My baqua to saltwater conversion for an above ground 13k gallon pool

[jmluongo]

Hello all,

This is my first post here. My name is James. I have a 13000 gallon above ground pool. I came to the site in my search to convert my baquacil to salt water chlorine. I've found the pool school article on the conversion and have started it. I want to know if I'm doing it correctly.

First, let me start off by saying I made the switch because my water was cloudy this year with white water mold. And after shocking with 4 bottles of Softswim C (clarifier), the white water mold went away, but the water was still cloudy. I did this "shocking" in early August. I also applied Softswim B (Sanitizer with Biguanide) and Softswim A (algicide).

I've been using Softswim products for 2 years after my pool store decided to stock them and push them over the Baquacil products. Prior to two years ago I was using the three stage Baquacil, including CDX. I just bought this house with the pool about 4 years ago. The previous owners maintained the pool for 15 years prior to my arrival. I believe they use Baquacil for the most part.

Anyway, on to my conversion. Following the guide, I checked my ph levels and they were fine. So I added 4 bottles of 6% bleach, according to the pool math calculation for a 13000 gallon pool. I watched the color of the pool change from blue to green. I have pics and a video which I will post later when I get them off my phone. This was about 5 days ago. I wanted to rush the process so I tested every few hours and added bleach appropriately. There were times that I may have added too much bleach, my FC hit 19 at one point, only for it to dissipate to 1 the next day. This morning, Sunday, my FC was at 16, then the sun came out. I tested mid day and it was back to 1, so I added 3 bottles of bleach again, vacuumed the pool, backwashed, etc. Tested again in 3 hours and I was down to 11. I added my last couple of bottles of bleach (I've already bought and used 40 121 oz bottles by now). This is where I stand.

The water is currently clean and a little translucent. I can see a lot of yellow goo at the bottom that I've been trying to vacuum up, but I think it's going right through the skimmer and possibly getting stuck in the sand filter. Not sure if it's coming back out. I'm also using my pool robot to clean up some of it while I'm off doing other things.

My questions are: based on my pool history am I a long way out from getting this conversion complete? Would it be more cost effective if I were to drain the pool and refill? I think water rates in my area range from $2-$4 per 100 cubic feet so I'm guessing the cost to fill the pool would be about $100 with town water. I've already spent close to that much on bleach. Any thoughts?

 

[Texas Splash]

Hello and welcome! In general, the Pool School - Convert Your Baqua Pool to Chlorine guidance works very well. The problem we've seen more & more though is the use of CDX. It almost works like a stabilizer of sorts, and we don't want a stabilizing product in the baqua because it influences how much chlorine is required - often times above the 15ppm level noted in the conversion instructions. HERE is a great thread on the issue. If it were me, based on the long-term use of CDX and unknown history of the previous owners, I would consider a healthy water exchange. Never drain it completely because you don't want to compromise the liner or shell stability. Even after such a water exchange, you'll need to continue with the conversion, but the results should be more in-line with the baqua page to the point you begin to hold the 15ppm level much better before changing the sand.

We have some other baqua experts who might chime in if you wish to hold tight for more replies. But that's just my gut feeling. Great to have you with us on the forum.

 

[pookiesunshine]

the water exchange would have worked great before, now not sure how close you are. are you still seeing a color change when you add bleach? if so, you still have a way to go and might consider water exchange. be sure you are vacuuming the goo on the bottom to waste, not to filter. in fact, if you are still generating goo when you add bleach, i would put filter in recycle to avoid clogging it. the goo should settle to the bottom, but if not you can turn the pump off after running a couple hours after bleach addition to let goo settle. good luck.

 

[Leebo]

Welcome to TFP!!!

If I may ask, where is Billerica? It’ll assist in us foruming an opinion. If it’s a warm area I’d suggest you continue adding chlorine as I suspect you’ll be close. If it’s a cool area where a close is in store I’d say drain/refill to attempt to get a few more swim days in before you close for the winter.

 

[jmluongo]

the water exchange would have worked great before, now not sure how close you are. are you still seeing a color change when you add bleach? if so, you still have a way to go and might consider water exchange. be sure you are vacuuming the goo on the bottom to waste, not to filter. in fact, if you are still generating goo when you add bleach, i would put filter in recycle to avoid clogging it. the goo should settle to the bottom, but if not you can turn the pump off after running a couple hours after bleach addition to let goo settle. good luck.

