Baqua -> BBB conversion

[radefeld]

Hello All! Been reading the forum for a while now and you’ve convinced me! To start – thanks to everyone on the great posts and really engaging forum, educational and very funny! We purchased a home in Feb 2011 with an existing Baqua pool. My understanding it the pool has been Baqua for the last 5-7 years or so. We continued to use Baqua the first year and although I feel it went well, we still had 3 bouts of algae, 1 bout of water mold we caught very early and sometimes cloudy water. The weekly trips to the pool store and ALWAYS having something to add became very tiresome. We added up our pool chemical bill for the year and were slightly depressed. This year, after doing research on alternatives we will be using the BBB method.

We just uncovered the pool, it was getting full and we’ve been having some 80-85 degree days here and I’ve been terrified of opening up a swamp. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the water is cloudy, and the floor was dirty but no trace of algae (whew). Just used a Baqua test strip and from what I can tell (these things suck) Oxidizer is gone, Sanitizer is low (15-30PPM), PH appears to be fine (will test with better tools) and Alkalinity seems good (80-90PPM). So my game plan was:

First order of business - ordered a TF100 today, so it should come early next week so I can post accurate figures. (Wish I caught that supporters of the site get a discount!)
Second: Will be running to pick up some bleach today or tomorrow (priced it at Sams Club yesterday)
Third: Will be picking up some PH testing supplies while I’m out to tide me over until I get the TF100

I’m sure I will have a ton of questions along the way so THANK YOU IN ADVANCE! I can tell you’re an active and energetic bunch, and I appreciate the education you’ve already given me! I will try to take good photos/video along the way.

So my first questions:
1) Should I wait for my test kit to come in before I start? It’s cool enough now that I’m not fearful of a green takeover
2) Are there any estimates for how much bleach this thing will take to whip into shape? How do I estimate this? I have a feeling I’ll be getting a refrence to the pool calculator ☺)
3) I’ve seen a number of folks talking about where they get bleach. I’ll be staying away from scented, gel or “fancy” – but other than that – Clorax, house brand, discount – from what I’m reading they’re all the same as long as you’re at 6% or above. Correct?

 

[257WbyMag]

Welcome to TFP!

Yes, wait until you get your test kit.

There is really no way to tell in advance how much bleach it will take. A good answer would be, a lot. As far as the types of bleach go, you want 6% unless you can find some competitively priced 10% or 12.5% out there.

 

[radefeld]

Sounds good - I was all ready to go bleach crazy As soon as the test comes, I'll get the numbers and post. Thanks for the quick reply!

 

[Leebo]

1. Don't worry about an algae "breakout" as the pools going to become as green as can be anyways. Just leave it and stock up in bleach and read "pool school" over and over.

2. Hard to tell. Don't add any baqua products at all. The less you've got the better.

3. You got it.

 

[radefeld]

It's been a painful wait for my test to come in - but as promised, fast shipping and it was by my front door today when I got home. So, here are the results:
FC:0
CC:0
TC:0
pH:7.8
T/A: 110
CH:150
CYA:0

It looks like, according to the Pool Calculator, I am a bit low on CH, but in a vinyl pool so it may be fine? Am I ready to start with my Bleach?

Thanks!

 

[Butterfly]

Your CH is just fine. The only thing you need to adjust before you start the shock process is your pH. Lower it to about 7.2 and then the game begins!

Please take lots of pics and welcome to the forum

ETA: hey, you should remove the "soon to be" from your sig

 

[radefeld]

Fantastic! Nice call on the sig (Updated by the way!) I'll drop in a bit of muriatic acid and start bringing home some bleach... and charge my video camera

 

[Leebo]

Oh what I would do for some underwater-slow motion- high def video of the first dose of chlorine to a baquacil pool!!! It's gonna be a show, your nerves will test you, and you will worry that you're messing stuff up in the pool. I promise you though.....it will be worth it!

 

[radefeld]

That's funny Leebo - I'm running to get the Bleach now and I'm afraid it will be dark when I get home. The worst part is I don't want to do it in the dark and miss the show! I'll see what I can do with the video camera, although my wife may think I'm a bit nuts with all the cameras - but she's a great gal - she'll humor me! On a side note, I've read through your conversion thread and many others - and have prepped my family on what to expect... we'll see if they FREAK OUT!!!

 

[Butterfly]

Holy cow, another guy with a video camera and a truckload of bleach. :cop:

Don't worry, there should be plenty of colors tomorrow.... ::

 

[radefeld]

Well here we go. Stocking up on bleach at Sams, cheapest I could find - surprisingly . 48 - 182oz bottles - planning to start the conversion Friday morning, tomorrow is to confirm the pH is down far enough. Plus, I know I need to start this in the daylight hours otherwise I'll get grilled for not posting the gruesome photos... (haven't been here too long and already know the table stakes eh?)

A shot of the kids helping me haul all this - and of course drinkin' chocolate milkshakes

Question, I haven't seen it yet - is there a thread on this forum on snappy retorts for people asking "what 'cha doin with all that bleach?" I need some lines - I got asked no less than 6 times walking up to the checkout!

 

[radefeld]

Holy cow, another guy with a video camera and a truckload of bleach. :cop:

Don't worry, there should be plenty of colors tomorrow.... ::

you ain't a kiddin! I literally had to break out the truck to go get all this bleach - wishing I would have taken a photo of it in the truck now

 

[Leebo]

Question, I haven't seen it yet - is there a thread on this forum on snappy retorts for people asking "what 'cha doin with all that bleach?" I need some lines - I got asked no less than 6

http://www.troublefreepool.com/what-is-your-favorite-answer-t37822.html

Ya.....I can already tell I'm going to enjoy this thread! Any idea on what your current Baquacil numbers are now? I used right around 60 jugs with VERY high levels of Baquacil in the pool.....here's to hoping that you won't need very much more than the amount you've got there. I know just how much milkshakes cost!

 

[Butterfly]

you ain't a kiddin! I literally had to break out the truck to go get all this bleach - wishing I would have taken a photo of it in the truck now

Well, you got a pic of your four helpers looking happy posing with the stash. That's even better. Beatiful kids :-D

 

[Casey]

Tell'em the kids get reaaaaally dirty! *gives kids mean look*

 

[radefeld]

Question, I haven't seen it yet - is there a thread on this forum on snappy retorts for people asking "what 'cha doin with all that bleach?" I need some lines - I got asked no less than 6

http://www.troublefreepool.com/what-is-your-favorite-answer-t37822.html

Ya.....I can already tell I'm going to enjoy this thread! Any idea on what your current Baquacil numbers are now? I used right around 60 jugs with VERY high levels of Baquacil in the pool.....here's to hoping that you won't need very much more than the amount you've got there. I know just how much milkshakes cost!

Leebo - Baq numbers are low from what I can tell (with my extremely accurate Baq test strips!) and I haven't added anything this year at opening. Thanks for the thread link. Looks like I need to get better with the search! As I come up some snappy retorts, I'll need to add them to the list!

you ain't a kiddin! I literally had to break out the truck to go get all this bleach - wishing I would have taken a photo of it in the truck now

Well, you got a pic of your four helpers looking happy posing with the stash. That's even better. Beatiful kids :-D

Thanks Butterfly - I Love my kids! If you look closely, you can see my daughter giving me "The Look". Her eyes clearly say "What the heck are doing dad? Why are you stopping in the middle of the aisle to take pictures - people are trying to get through! Your embarrassing me dad! Mom wouldn't like this..."

.... where as the boys are saying "WHOHOO!!! Milkshakes and Bleach!!! It's a Party Now!!"

Ok. I do have one question. The forecast for today through the weekend is 30-50% chance of rain. Is it OK to do the conversion in a light rain?

 

[radefeld]

Tell'em the kids get reaaaaally dirty! *gives kids mean look*

That's great - I'll use that one!

 

[duraleigh]

Is it OK to do the conversion in a light rain?

Absolutely fine except for the inconvenience.

We don't have too many Kansas members on the forum. I grew up just a few miles North of Bonner Springs....NEVER was out of the state in my life until I was nineteen. I still miss some aspects of Kansas.....the weather is NOT one of them!!

 

[radefeld]

Is it OK to do the conversion in a light rain?

Absolutely fine except for the inconvenience.

We don't have too many Kansas members on the forum. I grew up just a few miles North of Bonner Springs....NEVER was out of the state in my life until I was nineteen. I still miss some aspects of Kansas.....the weather is NOT one of them!!

Great - thanks so much! I'm actually slightly south of Basehor! Hopefully I'll be a trend starter for the area!

As for KS - not ideal, but we actually like it here (maybe we're just conditioned eh?). The thing killing us right now is the allergies! That mild winter was brutal for pollen and mold counts. I'll be running to the store for bleach and Claritin-D all summer

 

[radefeld]

And so it begins folks!

Before:

And then a couple in process here:
A Little starting dose

And we get some green action

Time to show the shallow end some love

Pea Soup anyone?

It's pretty amazing that you can see exactly where the jets blow through. In this photo you can actually see the color change:

And we now have a green pool.

the surface even is starting to have the Oil skim on it (like everyone talks about - but as they say, the photos just don't do this justice!

From start to finish here: about 15 minutes
Total 182 oz bottles of bleach: 5
Keep my moral up here team, the 'ol pool is screaming right now (but knows it will be better in the long run!)

Also... I have a video coming.... right?