Softswim Conversion to Chlorine starts today

Jump to latest Follow Reply
I do have a question.

I have read in several posts of a transition from the first phase of converting to the second phase. I understand that the rational for the optional second phase of attack being that you can save a buck by limiting the addition of chlorine during the sunshine where it has such a small lifespan. During this more wallet friendly, yet slightly slower attack, confirm that it is sufficient to only raise/keep FC at 15 during the night when it cannot be consumed so quickly by the UV bombardment, and continue to do its job...getting more bang for the buck. What is the sign that it is safe to transition to phase 2? Also, what would be the recommended minimum level to keep the FC at during the day to prevent causing problems?

Thanks!!!
 
You are making excellent progress! If you keep on top of it, and keep cleaning your filter after an appropriate rise in psi, you will start to see rapid improvements in water clarity from here on out. My pool was basically clear after 3 or 4 days, but it took 4 more days to finish the conversion. Those last couple of days were brutal! The water was crystal clear, but the chemistry wasn't quite there yet. Looks like you are on your way. You might wake up tomorrow morning to a surprisingly clear pool. Keep dumping in bleach!
 
The switch to "stage 2" can be started around the time that you start to hold several FC's overnight. At your stage I'd bet most of your chlorine is still getting burnt up by the baquacil, often before the sun can get it. Hourly shocking will make the swap go the quickest. It's also hard to tell if you are hitting the 15fC mark now too...we'll find out more in the morning.

You always could pull all-nighters and shock all night. :)
 
beaver said:
I do have a question.

I have read in several posts of a transition from the first phase of converting to the second phase. I understand that the rational for the optional second phase of attack being that you can save a buck by limiting the addition of chlorine during the sunshine where it has such a small lifespan. During this more wallet friendly, yet slightly slower attack, confirm that it is sufficient to only raise/keep FC at 15 during the night when it cannot be consumed so quickly by the UV bombardment, and continue to do its job...getting more bang for the buck. What is the sign that it is safe to transition to phase 2? Also, what would be the recommended minimum level to keep the FC at during the day to prevent causing problems?

Thanks!!!
Click to expand...

With zero stabilizer in your pool, all you really have to do is keep a couple ppm of FC in your water during the height of the sun. Shock level for 0 CYA is extremely low. chlorine-cya-chart-t2346.html You have to be careful though because the combination of sun and Baqua residuals will eat chlorine quickly. Don't ever let your FC get to zero! But yeah, toward the end of my conversion I got tired of sacrificing chlorine to the sun and basically just kept enough chlorine in during the day to prevent an algae bloom and then hit it hard at night.

EDIT: With no stabilizer, chlorine has a half-life of about 35 minutes in direct sunlight. So, again, be careful about letting it get too low when the sun is out.
 
here is this morning scene.
[attachment=2:3ufznvp2]pool2 day 3.jpg[/attachment:3ufznvp2]

I am definitely holding some FC for longer periods of time at night.

Here is the OTO test before i went to bed at 1130 last night...
[attachment=1:3ufznvp2]test1.jpg[/attachment:3ufznvp2]

Based on the slight bit of yellow starting to appear instead of the orange I've trained myself to look for, I assessed that I was under 15ppm and added 90 oz to raise ppm 9 ppm.

and here is the OTO test at 530 this morning...
[attachment=0:3ufznvp2]test2.jpg[/attachment:3ufznvp2]

Still appears to be orange, i was pleased to see no yellowish hues creeping in...

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my test kit comes in the mail today so that I can post some OCLT/CC numbers tonight and validate some of my rough guesstimates...

I may also take a sample to the pool store to check Baqua B and C levels just out of curiosity.
 

Attachments

  • pool2 day 3.jpg
    pool2 day 3.jpg
    441 KB · Views: 83
  • test1.jpg
    test1.jpg
    492.5 KB · Views: 83
  • test2.jpg
    test2.jpg
    455.2 KB · Views: 83
Keep that FC where it is. Test and add bleach hourly if needed. Tonight do an OCLT to see just how much chlorine the baquacil is consuming. Make sure you're brushing often too.
 
Here are my OFCL test results...

Test as of 6 am
FC 12.0
CC 5.0

So.. i added 32 oz to raise back up to 15. Water is clear. Hopefully i'll see better results tomorrow night. after keeping at at 15 for a few hour this morning and after dinner tonight until bedtime. I will plan to brush often as well.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Here are this morning's OCLT results:

9 pm FC 15.0 CC 3.5
6 am FC 13.0 CC 3.0

Fail... but getting closer. Loss of 4 PPM 2 nights ago... 2 PPM last night... keeping my fingers crossed that I hit the magical 1 PPM tonight and can swap the new filter in on Friday. CC also continues to come down. Maybe be the end of the weekend we'll be complete shocking...

