Can I just empty the pool and refill it for a fresh start?

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Kelly65

Kelly65

0
Aug 1, 2017
7
Alplaus, New York
Hi, I started the process of converting yesterday and started thinking. This is just a 24" round pool. Why don't I just empty and clean the pool, change the filter sand and get a fresh start. Does anyone know if there's a reason not to do it this way? I'd be done and refilled in about 3 days. the new water would cost me about $35. Thank you.
 
Be cautious about completely draining a liner pool, the liner could quickly shrink. Depending on the age and condition of the liner you could end up with a bunch of wrinkles on the bottom, a liner that pops out of a bead receiver, or tearing of a brittle liner as it tries to stretch back.

We normally do not recommend draining down further than 1 foot depth remaining.
 
domct203 said:
Be cautious about completely draining a liner pool, the liner could quickly shrink. Depending on the age and condition of the liner you could end up with a bunch of wrinkles on the bottom, a liner that pops out of a bead receiver, or tearing of a brittle liner as it tries to stretch back.

We normally do not recommend draining down further than 1 foot depth remaining.
Click to expand...


Thank you. The pool is only 3 months old. I tried to use peroxide and have gone through a seasons worth of chemicals and then some already with the help of my pool supply store testing. The pool remained clear for about a week. I wish I found this site before I did all that.
 
If you are trying to covert to chlorine then peroxide likely won't help. There's a method that uses sodium percarbonate but it is no more effective than using chlorine, costs more and typically requires chlorine anyway.

If you can drain your pool, then do so safely as Dom suggests. You will still need to follow the conversion process BEFORE ADDING ANY CYA so draining and refilling will just make the process go faster.
 
I should have been a little clearer. Unlike my pool. I'm trying to convert to chlorine as fast as I can. I'm new to owning a pool and thought baquacil would be great choice for us. I have a son with sensitive skin and the pool store advised me of this alternative to chlorine. It just plain didn't work. He has friends with clear chlorine pool and is fine in them. I didn't know that he would be. Thanks for the help.
 
Kelly65 said:
I should have been a little clearer. Unlike my pool. I'm trying to convert to chlorine as fast as I can. I'm new to owning a pool and thought baquacil would be great choice for us. I have a son with sensitive skin and the pool store advised me of this alternative to chlorine. It just plain didn't work. He has friends with clear chlorine pool and is fine in them. I didn't know that he would be. Thanks for the help.
Click to expand...

Mark,

Do us all a favor first and please update your signature with all of your pool equipment, pool size and total volume. Believe me, it helps a lot.

Also, what kind of pool is this exactly? You mentioned 24ft. Is it an above-ground with side walls or a soft-side Intex-style pool?

Draining will be the fastest way to go but, as I said, you still have to follow the conversion protocol. If you have a sand filter, you may or may not need to change the sand. However, sand is cheap so changing it is no big deal.

That said, you absolutely need a high quality test kit. You're going to either need a Taylor K-2006-C (the "C" stands for commercial grade and it has larger reagent bottle sizes) OR you can get a TF-100 with XL option from TFTestKits.net . The test kit is absolutely critical to pool care and will enable you to test your own water and NOT rely on the pool store.

I would not start the conversion until you get the proper testkit. TFTestKits is likely the fastest option. You can call them up directly and will most likely talk to the company owner. She can help you decide what you need.

Let us know which way you want to go....and, don't worry about the "sensitive skin". We get people on here all the time claiming they're allergic to chlorine pools when, in fact, what they are really allergic to are disgusting, poorly managed chlorine pools that are filled with oxidized bather waste (combined chlorine). Everyone is "allergic" to those pools. When you follow the TFP method of pool care, your family will be amazed by how you're able to have a clear and sparkly pool with no chlorine in it ;) They'll never know your pool is chlorinated until you tell them....
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
Kelly65 said:
Thanks Matt. Updated my signature and my Taylor K-2006-C test kit arrived today. After reading these posts I wouldn't do anything without a proper test kit. I'll be starting my conversion tonight.
Click to expand...

