Converting the pool this year, quite nervous about it.
- Thread starter ? D ?
- Start date
Ok here are two pictures of the pool. I made them thumbnails as they are 1024x768 in size.
First one is of the new piping installation I did. Second one is of the actual pool water.
The floating stuff on the water is bits of tree flower that is slowly going into the skimmer and being removed, it was a lot worse than that before. The water is not so green in the picture I guess due to the sunny day we are having but you definitely cannot see the bottom :lol: The camera is about 2 foot away from the water.
Until the next update then.
First one is of the new piping installation I did. Second one is of the actual pool water.
The floating stuff on the water is bits of tree flower that is slowly going into the skimmer and being removed, it was a lot worse than that before. The water is not so green in the picture I guess due to the sunny day we are having but you definitely cannot see the bottom :lol: The camera is about 2 foot away from the water.
Until the next update then.
frustratedpoolmom said:Casey said:
AOOOHR! Wheredya get that?!
My personal stash of smilies.
haha! I need one hand free to scrollCasey said:frustratedpoolmom said:Casey said:
AOOOHR! Wheredya get that?!
My personal stash of smilies.
frustratedpoolmom said:Yeah!
(Hey Butterfly, Here's where we need the eating popcorn emoticon!)
Yep
Hey D, we're ready :lol:
Here is a picture of the pool water taken about 10 minutes ago after hosed down the sides of the pool at the waterline mark since there was a build up of crud on there.
Again, the camera is about 1 foot away from the water and when you click the thumbnail, you should be able to see that it is getting clearer
I can just about see the bottom of the pool along with some crud in the areas that we missed when trying to get the leaves etc out.
I was going to hook up the Leaf Eater and get at those areas but we have a thunderstorm coming in so I'll have to wait until tomorrow afternoon after I get back from picking up some fish :nemo: (No, not for the pool
:lol: - I keep aqaurium fish)
I'm surprised that I haven't got some major water colors but then with me not putting anything into the pool since last Autumn, I think that helped
- what do you think?
Oh and I'll do my first water test either tomorrow or Monday to see where things stand at Chlorine-wise but the pool water still has the chlorine smell to it
Again, the camera is about 1 foot away from the water and when you click the thumbnail, you should be able to see that it is getting clearer
I can just about see the bottom of the pool along with some crud in the areas that we missed when trying to get the leaves etc out.
I was going to hook up the Leaf Eater and get at those areas but we have a thunderstorm coming in so I'll have to wait until tomorrow afternoon after I get back from picking up some fish :nemo: (No, not for the pool
:lol: - I keep aqaurium fish)I'm surprised that I haven't got some major water colors but then with me not putting anything into the pool since last Autumn, I think that helped
- what do you think?Oh and I'll do my first water test either tomorrow or Monday to see where things stand at Chlorine-wise but the pool water still has the chlorine smell to it
Yes, if the Baq levels were very low, it will speed up the conversion.
The pic didn't work....
The pic didn't work....
Here are yesterdays pictures (Day 4) before I used the Leaf Eater. The first pic I took while standing on top of the ladder/steps to try give an overall look of the pool. The second gives a closer look at the gunk that we missed previously before we added the bleach.
I also decided to do some water tests and was surprised at the readings:
pH - 7.2 .......... Cl - less than 0.5 (it stayed clear, so I did the next one)
chlorine only test - nothing The water never turned pink after adding the R-870 powder.
So I'm a bit lost on what to do regarding rectifying that, as I added 8 x 174oz jugs to the pool on Day 1 and thought I'd get some sort of Cl reading.
Looks like we may also have to invest in one of THESE to help the crud on the water's surface go into the skimmer. Worth it or is there a better suggestion?
Thanks for taking the time to help
I also decided to do some water tests and was surprised at the readings:
pH - 7.2 .......... Cl - less than 0.5 (it stayed clear, so I did the next one)
chlorine only test - nothing
The water never turned pink after adding the R-870 powder.So I'm a bit lost on what to do regarding rectifying that, as I added 8 x 174oz jugs to the pool on Day 1 and thought I'd get some sort of Cl reading.
