New Pool Owner -Bacq Conversion

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G

Giventofly

0
Jun 5, 2015
17
Taunton, MA
Hi Everyone. Bought a house last year with a 24', 13,500 gal above ground vinyl pool. I have a 200lb sand filter. The previous owners used Baquacil, but after doing some researching and finding this forum I decided to convert when I opened it this year. Its my first time doing anything with a pool since we moved after the previous owner closed and winterized the pool.

Got the TF-100 test kit on Friday and started the conversion today. The pH this morning was at 7.8 so I added some MA and brought it down to around 7.3. Based on the pool math I added 2 gal of 12.5% shock from Ocean State Job Lot. One mistake I made was dispersing the shock around the entire perimeter of the pool rather than just in front of the return.

After 30 minutes I retested the FC and here are my numbers as they stand now:

pH 7.3
TA 40
FC 20.5
CC 0.5

No crazy color show yet, but I'm guessing that could be due to the fact I dispersed the shock rather than pour it all in front of the return. If I get a color show I'll be sure to take and post pictures. Any advice or suggestions are welcome. This site has been super helpful so far!!
 
Hello, and welcome to the forum!

It's great to see you converting from Baqua. I promise you.....you won't regret it. :D One quick worry I see is that you went up to 20.5ppm on your chlorine level. I would be very careful not to go that high in the future. Going above 15ppm does start you lead you into a zone where there is some possibly for liner fading. It's likely your pool maybe just a touch smaller than you figured, so I'd adjust the amount you put in on your next dose of chlorine. :D
 
Do not worry about your PH while you are SLAMing. The PH test does not give good results if your FC is over 10.

For right now just test your FC.

I do not see a CYA test result. Did you do that test? If not please do so and post the results.

Good job on getting a good test kit! You are very far ahead of the average new person!

Kim
 
Welcome to TFP! :wave: Very happy to hear right off the bat you have the TF-100. Outstanding! How does your water look? You have a pretty strong FC level there compared to your recommended level for any given day. Unless you are doing something specific, you might want to compare that number with the Recommended Levels chart link below. Also, please post your CYA for us. That's a critical one to see right now. Also might want to get that TA up by about 30 or so. Just stick to that Recommended levels chart and the Poolmath Calculator and you will do just fine. Glad to have you with us.
 
kimkats said:
I do not see a CYA test result. Did you do that test? If not please do so and post the results.
Click to expand...

During the Baqua conversion there is no need to test for CYA, as it's always zero unless the OP added some in there without knowing (using trichlor rather than liquid chlorine). Baqua does not use CYA in it's system, so no worries in this.

Texas Splash said:
Just stick to that Recommended levels chart and the Poolmath Calculator and you will do just fine. Glad to have you with us.
Click to expand...

Again, during the Baqua conversion the OP is aiming for a 15ppm mark. No need to refer to the Recommend levels chart just yet. :D
 
Thanks everyone.

Leebo - I was assuming it was 4ft deep, but I just stuck my measuring tape in and the current water depth is about 40". I'm guessing its a 3.5 foot depth so that would explain the high FC level. Seems like a weird pool size, but it is what it is. I also added a bit more shock that suggested (I added an even 2 gal rather than the suggested 208 oz - got lazy) figuring it would get used pretty quickly by the baqua.

I made the assumption that there wouldn't be any CYA since that only exists with chlorine - glad my assumption was confirmed.

Right now the water is a little cloudy, but nothing like any of the other conversion pictures I have seen. My guess is that there wasn't a lot of baqua in the pool. I did add a decent amount of water when I opened it. Also, if I remember correctly, the previous owner replaced the liner either at the beginning of last summer or the summer before so there is probably not years of bacqua **** buildup.

A do have one question right now. There is a decent amount of algae, mostly on the bottom of the pool and only a bit on the sides. Should the SLAM/Baqua conversion clear that up or do I need to do something else for that?
 
Typically when there is algae it means a SLAM is required. You can read the link below to become familiar with SLAM. Typically there are 3 levels we look for to help ensure a good SLAM:
1 - CYA at an ideal starting point 30 for non-SWG systems
2 - PH at 7.2
3 -Free Chlorine (FC) raised to the appropriate SLAM level based on your CYA See Chlorine/CYA chart link below

I understand you are in the process of converting, so I'm not sure if that will impact how you prepare for the SLAM, but typically that's how we begin. I would still get familiar with the links below so you are prepared. SLAM is not an overnight thing. It can takes days or a week or two to complete.

