears up you still will be adding bleach to keep your FC up. My conversion has been complete now for 2 weeks. The water looks great now. Also whenever you have any questions don't hesitate to post them. Everyone here is ready to help you.


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[JasonLion]

Quite a few colors are possible. Color changes in the early stages are to be expected and don't really mean anything.

 

[nperry410]

Sorry I've dissapeared for a bit. Been busy with the conversion. So it's been about 10 days now. Overnight we only lost 1ppm so we added CYA on Monday or Tuesday. Used a filter sock to add it in the skimmer. In the meantime we've continued to maintain FC at 15 by adding chlorine in the morning and twice at night. CC were at 4 to start, dropped to 3, then 2, then 1.5. Yesterday it bounced back up to 2 and same thing this morning. Pressure in the DE filter hasn't really increased. We were getting clumps of brown gunk forming in the middle of the pool (I assume Baquagoo?) but that has stopped. We've been trying to vacuum and brush once daily. We're still getting a few pieces of leaves in the bottom every morning (pool is surrounded by trees). The pool also doesn't get a ton of direct sun. Could this be the issue? I tested CYA for the first time today (~4 days after adding). I may have done the test incorrectly but I don't think I ever saw the dot disappear (meaning a level < 30 ppm? correct?). Is it possible that it will rise to 30 ppm after a full week? Or should I start to add more? For what it's worth, the pool is crystal clear. Overnight last night we lost 1.5 ppm of FC. I'm guessing I should forget about the CYA for now and continue to keep FC at 15 until the CC's eventually come down? Also - should we keep the filter running 24/7 and should I start to test TA? Thanks for your help! P.S. We also got a lot of rain yesterday