Baqua to chlorine conversion

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tcarr83

0
May 31, 2016
10
Sterling/MA
Help! I started a baqua to chlorine conversion yesterday around 5 pm. I added 6-1/2 gallons of liquid chlorine to my 25000 gal. pool. The FC level went way over the 15 I expected, like 25 or so. It stayed that high overnight. This afternoon the chlorine tests at 0. However, the water is chrystal clear. Now what?:confused:
 
:wave: Welcome to TFP!!!

Are you sure you had a Baqua pool?
Did you test and track the FC and CC?

Please add your pool details to your signature as described HERE as it will help us help you.
 
Hello! :wave: For those doing a Baquacil conversion, this page is a must: Pool School - Convert Your Baqua Pool to Chlorine. As Jason asked, it was baquacil correct? You would see a tremendous chemical reaction between the baqua and chlorine, not to mention the coagulation of "goo: beginning to form. If so, follow that page as directed and it will work very well.
 
I've been using baquacil for 15 years, since pool was new. Last year I couldn't keep oxidizer level up, which is why I am converting. I have not added any bacqua products since last year's closing. Also, I changed out the sand in the filter before the conversion and plan to change it again after completion. I did get a reaction when I added the 6-1/5 gal. of chlorine, the water turned deep yellow-ish. By yesterday morning the water was clearer and FC tested very high at 6am, 25 or so. By afternoon, water was very clear and FC tested at 0. Backwash produced yellow/brown gunk for 2 minutes or so, then cleared. I added 3-1/2 gallons of liquid chlorine at 6pm and tested for FC at 7pm, it was at 20. At 6am today it was at 12. When chlorine was added yesterday, there was no visible reaction, water remained clear. I'm not sure how to proceed from here, I suspect FC will be back to 0 this afternoon. Thanks for the help! This site is awesome!
 
No worries Tim. I think the key right now, even though you did a couple things apart from the ideal TFP conversion sequence, is simply to stay close to the pool (if you can) and maintain that FC of 15 "consistently". As noted on the link above to the conversion page, maintain that FC of 15 diligently until you lose no more than 1 ppm overnight. Once you reach that milestone, then change the sand and continue with the process. Of course FC will go very fast during the day because you aren't required to add stabilizer yet which could interfere with the process - that comes later after you change the sand. Hang in there.
 
How strong was the Chlorine (8.25% or 12.5%) and how big were the jugs (Bleach "gallons" are only 121 oz.)

To get chlorine to 15 for a 25,000 gallon pool you only needed 4 1/4 "gallons" of bleach. 6 gallons gets it to 20ppm. OTOH, 6 gallons of 12.5% gets your water to 28!!! With no CYA, that could pose an issue if you keep going that high. It is virtually off the charts!!!

Now that your pool is clear, run (and post) a full panel of tests yourself (not a pool store). and use Poolmath to bump FC to 15. See if you pass an OCLT tonight, run another FC/CC test tomorrow morning, and bump FC back up to 15.

My guess is you did not get all the BQ and you will have to keep at it for a couple more days.
 
Tim, always make sure to update the WEIGHT field on the Poolmath calculator to ensure FC accuracy when dosing. For now, focus on FC and passing an overnight (OCLT) test. Only then will you need to add stabilizer and adjust other items. If you were worried about pH, you could check that quickly if your FC drops below 10, but other than that, focus on FC and the steps on the conversion page.
 
tcarr83 said:
Okay. That explains some things. I believe the chlorine is 12.5%. I have 5 gallon jugs from pool store. That's undoubtably why it went so high. A full panel of tests, what does that include at this point besides FC/CC?
Click to expand...

Free Chlorine (FC)
Combined Chloramines (CC)
Cyanuric acid (CYA)
pH (Only accurate with FC<10)
Total Alkalinity (TA)
Chalcium Hardness (CH) - You have a vinyl liner so this is less, if not at all, important, but since you asked what comprises a full panel of tests, there it is.
 
