Beth's conversion!

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I've never been able to get it to 15ppm though. Every time I test, it's 10 or less. So I add bleach, wait another couple of hours, test again, and it's usually 10ppm or less. Is that ok??? And is 15ppm for the long run?? Like it always needs to be that?

Also, my TA is still 150, is that ok? (pH is 7.2) CC's........I'm at 3. ?? Am I considered a SWG pool if we add salt but don't use the SWG??

THanks so much!!!
 
bethdorothy said:
I've never been able to get it to 15ppm though. Every time I test, it's 10 or less. So I add bleach, wait another couple of hours, test again, and it's usually 10ppm or less. Is that ok??? And is 15ppm for the long run?? Like it always needs to be that?

Also, my TA is still 150, is that ok? (pH is 7.2) CC's........I'm at 3. ?? Am I considered a SWG pool if we add salt but don't use the SWG??

THanks so much!!!
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You need to get to 15ppm. You are waiting too long between additions and testing. Measure your FC level now and then use PoolMath to calculate the amount of bleach you need to get to 15ppm. Then add the required amount, brush the pool once or so, let about 10 to 15mins elapse, then test FC again. The point is to attempt to maintain 15ppm FC as best as you can. The chlorine is destroying the baquacil chemicals and 15ppm makes those reactions happen quickly. The lower the FC, the slower the conversion. Obviously you can't add too much bleach as that would bleach the liner so holding 15ppm is a good balance between conversion speed and liner safety.

You can't measure pH and TA reliably with this much chlorine in the water so don't even bother with those tests for now, you can fix those things later as they have no bearing on the clearing process. Your CCs indicate that you still have lots of baquacil chemical to destroy as 3ppm CC is quite high and many people would be easily able to smell that much CCs (the "gross chlorine smell" that everyone attributes to a chlorine pool).
 
Okay.....last night before bed, (dark) I checked the levels. This was after adding 9 more gallons of bleach throughout the day and vacuuming/brushing twice. At 9pm, I had FC of 8. I had added 1 1/2 gallons at 6:15pm after a reading of 10FC. It was literally up and down all day long from 16 to 6. I added 2 more gallons at this point, disgusted that it didn't come up. I just checked this morning and got 16FC and 2CC. (I checked FC 3x's from 3 different areas of the pool.....19, 16, and 12, I went with the middle number) The water is clear in the pool. Thoughts? I've gone through 43 gallons of bleach. Is that the record??

I'm grabbing CYA and replacement filter sand today, just to be ready when the pool conversion is complete. :kim:
 
43, sadly, is nowhere near the record. When you get to 100, you will be in the ball park. Nevertheless, you are making great progress.

!. Keep the chlorine up

2. Don't test from 3 places. Test from one.

Your pump is running 24/7 (I hope) and the water should be perfectly mixed as long as you let any additions have an hour in the pool and then test.

3. As long as you are going through chlorine overnight, you must continue the conversion.

A. Pool water should be crystal clear with no sign of algae or mold anywhere

B. CC's test result should be .5 ppm or less

C. You should not lose more than 1 ppm FC overnight.

When you meet those three, you can change the sand, add CYA and you'll br set.
 
bethdorothy said:
So I just picked CYA up at the pool store and was told I HAVE to use tablets or I will always have algae. He also said I can't use salt, ever. It will ruin my pool. A little confused here!!
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Of course they would say that....by using an SWG you will never need to use pucks again. Which means you'll never need to go into a pool store again. Which means they have no more profit to make from you, ever again....as for their comments about salt ruining your pool, do a salt test on your water and I bet you'll be AMAZED at how much salt you ALREADY have in your pool water....

Before you convert to an SWG, you should put up a post on the forum to look at your electrical system and how everything is bonded together (don't worry about this now, it's for when you're done with your conversion). As long as your pool, pool water and equipment are properly BONDED (note: bonding is not the same as electrical grounding), then your pool should be fine.

And here's a bit of advice for dealing with the pool store -

1. Go into the store with a determined look on your face and make no eye contact (yes, it's a little rude, but that's how you have to be);

2. If you don't know where something is and it's not obvious, ask them for the exact thing you're looking for, don't give reasons or tell stories about what your doing, simply say, "Where can I find XYZ?"

3. If they ask, "How's your pool water?" Your answer is, "Just fine, thanks for asking."

4. If they ask, "Can we test your water for you?" Your answer is, "No thank you."

5. If they ask, "Why do you need XYZ?" Your answer is, "Because I need to get some..."

Treat the pool store like the car dealership - go in there knowing exactly what you want and what you will spend and do not let them talk at all...
 

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I did get a 20 minute lecture on WHY I should NOT be using liquid chlorine and why tablets are better. I also was asked to bring a sample back into the store when this conversion is complete. He also bad mouthed the Soft Swim/Baquacil which is what he'd been selling me up until now. :D

Just getting home, I'll test and add what I need. Forging ahead.......

Update:
FC test was 1. :( But water is crystal clear.
 
Do tell? Why are tens of thousands of pool owners destroying their pools here on TFP? I'd love to hear his nonsense.....ummm, I mean well formed thoughts on the subject ....
 
I kindly thanked him and paid for my CYA and filter sand and went on my way. I'll more than likely order items on line from now on.

At 12ppm after adding 2 gallons of 12% bleach. Added another 1/2 gallon per pool math to top off to 15ppm, crossing fingers. Water is CRYSTAL CLEAR, vacuumed and brushed. So the next step is to see what overnight brings, and to keep the 15ppm up for the remainder of the day. (In the rain:)
 
bethdorothy said:
I kindly thanked him and paid for my CYA and filter sand and went on my way. I'll more than likely order items on line from now on.
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You're way nicer than I would have been....and yes, if you can order online, that's always good. I actually have a mom & pop pool shop near me that sells muriatic acid in refillable gallon jugs for cheaper than any other place in town. I'm happy to patronize them with my business because (A) they sell something I use a lot of and (B) they are happy to not pester me when I'm in the store with all sorts of useless questions. They also started selling Taylor reagents which is very nice to have.

bethdorothy said:
At 12ppm after adding 2 gallons of 12% bleach. Added another 1/2 gallon per pool math to top off to 15ppm, crossing fingers. Water is CRYSTAL CLEAR, vacuumed and brushed. So the next step is to see what overnight brings, and to keep the 15ppm up for the remainder of the day. (In the rain:)
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Glad it's clear. You are getting close. When was the last time you backwashed the filter?
 
Ok, good to know.

So, just in case this was not mentioned previously, the chlorine loss in your pool during the day is going to be quite high because two things are happening -

1. The chlorine is destroying baquacil (something you want);

2. The chlorine is being destroyed by UV light (something you don't want).

In a chlorine pool, #2 would not happen at a high rate because there would be CYA in the water to protect the chlorine. But, because we want #1 to happen as fast as possible, we want no CYA in your water which means you have let #2 happen so that #1 can proceed quickly.

So, keep dosing your pool as best you can during the day BUT, try to dose your pool after the sun goes down and get it at or above 15ppm FC. Then, when you wake up before the sun does, measure again and see what your lose is. Focus only on your overnight loss as that is the true loss to baquacil oxidation. Losses during the day are going to be high and normal due to the interactions with UV.
 
Just an update....last night at 930pm the FC was 12. This morning at 6am, it was 12!! CC was .5(barely, it was pretty clear) We will change out the sand today and add CYA. When you talk about a sock, is that just a regular old sock?? Like for your feet??
 

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