As suggested above, do not drain down to less than 12" or you risk shifting the liner, creating wrinkles, etc. Leaving some of the Baquacil treated water in the pool to mix with fresh will dilute it a lot and so the conversion should be a lot faster. It is best to try to attempt these things when you have lots of time on your hands like a weekend, or even better, a long weekend. Even with significant dilution, the chlorine consumption will be very high at first. One trick is to leave the filter in recirculate mode initially to allow the water to circulate but not go through the sand bed. Then, you dose and hold the FC as close to 15ppm as possible all day. Turn everything off at night and then let whatever solid precipitates created by the chlorine and baquacil fall to the bottom. Then, the next morning, you vacuum to waste. Physically removing a majority of the goop formed during a conversion speeds up the process.

Let us know how it goes....
 
Update 8/7, All went well with my conversion from Baquacil to Chlorine. I followed the steps given and now I have a clear pool my family loves. It took about 3 days from start to finish and about 18 gallons of 10% bleach. Vacuuming to waste and brushing down the sides just a few times on day 2. I took a long weekend to babysit the pool and put my teenage son to work with the cleaning. Lots of testing too. I was surprised at how fast the FC was eaten up. I'm very happy I found TFP to help me get my pool back.
 
Seems from your previous posts that you've read pool school and have a good understanding on how to move forward the "trouble free" way. Glad you got the kit. You're smarter than I am.

I found TFP mid-season a couple years back and tried to follow TFP procedurally without a good test kit; was advised against it; told that without a good kit, I was not following TFP, but was stubborn and didn't listen. I was trying to stretch it out until the next Spring, so I could start a new season with a fresh kit, and I figured the "bad stories" about pool store testing were exaggerated. Well, I kept getting reports from the pool store showing I had cc's but with a clear pool using bleach each day, even though store personnel weren't instructing me to shock (the report was saying shock, but the personnel weren't; should have been a red flag to me). I didn't have a FAS-DPD to confirm or to know my accurate FC. Well anyway, I ended up bleaching out my liner a bit trying to make sure I was using enough chlorine to kill the cc's that really didn't even ever exist, because my level was just a guess and cya was based on a store report. It just doesn't work and I understand that now.

One main point to get that is vastly different from pool store and chemical company advice (I think you probably already know this but just to be sure); make sure you know to keep FC at 7.5% of CYA minimum by raising to target each day. See FC/CYA chart or just use pool math calculator. Don't just arbitrarily shock or SLAM; only if the test or pool directs you to SLAM. Some people come to TFP thinking it's mostly about the old BBB mantra of saving money via bleach, borax, baking soda and muriatic acid; but that's really one of the least important differences of the two methods. That's only about saving a little money, but TFP is much more than that. It's a totally different approach. Science versus a little of this and a little of that. Prevention versus correction. The difference in which FC and CYA are manipulated (or not manipulated) and the testing method and frequency are the main points to follow.
 
I didn't end up draining the pool. Just drained it down a few times when vacuuming. When I saw how quickly the water was clearing I went with conversion as it was laid out on TFP. I think I got lucky with how quickly I was able to convert my pool over.
 
Do you have any idea what your baquacil sanitizer levels were before you started? I'm only asking because, yes, your conversion was very fast and it helps others to know the various parameters. Did you ever use any of the Baquacil CDX products? Did you use recirculate mode at all in the beginning?

Thanks for any details you can share.
 
Unfortunately I don't know what my baquacil sanitizer level was before I started. I never used any of the CDX products and I used the the filter backwashing hourly at first and adding fresh water as I went. I do know I added 1 gallon of baquacil about 4 days before I started per the pool stores testing and all my other levels were fine by their readings. When nothing changed in my pool is when I found TFP and decided to convert to chlorine. I spent 3 days testing, cleaning and adding bleach and monitoring and I was a vigilant pool sitter. One thing to note is my filter pressure now runs at about 8 psi less than it did with Baquacil. It was causing problems before because my heater wasn't staying on due to the flow rate I was getting with the pump on low. That too is also fixed. The heater stays on when I want it to. This pool only gets about a half day of full sun.
 
Thanks for the info.

For conversions, consistency and diligence is key. If a person can babysit the pool like you did, then the conversion goes a lot faster. Water exchange is also very helpful too.

One aspect of Baquacil's sanitation action is to act as a coagulant/clarifier. So I'm not surprised your filter pressure was a lot higher as it was probably getting plugged up with algae/water mold. Chlorine just kills everything and so the filter is left to just collect dead algae. If you feel like your filtration is not getting you the water clarity you like, you can add a small amount of DE to sand filter to help act as a clarifier. This Pool School article explains it -

Pool School - Add DE to a Sand Filter
 

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