Conversion - help

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mudpie13

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Aug 19, 2009
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I just opened my pool and it is dark grren and added baqua shock. Did nothing. Now I want to convert but everything sounds so confusing! I can't figure out the pooll calculator, don't know what to go buy, directions confusing. So, to begin, I need a good test kit, bleach and?????


HELP
 
We will be happy to walk you through the whole procedure step by step.

The first things to do are to order a good test kit and shop around for a good price on bleach/liquid chlorine. You will want to purchase a substantial amount of bleach/liquid chlorine to start with, perhaps 40 gallons. If you don't use it all up during the conversion you can use it up later.

When you get the test kit, balance the PH to between 7.2 and 7.4. You can raise PH with borax, soda ash, washing soda, PH Up, etc. You can lower PH with muriatic acid, dry acid, PH Down, etc.

In the mean time, do some reading. There is plenty of material at Pool School that is worth reading. Take your time and start with the simpler articles (near the top). You might also want to read some of the stories of other peoples conversions, to get a sense of how things go.

Tell us how things go, and when you are ready we can move on to the next step.
 
mudpie13 said:
I just opened my pool and it is dark grren and added baqua shock. Did nothing. Now I want to convert but everything sounds so confusing! I can't figure out the pooll calculator, don't know what to go buy, directions confusing. So, to begin, I need a good test kit, bleach and?????

HELP
Click to expand...
Hi, you can see my posts for some help as I'm a noob at this like yourself. My pool is also a 18' above ground and I'm about 3/4 of the way through the process of converting. Look for the member name "Positronic". I have a deep-end in my pool so it's larger but I'm guessing you'll need at least 15 large jugs of bleach (189oz). Good luck.
 

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Hi Positronic! I've started adding bleach and the pool is light green. No goo coming out. I will be ordering my test kit right now. I was hoping to get a good one at the pool store yesterday but no such luck. Am going to go read your posts
 
Feel free to look at my conversion as well. We have the same size AG pool! Just look for "I started my conversion today" (poster name, cinnay)

My conversion took 5 days, and was painless because of this forum. I have fallen in love with my pool all over again!

Good luck!
 
OK, no laughing at me but here goes.

Well, I did receive my test kit, yikes, lots of stuff in there. You are going to think I am crazy, but, when it says to use a heaping "scoop" of the powder, why doesn't it have a exact measure scoop? That's a very tiny scoop, so how much should I really use? And, it took 61 drops of the other stuff (don't have it in front of me)to get the sample to turn back to clear - I know, I know, crazy, but I counted everyone of them! That would calc as 30.5 FC, right???? PH is high now,8.2, have had several bad storms here in Northwest Indiana.

Put in 192 oz this afternoon, and another 113 oz this evening per the pool calculator.


BTW, my pool is blue, ever so slightly cloudy, went from inky dark green, to pale green then blue. I started a week ago. No goo, no gunk, didn't turn brown.
 
If you want to use level scoops, it would be two level scoops of that tiny little spoon. Most people find it simpler to just take a single heaping scoop. The exact quantity isn't really critical, as long as you don't use too little.

Don't worry about the PH. The PH test won't read correctly when FC is that high.
 
OK, will do. I knew the ph would be high, I just wanted to try out the kit. I feel like I wasted 61 drops of the one chemical, but I just had to see how many it would take to get clear!

I've used up alot of bleach - 18 - 96oz bottles so far. But apparently others have used alot too. And as I've said, I have no goo, gunk, brown, nothing coming out when I backwash. Never did. No fancy color show either.

BTW, when I do get to add the CYA, is there a dispenser system I could use. What is everyone's favorite? And, what does everyone use?
 
When you get ready to add CYA (after changing the filter media) use granular cya and put it in a sock. Yes, sock, plain old sock. Tie a knot in it and place it in front of a return where it will dissolve. It takes about 5-7 days for the stabilizer to fully dissolve and register on tests. But once it dissolves, assume that targeted dose is your new level, and then adjust your FC levels accordingly - refer to the CYA chart. :)
 
When I add the stabilizer in a sock, do I keep testing and keep FC at 15?
I don't see much regarding CYA and what steps to follow. If there are more instructions, can you direct me to the page?
 
Yes, you should keep the FC level at 15 for at least another day, possibly longer. The idea is to continue maintaining the FC level at 15 until you have two consecutive days with CC at 0.5 or lower, and in any case till at least 24 hours after adding CYA.

Adding CYA is fairly straight forward. I put the CYA in a sock, put the sock in the skimmer, leave the pump running for 24 hours (which you should be doing anyway), and don't backwash for the next week. If you expect that you will need to backwash, you can also hang the sock in front of a return instead.
 
Thanks for the quick reply. I just want to be prepared. Once the CC maintains at .5 or lower, then what? Further instruction page/pages please! Sorry to bother you - I'm actually at work right now!
 
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