Making progress! FC/CC levels yesterday afternoon and this morning...1pm 0FC/0CC - added 3 gal. 12.5% chlorine, 5pm 1/0.5 - 3 more gal., 6pm 15/0.5, 7pm 14/<0.5 1/2gal., 8pm 13/<0.5 1/2gal., 9pm 17/<0.5, 10pm 13.5/<0.5 1gal., 6:30am 16/0.5, 7:30am 15/0.5 Time to change sand and add CYA?
 

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tcarr83 said:
Time to change sand and add CYA?
Click to expand...

I think you are close, but first, I have a question.
tcarr83 said:
... 10pm 13.5/<0.5 1gal., 6:30am 16/0.5,
Click to expand...

How soon after you add LC do you test the water? I ask this because typically, FC cannot go up without adding something to the water in the meantime. So it seems odd to have more chlorine in the morning than was there 8 1/2 hours prior. Did you add any at 10:00 and are you measuring the FC the same each time you test?
 
According to Pool Math, 1 gal of 12.5% will raise 25k gallons by 5ppm. That will presumably bring your FC to 18.5 at 10:00 last night. If your FC was 16 this morning, there is still some work to do. BQ is hiding somewhere.

Adding CYA and a change in filter media shouldn't happen until after you pass the OCLT.
 
Stick with it. Do the best you can to maintain an FC of 15 , even during the day under sunlight with no CYA protection. Once you pass the overnight (OCLT) test starting at an FC of 15, then you can move-on to the next phase of your conversion - the filter.
 
Hey guys,

Results from yesterday and this morning (time, FC/CC, chlorine added. if any):
2:30 0/0 3gal, 3:30 6.5/1.0 6.75qts, 4:30 12/0.5 2.4qts, 5:30 12.5/<0.5, 6:30 13/0 1.6qts, 7:30 14/0 26oz, 8:30 15.5/<0.5 none, 9:30 15/0 none, 5am 14.5/<0.5 13oz, 6am 15/<0.5 none, 7am 14/0 26oz.

Thoughts? Thanks.
 
Congratulations! It looks like you passed the OCLT. Now it's time to clean out your filter and change the media. Get in there and hit it really well. Once the filter is cleaned up and new sand added, add enough CYA to reach 30 ppm. Continue to maintain FC at 15 ppm.

Your conversion is complete when CC's are 0.5 or less two days in a row.
 
Update: Changed sand in filter, added 100 oz CYA to get to 30ppm. Maintained FC at 15ppm through the weekend. This required much less chlorine after adding the stabilizer, adding by the quart or ounces vs. gallons! CC's have been 0.5 or less for many days now. Water looks perfect. Tests run yesterday (Monday) at 5pm: ph=7.2 FC=6 CC=0 CYA=20 TA=80. Is TA okay or should I add 117oz baking soda to get to 100? Other than that it looks like 52oz soda ash to get ph to 7.8 and 67oz CYA to get to 40? Am I using PoolMath correctly? I assume FC will continue to drop naturally down to 4 or so? Once it does how much 12.5% chlorine should I expect to need to add daily to maintain this level? Thanks for the help in making my conversion go so smoothly! Swimming by the weekend, for sure!
 
Leave TA for now, watch pH in the next few weeks. It'll probably be fine.

You could leave pH alone right now, it may rise on its own. You could point an eyeball up to break the surface too, that will use aeration to raise it. I definitely wouldn't shoot for 7.8 with soda ash.

You could hold at 30 CYA, given location. FC will drop, yes. Use the chart to always select the right target for your CYA Pool School - Chlorine / CYA Chart.

Daily use, probably somewhere around a quart or two each day. Depends on sun, swimmer load, etc.
 
I agree with Mr Bruce. Take it slow on the other levels, no need to rush anything. I'm assuming by doing so well that meant you passed two consecutive OCLT's right? If so, the conversion is officially complete and you are back to simply balancing your chlorine pool. Nice work. Quite a process and you did very well.
 
Yes. Not losing any FC overnight since Thursday, CC's have been at or near 0, as well. I added enough CYA (100 oz) on Friday to get to 30, but didn't test for it until Monday, to wait for it to completely disolve. Test indicated CYA around 20. Should I add enough (33 oz per PoolMath) to get it up to 30? Also, should I care about borates?

- - - Updated - - -

One other thing, I have a slide. Would just turning water on to slide provide aeration to raise ph a little?
 

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