why is my baquacil oxidizer disappearing ? I add 3 cups and it is gone by the foll wing day. The water looks clear. In the past, I would add 3 cups every Saturday along with the other chemicals. I know that they added the CDX, but I have never had to use it before and I can't afford it now. I just want to know why my oxidizer is disappearing in just 2 days when it used to last more than a week. Someone please help, this is getting very expensive.

Welcome to TFP!

I don't know that we have any Baquacil users who aren't in the process of converting to chlorine. Hopefully if there are any users here, one of them may be able to help you.

Any thoughts on converting to chlorine? It'd surely be cheaper than fighting with baq. There are so many who report that the first couple years on baq are good and then all of a sudden, it doesn't seem to work anymore for some reason or another.

We could surely help you if you want to make the switch, all you have to do is ask for help and we'll be here.

If your oxidizer is disappearing fast you might be reaching 'critical mass' when biguanide pools start to develop all the problems that plague them after a period of time. I suspect that if you stick with biguanide you will soon find that it will really start draining your wallet and your water will keep 'self destructing'.

This is the reason most biguanide users convert to chlorine after a few years.

My wife is allergic to chlorine. I wish I could switch.

If you are committed to continuing with baquacil, it helps a great deal to replace your filter media and 1/2 of your water each year. If you do that every year, things will stay manageable.

By the by, true allergies to chlorine are very very rare. Far more people react to various other things which are common in poorly maintained pools, without realizing that if they had a properly maintained pool they would not have a problem.

The problem started at the end of last season so I cleaned the sand and drained ALL of the water and started over. When opening the pool this year, the test strip came out perfect. It had a high lever of oxidizer when I first checked it, just as it had when I closed the pool . Then after starting up the pump, the oxidizer started dissipating.

sometihng is growing somewhere, possibly white water mold in your pipes. Also, how old are your strips? Brigaunide test wtrips are not that acurate. I would invest in the Taylor biguanide/peroxide test kit if you are going to stay with biguanide. It's expensive but it works well.

OK, You guys have convinced me to switch. I have done some research on a Natures 2 system for above ground pools and it looks like I can get by using half the amount of chlorine. I think that maybe my wife can handle this. At least I hope so. I am tired of putting all this money in Baquacil. Someone please tell me what I need to do to switch.

There is an article at Pool School. on doing the conversion. You can also read some of the other conversion stories.

There is no way to put this nicely so I'm just going to say it. You are walking from one bad system right into another. Why? What is it about chlorine that has you seeking alternatives?

You do not want a Nature 2 system or anything similar. If you think you will save money with N2 you are sorely mistaken.

You need to understand the basics of pool water chemistry and what that entails - there is no easy fix. All of these "alternatives" are overhyped, overpriced and will deliver you nothing but trouble.

Read this
http://www.troublefreepool.com/alternative-sanitizers-and-chemical-free-pools-the-truth-t3025.html
and

This
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=98

Believe me, I learned the hard way because I had an ionizer. TFP saved my sanity and my wallet.

Hope this helps.

I have been using the nature 2 in my spa for about 3 years and it is trouble free now. Before I started using it, I had nothing but trouble.

Many users of the N2 in spas report success, but that same success is not reported in Pool use. Perhaps it's because spa users have more frequent water replacement due to the small size of spas? Not sure. But the N2 will bring little if any benefit to your pool, and it surely won't save you any money.

I missed the post above where you state your wife is allergic.

Was this confirmed thru a doctor's test? As Jason pointed out, many people who think they are allergic to the chlorine are usually reacting to CC's from pools that are not properly balanced or have inadequate levels of free chlorine.

Don't take offense but if your wife is allergic to chlorine does she drink only distilled water because most drinking water has some chlorine in it?
I used baquagoo for 4 years and over the 4th year I spent over $1400 in chemicals and had 1 and 1/2 weeks without an algae problem. I do not have that kind of money to spend for pool chemicals so I switched to the BBB method. This year I opened to a clear pool and only had to add some cya and a couple of bottles of bleach.
My sister told me that chlorine from the public pool made my nephews private parts very raw and was worried about him swimming in my pool. He swam from Aug. to Oct. last year with the BBB method and has been swimming since mid April this year with no problems.
When I was in high school and college I was a lifeguard at the local YMCA and the main thing they were worried about was if there was enough chlorine in the pool to cover all of the swimmer loads. They always overloaded and my blond hair stayed green. This was a year round job at an indoor pool.

Susan

N2 for spas is based on silver and zinc, N2 for pools silver and copper. Also, the water in spas is changd every three months while pool water is not.

Yes, she truly cannot tolerate chlorine. She was a hairdresser for 30 years and has developed a sensitivity to all chemicals due to being overexposed to chemicals for so many years. She can't be near any strong smells such as perfume, deodorants, cleaning products. And as for drinking chlorinated water, she doesn't. We are on a well. But she could probably tolerate the chlorine if it did not smell real strong in the pool. I have seen pools that were not too strong smelling, but I don't know if they were very sanitary. If the natures 2 is not going to work, then I don't know what else I can try. I can't afford to keep using the baquacil.

If smell is the issue a properly maintained pool has little or no chlorine smell.

This was one of the most surprising pieces of info that I learned here... I always thought a pool with a strong chlorine smell meant it was over-chlorinated. I found out it means basically the opposite. Go figure!

Sensitivity to smells and a true allergy are different, but I totally understand where you are coming from. Over the years I have become less and less tolerant of perfume and other chemical odors.

When one "smells chlorine" from a pool - it's the CC in the pool that you "smell" not the FC. The combined chloramines can be oxidized with appropriate levels of FC. So if you smell chlorine, the pool doesn't have enough. Clearly water balance is the issue when someone smells chlorine. This is usually the culprit in indoor pools, this is usually the culprit in pools where proper chlorination is not being monitored.

It will be an especially bad problem, IMHO if one used an ionizer and kept the FC at the recommended .5-1. It simply isn't enough FC residual to prevent CCs from forming and the N2, while it may keep algae away, will result in copper staining and will turn blonde hair green. The N2 may keep algae away, but it won't work on bacteria and viruses fast enough to be practical for use in pools. And if the pump is not run enough, or the FC is allowed to drop to 0 (easy to do if the residual is only .5) algae can take hold rather quickly, despite the ions. The manufacturers suggest shocking the pool weekly to keep the CC away, but that is not always enough. For example, CC's can form on say-day 2, and if you don't shock till day 6 or 7, you'll have the irritating CC's the full 5 days....

I have experience with this as I had a Pool Frog which is similar to the N2. I used it for 5 years and am quite familiar with the pros, but especially the cons.

Since I switched to BBB 2 years ago, I have never had CC's form, never had algae, never smelled a stich of chlorine, even when I shocked my pool! The only reason I had to shock was I was going out of town for 11 days and wanted to prevent the chlorine from dropping too low. The only other reason I shocked was for closing. That's it!

The N2 cartridges and the associated weekly shock treatments will quickly add up and you'll be right up there with Baq - expense wise.

If it were my pool, I would use straight bleach, set my CYA for 30 and keep the FC above 2 at all times, your target for dosing being 4...so that by the next night, the chlorine won't drop below 2. 2 is not very high at all and as long as you are diligent about it, you likely won't get any CCs and the associated smells, and you won't have to shock. Something to consider.