Here we go! Starting conversion from Baquacil -> Salt

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R

rymos

0
Apr 13, 2018
22
Buffalo, NY
Hi Everyone,

I'm getting ready to start the conversion from Baq to Salt this weekend! I have studied up on pool school and looked at many threads about the conversion and have a good understanding of pool math.

I emptied the pool to about 1ft and refilled with tap(city) water to, hopefully, expedite the conversion process. I've finished scrubbing the walls, vacuuming, skimming and getting it clean as i can. I haven't hooked up the SWG yet and I've got my new filter sand all ready to go for after the conversion.

Ive got my test kits and i'm ready to roll!

Here's the test results i have so far.

1. PH - 7.7 - Have to lower this with Muriatic Acid, right?
2. FC - 0 or very low - i can't even get the test to turn pink (i put in like 5 scoop of the test powder) - Will start adding bleach!

Anything else i'm missing?
 
1. Yes lower the pH
2. You should only need to add 1 (maybe 2 scoops). No reason to add more than that. Use 10ml for each drop is 0.5ppm.

Just make sure you follow the conversion process article.

Note that I moved your thread into the Baq forum area
 
Thanks for the reply.

I have to run and get some muriatic acid.

To determine how much muriatic acid, using my test kit, I ran an acid demand test to drop the PH from 7.7 to ~7.3. I needed 1 drop. The water treatment table in my testing kit book says I need ~10 fl oz of Muriatic acid (31.45% - 20 Baume). Pool math says i need 22 oz of the same. Which one is right?
 
What is your TA? You need that to properly determine how much acid to use to adjust your pH using PoolMath
 
Hi There!

Got my PH down to 7.3 and started the conversion yesterday morning. Per poolmath, I added about 4.4 jugs of bleach and watched the pretty colors. As expected, i checked the levels about an hour later and they were close to zero again and I've kept adding about 4-5 jugs throughout the day while backwashing while periodically vacuuming and brushing the walls.

Today I woke up to a clear(er) pool ( i could see the bottom) which was great, but the FC was close around 1 - I've been testing and adding bleach all day. I'm not seeing any more reaction to the bleach, and the filter seems to be lasting much longer before a backwash is needed which i'm assuming means i'm making progress.

For my final test of tonight, I just added another 4 gallons of bleach and retested after an hour - my FC is still low (~5) so I added 3 more gallons. How soon after I add bleach should i test? I have yet to get a single reading above 5 but i know I should be at, at least, 15.. I have added approx 33 gallons of bleach so far.

Does it seem like i'm on the right path?
 

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How soon after I add bleach should i test?
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Really depends on the pattern you're seeing with your pool and how fast it burns-up chlorine. If it's dropping that fast, I'd check sooner if possible - with the exception of sleeping of course. :)

This surprises me though ....
I emptied the pool to about 1ft and refilled with tap(city) water to, hopefully, expedite the conversion process.
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You would hope the conversion would go a bit faster, however you did just start yesterday. Meeting that FC of 15 is really critical because if you don't the baqua goo is just eating what you put in and the bleach isn't wining the fight. Just to make sure .... no products containing CDX or stabilizer have been added correct? Just acid to lower the pH and bleach?
 
As far as I know, CDX was not used - we just bought the house. Previous owner said "no" but he was a pool store "drone" so he may not know. I checked the CYA after the pool was re-filled and it showed 0.

I'll check the levels more frequently.
 
All honesty, it’s using less than I’d expect. You’re on the right path....keep testing and dosing to aim for the 15ppm FC level. This is helping break down all that Baqua that’s in the pool. In the near future I’d expect to see your FC use slow down some.
 
Thanks for the reply.. I think you're right. I have to run to get some more bleach.

I tested the FC again this morning before light hit the pool and it was around 7 ( I added more bleach). I also tested the CC which was <= .5

The pool is as clear as i've ever seen it (even when visiting the pool before we owned it last summer) so that's exciting! I did another deep clean (vacuum, brushing the walls, backwash, and really cleaned the baskets). I saw some leaves in the middle that were clearly affected by all the bleach (very light brown). The thing i noticed was that the pool didn't smell like bleach anymore, which, from what i've read, means it maybe isn't having to fight as hard to kill the organics?

That baquacil is extremely resilient.
 
Should i have my solar cover on right now? The pool is in full sun for 90% of the day. Could that be consuming a lot of the bleach? I've added almost 12 jugs more since this morning and i'm still having a hard time getting it above 11 FC. I can't imagine after draining the pool down to 1 ft that i'm still having to put almost 40 jugs of bleach (and more for sure) in there!
 
The pool is in full sun for 90% of the day. Could that be consuming a lot of the bleach?
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It will, but that's part of the oxidation process. Your water needs that chemical transition. Only adding at night will impede your progress. What you can't see is what's happening in your filter. I think Lee has a few pics of his when he converted. Hard to imagine how nasty that stuff is in there. It takes a lot of bleach to clear it out. Hang tight and I'm sure Lee will be back with more suggestions.
 

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