WOW glad I found this!

[allywho69]

I moved all of your conversion posts into this one topic. It is much better to keep everything together in one topic. Thanks JasonLion

WOW glad I found this! I was sick of spending tons of money on Baq and having water probs! SO I ordered a saltwater generator and have started the bleach process. I think I'm going to need way more bleach, but looked at the facebook photos and that gave me hope that I'm doing it right! Our only problem is the close pool store has one person in the know and he's out installing pools, the other store is our Baq dealer and they don't deal in salt water apps, so I'm kind of winging with some info I got from an online pool store. I'm sure it will all work out A-ok, I just need to hang out here and be patient!

 

[JasonLion]

Re: We have started our conversion today!

allywho69, Welcome to TFP! You should start your own topic here in the Baquacil area. There are many people around who will be happy to walk you through the whole process.

 

[knousehouse]

Re: We have started our conversion today!

Allyhoo,

We had no clue what we were doing a few weeks ago and now feel like pool experts! You will get faster and better info from the folks on this board than you will ever get at a pool store and best of all they aren't selling anything!

We have gone through about 45 gallons of bleach and I think we started relatively low on the baqua chems. It looks really bad at the beginning, but it will get better. I'm going out to replace the sand now!!!!! I never thought I would get excited about that, but I am now. :lol: We had a 1 point drop overnight and it looks very clear.

S&S

 

[allywho69]

Re: We have started our conversion today!

One question for you all, as I'm not sure I'm clear on this, are we to run the filter while bleaching? I was told pour in bleach, no filter let set 24 hours and if the water is clear to vacuum on waste, if not clear go another 24 hours. It's not clear it's semi greenish and kind of scummy on top. Adding more bleach as I know store bleach isn't quite potent enough, they told me 2 qts per 1000, we have 15000. I'm excited to get the salt in and although the males in the house aren't going to like to change the sand I think they won't have a choice!

 

[allywho69]

Baquacil to Salt Water

I have read in other topics and was suggested to start my own, so here goes.

We've had our pool gosh maybe 8 years and have always used Baquacil. The last couple of years we've had issues with green and all that other junk. The closest dealer/water tester is an hour away. And as you know it's expensive!

I started researching salt water because my boss uses it and loves it, he has inground, I have above ground. We purchased the generator that hangs on the wall, of course it was a cheaper option and it was chosen in case the liner goes in the next couple of years, as I'm not sure we will replace it.

I have started the bleach process, the pool dealer in our area who deals in salt water pools is kind of a one man show and I can't get in touch with him. An online pool supply store gave me instructions to remove the Baquacil, they said add bleach 2 qts per 1000 gallons, let it sit 24 hours no filter, if water isn't clear let sit 24 more. We are at the 48 hr mark and water isn't clear, greenish with some scum on the top, I am going to add more bleach as from what I read on the bottles it's only about 3% and 6% is recommended.

I don't have a test kit and will have to run over to the pool store tomorrow and get one quick, hopefully I'll understand it, but it doesn't seem hard.

The baquacil test strips show no oxidizer, but some sanitizer and algistat.

Should I run the filter while the bleach is in there working? When I go to vacuum after the settling do it just filter as normal? We were taught to just filter, but the online place suggested doing it on waste, however when I tried tonight I had to start with recirculate to get the vac going and build suction.

Thanks for the tips, info, advice and all the help

 

[allywho69]

Re: Baquacil to Salt Water

One thing do I need an expensive test kit or can the pool store test it and tell me? I just noticed they are quite pricey, will I use them to test when I have salt in? The generator came with test strips and I also ordered extra

 

[DBfan187]

Re: Baquacil to Salt Water

Yes you need to run the filter. I would leave it running until the pool clears.

 

[JasonLion]

Re: We have started our conversion today!

We recommend running the filter 24/7 until the conversion is complete. You are going to need to change the sand in either case, so I figure you might as well filter out as much baqgoo as you can and get it out of the pool.

 

[geekgranny]

allywho69, welcome to TFP. I really like your user name.

You are in the best hands here. You are going to love your pool and the trouble free maintenance (a few minutes a week but many of us just go out to the pool and look busy :lol: ), once you get all that goop filtered out. And WOW, the reduction in costs is amazing. The "boys" will be very happy in a bit.

gg=alice

 

[JasonLion]

Re: Baquacil to Salt Water

Get the best test kit you can find. It will more than pay for it's self many times over in reduced chemical usage and avoided problems. I recommend the TF-100 from TFTestKits.net. The Taylor K-2006 is also good.

You can start a conversion without the kit, so you don't have to wait for it to start, but it is very difficult to finish a conversion without a FAS-DPD chlorine test.

 

[knousehouse]

We got the TFtestkit-XL because we wanted extra chems to test with while doing the conversion. Read our post, they are great to work with. We used a basic kit for the first 3 1/2 days until the good one arrived with no problem. Keep the filter running and backwash when the pressure goes up to get the goo out of the sand as much as possible.

Use the calculator and it will keep you on track with how much bleach to put in. We tried to check it once an hour or so over the holiday when we were home and are now checking in the morning and evenings. The more you check and adjust in the beginning, the faster it will go. We have also been brushing, but not vacuuming yet. That's on tomorrow's list.

On the calculator, look towards the bottom to put in you pool info such as the number of gallons, liner type and what system you want to follow. We used the troublfree.com system in the drop down. You can also put in the concentration of the bleach you are using so it calculates the correct number of gallons. We found 6% at wallmart in 182oz bottles. Be warned, they may look at you funny! I think they thought we had some sort of clandestine lab when we bought 12 bottles and returned two hours later and cleaned out their shelves.

Keep it up and it will be crystal clear very soon. :-D

S&S

 

[geekgranny]

We found 6% at wallmart in 182oz bottles. Be warned, they may look at you funny! I think they thought we had some sort of clandestine lab when we bought 12 bottles and returned two hours later and cleaned out their shelves.

Keep it up and it will be crystal clear very soon. :-D

S&S

:lol: :lol: :lol:

We haven't been asked about the amount of bleach we purchase at Wally's but, almost always, the checker asks DH or me what we use so much Distilled White Vinegar for. I use WV (and baking soda) for most cleaning jobs, inside and outside, and in my army of robot floor washers, iRobot Scoobas. Although > 12% works best, regular WV, used a few times, will kill most undesirable plants, given enough sunshine and won't hurt the doggies when they munch on the plants.

If you are sensitive to "standing out" best to get bleach at Sam's or Costco. DH has unfixed, totally torn rotator tendons in each shoulder which he'll never get fixed, so he opens the three pack box, takes them out and uses the box for small things. GG gets to do all the heavy lifting. BTW... I now get 40 lb concrete bags instead of 80.

gg=alice