Help me Im drowning in baqua goo....

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D

dphillips

0
Jun 7, 2008
15
Gastonia, NC
I have begun the conversion from baquacil to chlorine and have suddenly found out my testing kit does not go up to the recommended 15 ppm. My kit I just ordered yesterday will not get here until Tuesday the earliest. Do I just keep blindly pouring clorox into my now green pool? Am I supposed to scrub the sides of the pool and bottom constantly or let this stuff ( looks like flock) continue to cling to the sides. I have no idea how much clorine is in there, my kits (cheap one from walmart ) says it is only like 2 - 3 and the stick measures 1-2 . I have so far poured in 30 gallons since Friday and today is Sunday. I can no longer see the bottom of the pool, but I do see a few steps on the steps. I have a 24 round pool that is about 4-4 and half feet deep. Please I neeeeed assistance. Ohterwise I will continue dosing with clorox until I get my kit . HELP !!! :(
 
First, take several deep breaths and try to relax. A baquacil conversion is an adventure, with plenty of colorful water effect to entertain you.

You don't need a good test kit for the first half of the conversion. There is lots to do and only the end requires the good kit.

With the cheap kit, test the chlorine level. Try to read the level fairly quickly, as the color will likely shift if you take too long. If the level is below the maximum the kit can read then add more chlorine to bring the FC level up to 15. If it is at/above the maximum chlorine the kit can read then don't add chlorine this round. Repeat that process as frequently as you can, up to once per hour.

You don't have to brush the pool till latter, if that is a problem for you, though doing so will speed things up a little.

This approach will work till you get the new kit. It might be a little slower than you could be with the new kit, but no big deal.
 
I know, I know, you are in a panic. Take a deep breath. It's going to be fine.

Is there a pool store nearby that can test the water for you until you get your kit?

Can you add your pool equipment to your signature and/or posts so we know what you are working with....

YOou have to constantly run your filter and backwash....be sure to do that.

Can you post your other test numbers, like PH, TA and CYA?

It's going to be great and sparkling clear in no time. Read the other threads about conversion, all have been sucessful and no doubt the majority of them have been at the phase you are at.

POP - Pool owner patience....:)
 
I have a 2.5 horsepower cartridge filter pump and I have been cleaning it regularly since I have started, even used a few of those skimmer stockings and cleaned them out to cut down on the time. I just checked the pool and it was at the highest level of chlroine for my little test kit from walmart. I did not scrub it though, since you said not to. Thanks for the info. I took my deep breath. hahaha.
 
Because you have a CYA level of 50 everything will go a little more slowly than it would without the CYA. Also, you can raise the FC level up to 30 instead of just 15.

I suggest lowering PH to between 7.2 and 7.4.
 
What is CYA and how do i raise it or should I? Also , how do I raise the FC to 30??? And how do I lower the ph?
Up until this time I have had the pool store do my water and tell me what to add and when , so now I hope I can rely on you all to assist me in educating me on all this new stuff with chlorine. Thanks you sssoooo much for your help. How can I speed this process? Should I be vacuuming it too, to speed it up?
 
Chlorine levels dropped a bit had to add some more clorox. I will leave the pump on tonite and check 1st thing in the moring. Had a good bit of evaporation over the last few days and I had to add some water to the pool to bring it up to the level that the skimmer needs to function properly. Hope that won't hurt my progress any. How long do you think it will take to do all this??? My daughter was hoping next weekend would be ok to swim, she has a friend coming in from the mountains. I am sure she is going to be surprised, because, frankly I do not see this clearing up that quickly.
 
I don't know how long it could take, I would think the fresh water will help things.

CYA is fine, DON'T raise it. It's also called stabilizer and it is found in di-chlor and granular shock... which is why you only want to shock with liquid chlorine.

Just keep doing what you are doing, keep your chlorine up to 30 as suggested and keep the filter running and hosing it off as it gunks up.

Can you post numbers tomorrow to check your progress.

Hangin there!
 

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Any way you can get a more accurate CYA reading?

That's a huge range and a vast difference in the amount of chlorine needed between the two.

What is the test from? An earlier result you posted showed 250 for TH, so are you certain of those results? Is this test strips?

Any way you can get to a pool store? the strips are really unaccurate.
 
Yes most of it is from test strips , except the chlorine reading. I took it from the walmart kit. It was the highest the walmart kit can read . No, I have no "real " kit until this company sends me one, hopefully by tuesday they said. Yes I can take a sample to the pool place and get the readings. But unfortunately it will have to be around 4 this evening and I will be unable to get back online until after my art classes today which end around 8 pm. So I would guess around 9ish . I will have my daughter add chlorine off and on during that time.
 
No, I have no "real " kit until this company sends me one, hopefully by tuesday they said.
Click to expand...
Just a monor hi-jack.

Troublefreepool.com has no financial interest in the test kit. Troublefreepool.com counts on the volunteer donations to the site to keep it up and running.

TFTeskits.com is operated by me and I have no financial connection with TFP.

(Your kit, ordered yesterday, will ship today...Thanks!)
 
It won't affect your conversion, but long term you are going to need to work on the hardness being high. For now keep your PH at 7.6 or lower. Later, when the conversion is complete, take some time to learn about high calcium levels and what you can do about them.
 
Just wanted to say I just received my pool kit and boy they were fast getting it here. Was a bit surprised tho. Seems it too only goes up to 5 instead of the 15 you all tell me to have it at. It is a Trouble Free Test Kit . I am going now to go test my levels. I will tell ya this. I went out there at 6:45 this morning andf the pool was clear except for the gunk on the bottom. I went to vacuum it and of course it stirred some of it up and now looks ucky again. Am letting it run a bit and then settle to bottom to vacuum again. I sure hope I can clear this back up by the weekend. Hey, what level should my chlorine be at when folks can go swimming in it??? Thanks , will post my findings in a bit. See ya.
 

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