So I finally took the cover off my pool Monday evening. When I closed the pool, I knew I wanted to get away from baq, so I actually didn't use any baq closing chemicals. I just drained the pool down about 50% and put the cover on it. By this point, I had had so many issues with baq that I just didn't really care that much what I was going to find under the cover the beginning of the next pool season. Well, fast forward to now. I have accepted a new job in Nashville, so my wife and I are putting the house on the market, but since I have no idea how long it will take for the house to sell, I am going to enjoy this pool while I still can. Plus, I want it to be sparkling clean for prospective buyers.
So anyways, I drained the pool down a couple more inches until my fear of the liner getting out of whack got the best of me and I started filling it back up with fresh water and it was full by yesterday evening. I threw my robot vacuum in the pool just to remember that it will only work for about 2 minutes before it quits (gotta see if it is still under warranty), and my black lab chewed up the end of my strainer vac, so I ran out to get a new strainer vacuum system, a test kit, and some bleach, but wouldn't you know, the pool place closes at 5pm, and guess what time I get off work? Needless to say in the way of a vac and testing, the best I could get from my local Lowes and Walmart was a water hose vac and the dreaded strips. The water hose vac is ok, but not great. I like that I can use it to vacuum and replenish the water level after I backwash, but I still think I need to get a good ole fashioned vacuum system, or sweet talk my neighbor into borrowing his for the meantime. I am going to order a TF100 today if the pool store doesn't have anything suitable.
With all this being said, I am a stubborn man who wants to swim in my pool soon, so I decided to go on with the conversion anyways. I added about 6 gallons of clorox to the pool last night and it turned the water extremely cloudy and slightly green, but I really didn't see any "goo" form. I came out this morning, and it looked about the same, and I went ahead and backwashed and added water to replace what was lost. I should also note that I found that my pressure gauge is broken, so until I get it replaced, I am sticking my hand in front of the jet to see how hard it is pushing to determine when I need to backwash. This is where I wish I had something better than the test strips because before I backwashed, I tested, and it said FCs were 10 ppm (it only shows up to 10 ppm). After I backwashed and added water (maybe 1" water level lost to backwash if that, and added back 1.5-2" for a little extra buffer zone), I tested, and the strip read about 3 ppm FC. Does that sound right? I know these strips are horrible, but until I can get something better, they are all I have to go by. Anyways, I added 4 gallons of bleach to the pool and took off to work. I noticed at this point though, that a dark film was starting to form on the water surface. Sorry no pics yet. I have a couple on my phone, but I can't use photobucket at work and my 3G sucks in the building, so I will post pics during lunch or this afternoon. BTW, does anyone know of other stores that might have liquid chlorine at a cheaper price than $3.50 plus tax for a gallon jug?
So anyways, I drained the pool down a couple more inches until my fear of the liner getting out of whack got the best of me and I started filling it back up with fresh water and it was full by yesterday evening. I threw my robot vacuum in the pool just to remember that it will only work for about 2 minutes before it quits (gotta see if it is still under warranty), and my black lab chewed up the end of my strainer vac, so I ran out to get a new strainer vacuum system, a test kit, and some bleach, but wouldn't you know, the pool place closes at 5pm, and guess what time I get off work? Needless to say in the way of a vac and testing, the best I could get from my local Lowes and Walmart was a water hose vac and the dreaded strips. The water hose vac is ok, but not great. I like that I can use it to vacuum and replenish the water level after I backwash, but I still think I need to get a good ole fashioned vacuum system, or sweet talk my neighbor into borrowing his for the meantime. I am going to order a TF100 today if the pool store doesn't have anything suitable.
With all this being said, I am a stubborn man who wants to swim in my pool soon, so I decided to go on with the conversion anyways. I added about 6 gallons of clorox to the pool last night and it turned the water extremely cloudy and slightly green, but I really didn't see any "goo" form. I came out this morning, and it looked about the same, and I went ahead and backwashed and added water to replace what was lost. I should also note that I found that my pressure gauge is broken, so until I get it replaced, I am sticking my hand in front of the jet to see how hard it is pushing to determine when I need to backwash. This is where I wish I had something better than the test strips because before I backwashed, I tested, and it said FCs were 10 ppm (it only shows up to 10 ppm). After I backwashed and added water (maybe 1" water level lost to backwash if that, and added back 1.5-2" for a little extra buffer zone), I tested, and the strip read about 3 ppm FC. Does that sound right? I know these strips are horrible, but until I can get something better, they are all I have to go by. Anyways, I added 4 gallons of bleach to the pool and took off to work. I noticed at this point though, that a dark film was starting to form on the water surface. Sorry no pics yet. I have a couple on my phone, but I can't use photobucket at work and my 3G sucks in the building, so I will post pics during lunch or this afternoon. BTW, does anyone know of other stores that might have liquid chlorine at a cheaper price than $3.50 plus tax for a gallon jug?