Looks like we may also have to invest in one of THESE to help the crud on the water's surface go into the skimmer. Worth it or is there a better suggestion?
Thanks for taking the time to help
You want to be testing the FC level and raising it back up to 15 frequently, at least once a day and as often as once every hour. It is very common for the FC level to fall rapidly back to near zero for the first several days, and then you just add more chlorine.
Have you read the conversion instructions at Pool School?
Have you read the conversion instructions at Pool School?
Yes I did read the instructions, I figured some of the bleach would have been used up but not all of it. That's my fault for not stocking up on the bleach and for not testing the water often enough. 
I just checked the pool calculator and I need to add 3 gallons and a quart to bring the FC back up to 15ppm. I'll do that tomorrow evening once I've picked up some more bleach.
Thanks for the insight.
I just checked the pool calculator and I need to add 3 gallons and a quart to bring the FC back up to 15ppm. I'll do that tomorrow evening once I've picked up some more bleach.
Thanks for the insight.
Well I did get some more bleach but I wasn't able to add any as it's been really storming here 
The drive home from Walmart was was done at 40-45mph when I usually do 60-65mph; that's how bad the rain is coming down.
Weather sucks
but I wasn't able to add any as it's been really storming here The drive home from Walmart was was done at 40-45mph when I usually do 60-65mph; that's how bad the rain is coming down.Weather sucks
Just went out to check on the pool and thanks to the rain we're having this week the water is green with algae. 
I did manage to hose down the cartridge filter so that's a bit of a plus but I didn't put in any more bleach as there is more heavy rain coming this evening and tomorrow.
Good news is that the weekend is looking promising, so we'll be tacking on the crud at the bottom of the pool with both the vacuum and leaf eater before we add any more bleach. My reasoning for this is that somewhere on the forum I read that loss of chlorine can happen when there is a lot of organic material in the pool.
Am I thinking on the right lines?
I did manage to hose down the cartridge filter so that's a bit of a plus but I didn't put in any more bleach as there is more heavy rain coming this evening and tomorrow.
Good news is that the weekend is looking promising, so we'll be tacking on the crud at the bottom of the pool with both the vacuum and leaf eater before we add any more bleach. My reasoning for this is that somewhere on the forum I read that loss of chlorine can happen when there is a lot of organic material in the pool.
Am I thinking on the right lines?
If you are fighting algae and doing a baquacil conversion at the same time, the best thing to do is find a moment when you can add chlorine back up to 15 ppm every hour for several hours, ideally in the evening. That way you are sure to wipe out the algae and have a good portion of the chlorine go towards the conversion.
I'm not sure now if the battle is against baqaucil or if it is against algae, because the last time any baquacil was added to the pool was around August '08 and before we had these heavy rains, the water was starting to get clear. Then on Tuesday (5/5/09) the thunderstorms and heavy rain started. Early this evening is when I actually got a chance to go check on the pool; which is when I found the water 95% green (I can see about 6" into the water but definitely not the bottom).
Seeing as I know that we have organic matter at the bottom of the pool, the plan for the next few days is to use both leaf removal contraptions to reduce it. Reading your Green Swamp to Sparkling Pool guide has brought me to that conclusion.
Once I've got the organic matter to a minimum, I'm going to measure the CYA level and adjust if necessary, I'm aiming for a level of close to 35.
pH is at 7.2 the last time I tested (Tuesday 4th) and if that has changed, I'll adjust it back to that reading.
Only once the above have been accomplished, is when I will then shock the pool with bleach. Using the Pool Calc, my shock FC target is 10 (with CYA at 35 & ph at 7.2) which for me will be 2 gallons & 3 cups of 174oz 6% bleach. At present, I only have 10 jugs of the stuff sitting in the carport, so this will also give me a chance to stock up on some more in preparation. I'm hoping another 20 jugs of the same will be sufficient to get the pool sparkling clear.
If all this doesn't result in clear sparkling pool water then I'm going to be very tempted to get a shotgun and just blow a few holes in the bloody thing. Yeah, I'm a bit fed up with the pool at the moment - sorry.
Seeing as I know that we have organic matter at the bottom of the pool, the plan for the next few days is to use both leaf removal contraptions to reduce it. Reading your Green Swamp to Sparkling Pool guide has brought me to that conclusion.
Once I've got the organic matter to a minimum, I'm going to measure the CYA level and adjust if necessary, I'm aiming for a level of close to 35.
pH is at 7.2 the last time I tested (Tuesday 4th) and if that has changed, I'll adjust it back to that reading.
Only once the above have been accomplished, is when I will then shock the pool with bleach. Using the Pool Calc, my shock FC target is 10 (with CYA at 35 & ph at 7.2) which for me will be 2 gallons & 3 cups of 174oz 6% bleach. At present, I only have 10 jugs of the stuff sitting in the carport, so this will also give me a chance to stock up on some more in preparation. I'm hoping another 20 jugs of the same will be sufficient to get the pool sparkling clear.
If all this doesn't result in clear sparkling pool water then I'm going to be very tempted to get a shotgun and just blow a few holes in the bloody thing. Yeah, I'm a bit fed up with the pool at the moment - sorry.
D,
Just scanning your posts, I'm not sure you are prepared for the chlorine you must use to clear your pool.
A green pool will consume 10ppm FC in the first couple of hours.
Adding the CYA to 30-40ppm is a good idea and should be done very soon. Meanwhile, Why don't you add enough chlorine to get to 15ppm each evening after the sun is off the pool? That way, you won't lose any FC to sunlight (the algae will consume most of it overnight) and you can get a good jump on clearing the pool. The longer you wait, the strongewr foothold the algae gets in your pool and the more FC and effort it will take to clean it.
The rain is not the reason the pool turned green. It turned because the pool had no chlorine to keep the algae at bay.
The shocking (clearing) process is just that.....a process. It cannot be done overnite and it's success depends on your determination to continue replacing the chlorine for perhaps several days as it is consumed by the algae/baqua.
Just scanning your posts, I'm not sure you are prepared for the chlorine you must use to clear your pool.
A green pool will consume 10ppm FC in the first couple of hours.
Adding the CYA to 30-40ppm is a good idea and should be done very soon. Meanwhile, Why don't you add enough chlorine to get to 15ppm each evening after the sun is off the pool? That way, you won't lose any FC to sunlight (the algae will consume most of it overnight) and you can get a good jump on clearing the pool. The longer you wait, the strongewr foothold the algae gets in your pool and the more FC and effort it will take to clean it.
The rain is not the reason the pool turned green. It turned because the pool had no chlorine to keep the algae at bay.
The shocking (clearing) process is just that.....a process. It cannot be done overnite and it's success depends on your determination to continue replacing the chlorine for perhaps several days as it is consumed by the algae/baqua.
Ok tested my FC and CYA this evening:
FC - 0 : The mixture didn't turn pink; stayed clear.
CYA - 0 : I emptied the whole bottle into the vial and I was still able to see the black dot.
Dragged out a bunch of organics with the leaf rake and also hosed off the cartridge. Vacuumed the pool; albeit blindly as the water is really green. Hosed off the cartridge again afterwards as that ended up covered in algae.
Once I get done with this post, I make up enough bleach (3 gallons & 1 quart) to take the FC to 15ppm as suggested. I'll also leave the pump running on the low setting overnight to allow for circulation.
As for adding CYA, I won't be able to get that until middle of the coming week, but when I do, I'll get that in there.
Thanks,
D
FC - 0 : The mixture didn't turn pink; stayed clear.
CYA - 0 : I emptied the whole bottle into the vial and I was still able to see the black dot.
Dragged out a bunch of organics with the leaf rake and also hosed off the cartridge. Vacuumed the pool; albeit blindly as the water is really green. Hosed off the cartridge again afterwards as that ended up covered in algae.
Once I get done with this post, I make up enough bleach (3 gallons & 1 quart) to take the FC to 15ppm as suggested. I'll also leave the pump running on the low setting overnight to allow for circulation.
As for adding CYA, I won't be able to get that until middle of the coming week, but when I do, I'll get that in there.
Thanks,
D