Going to make the Baqua to Chlorine Switch...with your help!

[MegaWatty]

Enough of your pools have made me want more sparkling water than I have so I'm going to dump my water and start again. So many questions though.

The first one is that I don't have a proper test kit yet so can I actually do it or should I wait a couple of weeks?

What is my basic shopping list to start it off?

Remember we're only talking a 10 foot Bestway Easy Up here.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Leebo]

Trying to convert without a FAS/DPD test kit is in my mind impossible in most cases. The good thing for you however is that you've got a pool that's able to be drained/cleaned/and refilled. If it were me, I would drain 100% of the water from the pool and clean all of it that you can while it's empty. Take a 5 gallon bucket and fill with a mixture of water and bleach. Use this to scrub all the surfaces you can. Doing this will help kill off any Baqua that may stick around after your drain. After that, fill the pool back up with water and see how it looks. You'll also need to pick up a few of the cartridges as it will clog up your filter rather quickly.

 

[MegaWatty]

Trying to convert without a FAS/DPD test kit is in my mind impossible in most cases. The good thing for you however is that you've got a pool that's able to be drained/cleaned/and refilled. If it were me, I would drain 100% of the water from the pool and clean all of it that you can while it's empty. Take a 5 gallon bucket and fill with a mixture of water and bleach. Use this to scrub all the surfaces you can. Doing this will help kill off any Baqua that may stick around after your drain. After that, fill the pool back up with water and see how it looks. You'll also need to pick up a few of the cartridges as it will clog up your filter rather quickly.

Thanks!

I believe I should also dump the current cartridge in the filer which will have Baqua in it already.

 

[JasonLion]

If you haven't already, you should read the conversion instructions in Pool School. The cartridge shouldn't be replaced until you read the appropriate phase in the conversion process.

 

[MegaWatty]

If you haven't already, you should read the conversion instructions in Pool School. The cartridge shouldn't be replaced until you read the appropriate phase in the conversion process.

I was thinking of just dumping the current water and starting from scratch. Even though I want to see the pretty colours!

 

[JasonLion]

By all means, replace your water. However, there will still be baqua in the equipment and you will still need to do all of the steps of a conversion, though it will go very quickly.

 

[MegaWatty]

By all means, replace your water. However, there will still be baqua in the equipment and you will still need to do all of the steps of a conversion, though it will go very quickly.

Thanks mate. Should I wait to get a test kit first?

 

[JasonLion]

There is only about one days work you can do without the test kit, and it is best not to pause in the middle of the conversion, so yes best to wait.

 

[MegaWatty]

First things first then. It's near impossible to get the recommended test kits in Australia. The Taylor K-2006 seems to be the easiest to get a hold of, albeit with $50 of shipping costs.

Just making sure that this is the correct one: http://www.poolvacparts.com/taylor-fas-dpd-test-kit-chlorine.html

 

[JasonLion]

Yep, that is it. You may want to order some refills along with, as some of the test reagent qualities are fine while others are fairly limited, especially R-0871.

 

[MegaWatty]

Yep, that is it. You may want to order some refills along with, as some of the test reagent qualities are fine while others are fairly limited, especially R-0871.

Fantastic. I may grab the C version to keep me going. Nicely over $200 delivered!

What would be the expected time for a conversion on such a small pool, or is it all relative because of equally small pumps?

 

[JasonLion]

If you replace your water in advance I would expect it to take a few days to a week and a half depending on how much baqua residue is in the plumbing/equipment. It can be longer occasionally, but that is a very common range for starting with fresh water.

 

[MegaWatty]

If you replace your water in advance I would expect it to take a few days to a week and a half depending on how much baqua residue is in the plumbing/equipment. It can be longer occasionally, but that is a very common range for starting with fresh water.

Thanks again for a fast reply.

Seeing as though summer is almost over but we still have some pool weather around it may be best as a next summer thing.

I'll put up with the strange smell of the chemicals for a bit longer and report back the next time I set the pool up.