Added 21 oz bleach to raise PPM back to 15.0. Today's gameplan will be the same as yesterday, brush often, keep FC level above .5 ppm during the hot sunny day, and hit hard after dinner with hourly monitoring, leading up to tonight OCLT test.
 
Things continued to progress today and into this evening (end of day 5 of conversion).

Readings as of 7:30pm
FC 16.5 CC 2.0

Just finished polishing up everything i could find (which included lots of hiding baqua goo). Since I've got the new SWG waiting to be hooked up, i went ahead and replaced the inlet/outlet hoses and valves with the new ones. After looking at the skimmer assembly and hose, I decided it was also due for a thorough cleaning so it was removed for some detailing. I used a toothbrush as best i could to clean out all the parts i could reach of the pathetic filter pump that is about to be retired. I then installed the last "type a" paper filter i had in the garage. I've brushed the pool twice today and vacuumed to waste a tid bit of crud that had gathered swirling in the middle. I've got high hopes for the OCLT results tomorrow morning.
 
It does get frustrating toward the end when you are so close, but it will turn out. I switched from softswim to chlorine last month and I can't believe how awesome the water is. Not to mention my equipment and liner are back to being white instead of the dull creme color they were when i was on softswim. I use to think the water looked really good untill I switched, now I realise how wrong I was.
 
the latest OCLT results...

2300L FC 15.5 CC 1.0
0600 FC 13.5 CC 1.5

Fail.

Raised back up to 15.0

I do have a question... I would like to swap out the filter this weekend.... meaning disconnect my old currently in use INTEX paper cartridge filter (which I'm sure still has some baqua nastiness in it) in the trash and begin using the new INTEX sand filter SWG... I planned to do this once i passed the OCLT, but I'm growing impatient as I was hoping to do it this weekend. Do you think that at this point I am close enough to get away with it and not have to replace the filter sand once I actually pass the loss test?

Also, could it be harmful to run the new SWG without salt in the pool? I can't find this topic in the manual. I would think that it would just not create CL right? If there is harm, I can just put the unit on filter pump only mode... which it should be on anyway is there is no point to power the SWG cell and I need to keep the pump running 24/7 until I am complete shocking. right?

Lastly, anyone see a problem letting the kids jump in this afternoon for a bit? I have read that swimming will be safe if the FC is less than the shock level, which I think is a FC level of 10 ppm with 0 CYA, though it is difficult to find a chart that goes that low (<20 CYA). It is going to be a scorcher today, I'm sure the FC will be below 10 after about 10 am, I plan to let them swim about an hour or two around lunchtime, while making sure FC never drops to zero.

Speaking of never letting FC drop to zero... my pool is in direct sun and I have found that about a quart (+3 ppm) around 12pm and then another at 2pm will get me through the day safely. FC levels are usually burnt off to about 1-2ppm by lunch. I have then been raising FC back up to 15 around 6pm. Does all that sound legit?

The water looks great BTW!
 
Just got back from the pool store and here is the data from the printout.

Softswim B 6 :grrrr: JUST GO AWAY ALREADY!
Softswim C 1 :grrrr:
ph 8.2
TA 169
adjusted TA 163
Hardness 207
Sat Index 1.0
CYA 19 (even though I have added none) interference from softswim or pool store machine out of whack? I have yet to test CYA using my kit... maybe later tonight.
FC 0.0
TC 0.4

The first thing that i did when I got home was to verify that there was some FC, and there was... 1.0. CC tested at 0.5. I was concerned the high Ph may be inhibiting the FC shocking effectiveness, so i decided to test and see what I got. My test indicated 7.8 based on matching up the colors. EIther way, i wanted to lower the Ph, so I added 16oz muriatic acid to attempt to drop the Ph down by 0.8, hopefully nailing 7.2 ish.
I then boosted FC a bit to carry through to shocking tonight. It seems that CC has been coming down today. We will see what the OCLT shows tonight.
 
OCLT results

810pm FC 16.5 CC 0.5
610am FC 16.0 CC 1.0 :party:

PASS! New SWG filter pump is installed with clean media. It is running in filter pump only mode (no salt added yet). Next step is to add 20oz CYA to raise from 0 up to 30. CC's crept up to 1.0 last night so I'll maintain shock at least until CC holds 0.5 for 2 days in row.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply