Opening Pool this weekend - from Baquacil to Chlorine

Jump to latest Follow Reply
T

tnthudson

0
LifeTime Supporter
Mar 31, 2008
358
Central VA
Hello!
I had Baquacil in my pool for the first 2 seasons, before ALOT of Pink Mold at the end of last season...SO I ordered a test kit from duraleigh today, and I am going to shoot for opening my pool this weekend...as a Chlorine pool.
My question is, does anyone have a link, or a basic set of suggestions, for the steps involved in opening a (formerly) Baquacil pool as a Chlorine pool?
My plan is to open as Chlorine (BBB if possible) and then convert to SWG in a few weeks if that makes sense (due to sensitive skin in some family members). If that's not possible, or if you guys have a suggested set of steps to do this, please let me know.
Thanks!
 
The conversion will take lots of chlorine. How much depends on your baq levels but even fairly low levels can require quite a bit of chlorine. Numbers anywhere from 30 to 150 gallons of bleach are plausible. Bleach is best, but you can use cal-hypo if your CH levels are low enough. Totally avoid trichlor or dichlor for the conversion.

Before you start, balance the PH to between 7.0 and 7.4 and make sure the TA level is plausible (say between 50 and 200). It would be good if you could post a full set of test results so we can double check if there are likely to be any issues with any of the levels.

The basic process is to raise the FC level to 15 over and over again until the FC level holds steady overnight. That means testing the FC level and calculating the correct amount to add to bring FC back up to 15. While that is happening the pool will turn various interesting colors and the filter will need frequent cleaning/backwashing. Once the FC level holds more or less steady overnight you can add CYA and replace the filter media.

At the start the baq will consume chlorine at a very rapid pace and chlorine can be added frequently, every hour for as long as you can manage it. As things progress the FC level will start to partially hold and it becomes better to add chlorine a couple of times each evening and not as frequently during the day so you aren't losing all of the chlorine you add to sunlight.
 
Just to reiterate, the more often you can test your water and boost you FC back up to 15, the faster your conversion will go! Every couple hours, if you can manage it.

Also, one other word on the 'sensitive skin issue'... While it seems to hold that you need a slightly lower FC level with an SWG, it is not the FC that usually irritates. A PROPERLY MAINTAINED chlorine pool, whether you use bleach or an SWG to make that FC, is usually not irritating! It is when the water chemistry gets off that most problems occur.

And there is no real conversion to SWG... you just balance your water (if it is not already), add the salt, turn it on, and stop adding the bleach! Easy as pie!

Take pix of your conversion... it will be amazing! :p
 
good info

Thanks for the info., both of you, I do appreciate it. Looks like I should get my test kit today, so I'm going to read the instructs. and try it out so I can test the pool in the next couple of days.
I'll try to post results here before I get started...hoping to begin on Saturday so I can have the weekend to keep dumping bleach in.
And I'm still thinking about the SWG; I just figure the water should feel pretty good (heard some good stuff about the 'salt' feel) and if I can make the maintenance as easy as possible on my wife, life might be pretty good. 8)
thanks again!
 
Beginning conversion tomorrow

(I was going to begin a new post, but realized the topic of this one I had started earlier really still fits)

Welllllll, I got Dave's kit out and decided to do my first testing...
Again, going from Baquacil (lasted 2 seasons, pool is only 2 seasons old) to Chlorine...starting BBB conversion tomorrow or Saturday...
Here's my initial results:
---T/A came out to 120 (I think...while the water would change from green to red/violet at 9 drops (90), it never STAYED red/violet after stirring until 12 drops)
---Chlorine came to 0 ... Duh, it's a Baquacil pool, but I tested it anyway :?
---pH was right at 7.5 ... I even got my wife to double-check me

SO, what do I do now? From what you guys have told me, I should be okay pH-wise to begin...so how much bleach should I pour into this (16,800 gallon) puppy to get going tomorrow? I know I need to get to 15ppm (and maintain), but what's a good starting point as far as how much bleach to pour in?
And I'm planning on using my Lectro (Pentair) Platinum to clean the green from the walls/floors, do I do that between dosing the bleach? My PB has warned against using it within an hour of 'chemical' additions...
(BTW, I would consider vacuuming to Waste, but water isn't cheap here to deliver, and I'm on a well).
Thanks as always!
 
Todd,

Take a look a JasonLion's calculator in his sig on any of his posts. It'll tell you all the dosages you need. It may intimidate you just a little when you first see it but it gets easy VERY fast. It should tell you you'll need about 4.2 gallons to get to 15ppm but have a lot more than that on hand as it will disappear very fast

If you've got questions, post right back and some of us will answer them.
 
(I had seen that before, I apologize for not remembering it offhand.)
WOW. It says I need to add of 523 oz. of 6% bleach (597 oz. of 5.25)...Or 37 oz. trichlor...or 61 oz. dichlor...but I think I want to go straight bleach, based on what I've been reading, right?
 
Yep, just over 4 gallons of 6% to raise FC by 15. And you are going to be doing this over and over again. Do not use dichlor or trichlor. Bleach is best, though cal-hypo isn't out of the question.
 