Hey, thanks for the response. It's not changing color after I add the bleach now, after about 40 bottles. This morning I tested the water and it actually read 16. I think I might have counted the drops in the test wrong, but I was happy with it. This evening when I tested it was down to 9. Today's loss of FC has been the best so far. And despite the water being a greenish color, it's super clear. I can actually see the bottom now! Unlike when I had the baqua in there. Now I can see exactly where to vacuum. My mistake is that I've been vacuuming to the filter and running the filter nonstop. I backwashed again tonight and actually got the water down to a level where it's a bit low for the skimmer so I had to turn it off. Now I'm running the robot to clean up the stuff at the bottom and adding 2 bottles of bleach to get my FC up to 15 again. Will test again tomorrow with my fingers crossed. I have my sand and CYA ready to change the filter!

- - - Updated - - -

Welcome to TFP!!!

If I may ask, where is Billerica? It’ll assist in us foruming an opinion. If it’s a warm area I’d suggest you continue adding chlorine as I suspect you’ll be close. If it’s a cool area where a close is in store I’d say drain/refill to attempt to get a few more swim days in before you close for the winter.

Hi there, Billerica is in Massachusetts. So we're getting ready to go into the cold weather. I should be closing my pool right now but I want to do the conversion first. Maybe prevent my water from freezing over the winter, which has potential to damage my liner. It has before.

- - - Updated - - -

Hello and welcome! In general, the Pool School - Convert Your Baqua Pool to Chlorine guidance works very well. The problem we've seen more & more though is the use of CDX. It almost works like a stabilizer of sorts, and we don't want a stabilizing product in the baqua because it influences how much chlorine is required - often times above the 15ppm level noted in the conversion instructions. HERE is a great thread on the issue. If it were me, based on the long-term use of CDX and unknown history of the previous owners, I would consider a healthy water exchange. Never drain it completely because you don't want to compromise the liner or shell stability. Even after such a water exchange, you'll need to continue with the conversion, but the results should be more in-line with the baqua page to the point you begin to hold the 15ppm level much better before changing the sand.

We have some other baqua experts who might chime in if you wish to hold tight for more replies. But that's just my gut feeling. Great to have you with us on the forum.

Thanks for your response. I thought about changing the water out. And we even have a lot of rain coming in the next few days so I might save a little on the refill. However it seems that I'm making some progress since the water is clearing up and my FC is dropping at a slower rate. I panicked a little last night but I'm ok now.

I'll keep you guys updated on my progress.

 

[jmluongo]

Just a quick question. It's raining now, and it probably will be for a couple of days. I added 2 bottles of bleach last night. I tested this morning and my FC was at 11. Is it worth maintaining FC of 15 with the rain or will that slow down my progress? What should I do in this case?

 

[Texas Splash]

Rain is not an issue. Maintain the FC of 15 as much as you can along with continuous scrubbing. It's critical to breaking down that goo.

 

[jmluongo]

Rain is not an issue. Maintain the FC of 15 as much as you can along with continuous scrubbing. It's critical to breaking down that goo.

Thanks! Will do.

 

[Flying Tivo]

I would not use the robot instead vacuum to waste!

 

[jmluongo]

I would not use the robot instead vacuum to waste!

I'm planning on vacuuming. I just figured the robot could do it in between vacuums to maybe get it done faster. I've had to clean the bags a few times now and they're always yellow and slimy. So it tells me it's doing something at least.

 

[jmluongo]

My last couple of tests had FC between 12 and 15 so I decided to replace the sand in the filter. After having to buy a new shop vac and replacing 2 laterals I finally got it done. I'll be maintaining an FC of 15 while now adding CYA in at 30 ppm

 

[Leebo]

Have you completed the OCLT???

 

[jmluongo]

Have you completed the OCLT???

Had to Google it. Yes. I only lost 0.5 ppm FC overnight from yesterday to today

 

[Leebo]

Pool School - Perform the Overnight FC Loss Test (OCLT)

This will help you see if your chlorine is being consumed by the Baqua or by the sun.