Clarification - You stated CYA related to chlorine above. (?) Just wanted to make sure you understood that CYA comes from two sources: You actively placing stabilizer in the pool; or from tabs/pucks or the infamous "bags of shock" from the pool store. Liquid bleach is virtually pure sodium hypochlorite and therefore has no stabilizer properties in it. My apologies if you knew that already, but the statement had be a bit confused. :confused:
 
Thanks Texas. I guess what I meant to say was that I though CYA would only exist if a chlorine system was used in the past. Its my understanding that it would be 0 if a baquacil system was used so I didn't bother to measure for it before the conversion. I was going to wait until after the conversion when I go to balance everything. The only thing I've put in the pool so far was MA to bring the pH down and the 12.5% liquid shock (I don't think it has any stabilizer in it).
 
If you've only added liquid chlorine, you have zero cya. That's also what you want for the Baqua conversion. During the conversion any algae or BaquaGoo will be taken care of by the chlorine. Keep testing and adding chlorine hourly, it will clear up.
 

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I am also converting and in your neck of the woods (Eastern-Central CT). My thread is Yet Another Baquacil Conversion and I've posted a picture or 10.

First, I love your handle. I went to show No.1 in 2003 when Pearl Jam played their entire catalog to date at Great Woods (I have all three shows on disc as well). Second, I am from Massachusetts. So I consider us sort of kindred spirits.

Anyhow...You have the Hiesenburg of test kits so that's a great start. I started the conversion process on Saturday and I thought I would have enough bleach to get me through tomorrow (24 jugs). Not so. Whatever you thing you need, get 25-75% more. Ocean State Job Lot sells 12.5% liquid chlorine for the same price that Wal-Mart sells their normal concentrated bleach (8.25%). Just make sure it's fresh, 2015 or 2016 use-by dates.

The second piece of advice is to test, test, test, and top off FC as often as every hour during the day, if possible. I was able to test, more or less, every hour on the hour over the weekend. Even through the dead of sun light (which breaks down unstable chlorination), my water is clearer now than at any time in the last two years with BQ.

Third, brush and vacuum (to waste. Throw a garden hose in the pool to make up for the lost water.) at least once a day, twice if you can. If you don't get Baqua-goo on the surface, it will accumulate on the pool floor. Get that gunk out!!

Finally (and this is optional, I suppose), Recirculate for a few hours at first. I personally did not want any more goo in my filter than I needed. I recirc'ed for about 6 hours before switching on the filter.

Realizing that I'm not there yet, but when it comes to the my pool, I take the advice from the other TFP experts to heart. I'm just giving my own - hopeful helpful - experience thus far.
 
Hi Husky. I've been following your conversion. Love all your pictures and details. It really helps to set expectations for someone just starting.

My first PJ show was night 3 in 2003. The epic 45 song set. Been a PJ fan for a while but was late getting on the live show bandwagon. Now I can't get off. I try to see every show that comes through New England.

Morning update - I tested at 7am.

FC 6
CC 1

Water is blue but cloudy - can see the bottom though. Looks like most of the green algae disappeared last night so I assume the cloudiness is the dead stuff. Added shock to bring the FC back to 15 and will test again when I get home from work.
 
Measured when I got home from work around 6:30 pm and FC was 0. The skimmer was pretty clogged with leaves from the wind today so I'm not sure if I was getting good circulation.

Measured again at 8:15 pm and FC was 20 and CC 0.5. Kind of overshot my goal of 15. Still have some fine tuning to do there.

We'll see what the morning brings.
 
As of 6:30 am this morning FC was 14.5 and CC was 1.

Thinking ahead... During my conversion there was no visible baqua goo and little, if any, color change. Given that, should I still change the sand in my filter or can I stick with the existing sand? I've also barely had to backwash as the pressure hasn't risen much at all so that makes me think there isn't much residual baqua **** in the filter.
 
Good point Kim.

At 6:30pm my numbers were FC 0 and CC 0.5. I added 1 gallon of shock (12.5%) and at 9:00pm I was at FC 15 and CC 0.5.

I'm a bit confused because it seems that the amount of bleach Pool Math tells me to add puts me way over my target of 15. Pool math says I should add 176 oz to get from FC 0 to 15. I only added 128 oz and hit 15. 128 oz should only increase my FC by 11. I just double checked the size of my pool and it is definitely 24 ft diameter and right now the water level is 41 inches (3.4 feet).

For example, last night I added the recommended amount of bleach (12.5% liquid shock) and it took my FC to 20. Any ideas what is going on?

Each time I'm taking water from near the edge and going about a foot deep. I did notice that my return is pointed to the right so with my round pool it creates a slow whirlpool around the entire pool. That seems good because it keeps the water moving, but I'm thinking that also might keep all the bleach on the outside rather than mix evenly. Any thoughts on that? Should I point the return towards the middle more?
 

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