Regarding your pool cleaner, I would just wait... the bleach will kill the algae, and then you can vac later.

Initially it will be 4 gallons of bleach, and maybe even the first several testings, if you let the FC got down to zero in-between (not recommended). But as you progress in the conversion, you will need less bleach per dose.

Just focus of testing, adding bleach, and backwashing your filter!! You will have trouble-free, bbb pool in no time (ok, a few days!)

:thequeen:
 
Thanks for the help. I do get to leave early today to get my bleach and "de-winterize" my pool, so I should hopefully get started on the bleach this evening or at least tomorrow morning.
I think I will wait on vacuuming, the Legend manual says to remove the vac. before adding chemicals, and it sounds like I'm gonna be adding ALOT of bleach.
thanks again
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
As has already been said (somewhere) - starting the bleach tonight will get you more bang for your chlorine $ - you won't have any interference from UV degrading the chlorine at night so it can 'concentrate' on zapping the baq. :-D

Good luck with the conversion!!!
 
OK a couple of questions just came up...I put in my first round of bleach (carried a cart through Big Lots, of all places..."Regular" bleach, I'm sure it's 5.25%) and now I just thought...
-I put it in the skimmer (slowly), is that okay?
-Do I run the pump after I put it in? if so, for how long before I test for FC?
-Do I run the pump at night? Should I run 24/7 until the chemicals are corrected?
thanks!
 
Know your percentage when you put the clorox in. You'll need to calculate your doasges pretty carefully and cannot do so unless you know the % Cl. (it could be 6.0, 5.25, or even 3%)

Put it slowly in the skimmer PUMP Running and continue to run the pump 24/7 until your pool is clear. This is VERY important.

You should know exactly how much Cl will be in your pool (in ppm) so you will be able to test and redose later this evening to bring it back up to it's original ppm. Plan on testing and redosing many times this weekend.
 
OK, weird stuff (although I'm sure there's an explanation) --
I got that Big Lots Sno-ee bleach; I've read on this forum and elsewhere that it may be 5.25%, or they may have changed to 3% (I do know I'm going to Sam's tomorrow to get bleach, to be sure of the %)
...since my first dosing this evening (over 4 gallons, per Jason's calculator) gave me results of ZERO FC within about 2 hours after dosing, I then put in 5 1/2 gallons (right at the amount that assumes 3%) about 1/2 hour ago.
Within 10 minutes or so of adding the 5 1/2 gallons, I got a reading of 3 drops of R-871 (1.5 ppm) FC on the TF100 test...but when I did the QuickTest about 10 minutes after that, the Chlorine was YELLOW, at least 5 ppm. AND, the pH, which was 7.5 last night, is now showing a color closer to 8.2 on the QuickTest (either 7.8 or 8.2, it's close).
So I know I need to add Muriatic Acid tomorrow morning...but could the results between the "Chlorine Only" vial in the TF100 and the QuickTest change that drastically in about 10 minutes time? Maybe I tested too early with the Chlorine only vial?
thanks much, as always
 
When you are first starting you can retest the water in half an hour. When the FC starts to hold a little you will need to slow down to once an hour. When you are getting towards the end you will need to go to 12 hours between tests. Or to put it another way, if the FC level is above five then you can wait longer between tests. But don't wait less than half an hour and don't wait longer than 16 hours.
 
The slime shouldn't have any direct effect on the PH. If there is enough in the water to actually color the water then you should filter the water sample through a coffee filter before testing. Also, there isn't any point in measuring the PH when the FC level is much over 10. High FC levels throw the PH test off.
 
BTW, just tested again with the drop test (the "Chlorine Only" vial) to 10mm of water, and still getting 1.5 ppm, even though the QuickTest is showing 5ppm or more...
I realize the QuickTest is for TC, not just FC...do you think I could already have alot of CC, and only 1.5 ppm FC, within an hour after adding 5 1/2 gal. bleach?
Just to be sure, it says to add ONE heaping scoop of the powder to the 10mm of test water, then swirl. It is referring to the little blue scoop, right?
I'm adding one heaping scoop from that little scoop. And it does turn a light pink. Then when I add the reagent, within 3 drops it's completely clear.
Just want to be sure...
thanks again
newbie boy Todd :)
 
Here are some useful facts that should help explain some of your earlier questions.

Bleach will raise the PH for a little while and then it will come back down as the chlorine gets used up. In the long run PH is not changed by bleach, but in the short run the PH can fluctuate quite a bit. On top of that, high FC levels (>10) make the PH test read higher than it actually is. So when you add a lot of bleach the PH goes up and the test reads even higher than that.

You want to measure your PH at some point when you haven't been adding any bleach in a while and the FC level is below 10, say first thing in the morning, and adjust it to between 7.0 and 7.4 at that time. The rest of the day don't worry about PH and expect it to fluctuate. In the latter stages of the process you won't be able to measure PH at all, since the FC will remain too high for the test to work reliably.

The water won't mix thoroughly in less than half an hour at the very fastest. If you test the water right after adding bleach it matters quite a bit where you get your water sample from. Some areas will have very high levels and other areas will have very low levels. After everything has had time to mix readings will be more uniform.
 

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply