Baquicil to Chlorine

[scott1]

I just opened my 18 ft. above ground pool (around 6500 gallons) a few days ago with a new liner and new sand. On a whim, I decided to try Baquacil instead of Chlorine since everything was new. Since then, I have researched and it seems that I made a mistake. I have only put in ONE bottle of Baquacil "shock" and one bottle of Baquacil sanitizer a few days ago.
First question - will I need to go through the whole conversion process even if I have only put in one bottle of each and I just opened my pool or will the process go "smoother" since I have only been using it for one week?
Second question - should I go ahead and continue with Baquacil for this summer and wait and switch back to Chlorine next year (i.e. does it matter how long and how much Bacquicil was used when converting?).
Thanks,
Scott

 

[JasonLion]

Yes, you ned to go through the whole conversion process. It will go a little faster for you than it does for others, but the sequence will still be essentially the same.

Using baqua for a whole year will make the conversion process take longer. It won't be a dramatic difference, but it will be faster if you do the conversion now. It is also worth thinking about the cost of baqua products, which is much higher than the cost of chlorine products. On the third hand, baqua does tend to work well during the first year, with problems only showing up later.

 

[pepsiholic]

I used baquacil for 2 years before I did the conversion. The first year was fine, except the expense. The second year not so much. I couldn't keep the water clear no matter how much I spent and it developed white water mold. I did the conversion and haven't looked back. Now I balance at the beginning of pool season, check my chlorine levels daily and all my other levels weekly. I usually don't have to do to much to it at. I add a bit of bleach nightly and my pool stays clear all summer. You wouldn't believe the difference in the sparkle of the water! I do recommend the TF Test kit, it is well worth it!

 

[scott1]

Yes, you ned to go through the whole conversion process. It will go a little faster for you than it does for others, but the sequence will still be essentially the same.

Using baqua for a whole year will make the conversion process take longer. It won't be a dramatic difference, but it will be faster if you do the conversion now. It is also worth thinking about the cost of baqua products, which is much higher than the cost of chlorine products. On the third hand, baqua does tend to work well during the first year, with problems only showing up later.

Jason,
Thanks so much - 2 more quick questions - Can I get by WITHOUT changing my sand since I just changed it and only used one bottle? Second question - how long should I wait before starting this process (I just put the first bottle of Baquicil in two days ago and the sanitizer bottle yesterday). Should I wait a week or two for the initial dose to die down or go ahead and start right away?
Thanks,
Scott

 

[JasonLion]

You will want to change your sand when you get to that point in the conversion process.

I would start as soon as you have a solid day to spend on the process. It helps a great deal if you can really concentrate on the conversion on the first day. After that things slow down a little and it matters less if you are distracted with other things.

 

[Scottc72]

I used baquacil for about 3 summers without "major" problems, but the expense of the baquacil sanitizer/algistat, oxidizer, and algaecides was outrageous!! On average I spent about $600 every summer on the chemicals. I thought the baquacil was "safer" for the family, but later found out that was a load of ****! And once you begin having problems with baquacil, you will never get rid of them! I tried and spent much $$$ trying to remedy mine, and would get it looking good for a week or so, then, blam! Same problems coming back! Mostly algae problems, and I followed all the pool store's advise to no avail. I was thinking about converting a couple of years ago, but heard nothing but bad things about the whole process, until I found this site just this month, and decided to just do it. Glad I did. My pool is now better than it's been since I first installed it! The pros on this site really do know everything there is to know about it.

 

[bbodb1]

Scott1,

As someone who just went through this process, all I can say is don't wait, do it now!
Check out this thread if you have time - it is a bit lengthy but I tried to document the process as I experienced it.

In the end, I can tell you I have not regretted dropping Baquacil in favor of BBB for one second. I completely concur with Scottc72's thoughts.