water looksbetter today, more of a sky blue color. added last top off at 6am, went to bed (over slept) till 2pm, and thanks to the sun .5-1 fc... 2 more big jugs and at least it didnt turn puke slime green this time...stayed simi blueish...looked like a good sign/ step in the right direction... only bad thing these next few days, are gona be HOT..and full of sun, thats the hard paart if fighting the sun from eating all the bleach..
Baquacil conversion to start next week
- Thread starter bigcountry
- Start date
Do an overnight FC loss test tonight. If the FC level in the morning is 5 or more it is more efficient to switch to adding chlorine only in the evenings. Once you are retaining some of your chlorine overnight, you are losing more to sunlight than to furthering the conversion. At that point you can reduce the total amount of chlorine you need to use by only adding chlorine in the evenings. However, continuing to add chlorine all day will get the conversion done more quickly (and use lots more chlorine).
i was thinking about that, ive been working night shift for 5 years, so im a night owl..so i can easily stay up and keep the levels at shock range all night. If i keep it at a shock all night tonight, and do a very detailed cleaning aswell, maybe do the FC loss test tommorrow night to see where im at. and durring the day, just keep a high level every 4 hours or so vs every hour on the dot to help with the amount used. Then just keep adding at night from that point. im half tempted to start to add some CYA just to get some in the sytem and in the water to assist durring that day time loss aspect, knowing i will have to add more hopefully this weekend when i look to swap out my sand in the filter. but im just thinking out loud with that one...
If you're willing to shock all night.....you will save a TON of cash on the swap. By not adding CYA also the chlorine will pack a stronger punch to fight off the baquacil as well. Your plan of shocking tonight, and doing the OCLT tomorrow night is a great idea. Will show you just where you're at. 
yea, i think ill shock all night...just got done sweeping all of it agian...i could actually start to see the bottow of the pool agian befor sweeping of course. messed up and one of my bags of sand that held the steps down opened as i was taking it out(oops) so im gona let it settle and vac it all out one more time befor dark...then shock the mess outa it...
ok, so Im bored, and tryin to learn how this test kit works..so I ran all the numbers I could. at 930pm i kicked up to the shock level after brushing and vaccuming all i could, or maybe just a lil over 15-18ppm, ok closer to 18 i think(got a lil happy pouring bleach)...lol. so at 1245 am, the results are in..FC 18ppm, CC 4ppm, TA 140, CH 270, the PH 7.2ish to 7.4ish...is there anything else i need to be checking? and what do ya'll(pros) think about these numbers? thanks for all the help and insite on this yall.
I am not a B expect at all but all the conversions I have read have focused on the CL levels assuming all the other levels were good to begin. Ph tests with CL above 10 are not accurate. Too bad you didn't test your CL 30 minutes are your initial dosage.
I would say Keep your CL at shoc for as long as you can. I have read postings where they are losing 6-10 ppm CL every hour, or less. You may see some interesting colors and white foam/scum as a result of the CL consuming the B.
I would say Keep your CL at shoc for as long as you can. I have read postings where they are losing 6-10 ppm CL every hour, or less. You may see some interesting colors and white foam/scum as a result of the CL consuming the B.
Since all your other parameters are in line I wouldn't even test them again until you're fully converted. (unless of course you just want to play with the kit) :-D
Keeping the FC at 15 as often as possible in the beginning will make the process go faster.
Keeping the FC at 15 as often as possible in the beginning will make the process go faster.
well I gave in an went to sleep thim mornin about 6am, but from 930 last night when i shocked it, the levels stayed up just over 15ppm all night, and at 1230 today it had droped to 1.5ppm. But its another 100 degree full sun day, so i had expected that to happen. added 2 jugs to bring it back up instead of it going to 0. i just wanted to run all the numbers yesterday to play with the kit, and to see where all the levels were since that was the first over all check. i plan to just shock at night from this point on, and just add once durring they day to keep some sorta FC working. I thought i had made big head way when i could sorta see the bottom yesterday, but with the detailed cleaning/sweeping/vaccuming everythings back to being cloudy as all get out. But i recon that part of it, and its back to fighting the BAQ that i may have broke loose...
Until your B is gone, you will need to stay at shock levels. The pool will stay cloudy until all the B is consumed and all organics are dead AND the filter removes all the junk. I have heard some horro stories about B hiding in tubes and fittings and ladders. I have also head you should sanitize all of your pool toys and floats as part of this process. This is all based on my readings here, I am not a B expert (or user).
yes, everything has been removed from the pool, but im sure there is still plenty in the lines and filter..do i need to take every thing apart and clean out this early? I had planned to clean out all that i could when i change the sand. if so, whats the best way to clean out the hoses?
i plan to do the CL loss test tonight, if it checks out i will likely be changing the sand tommorrowish, looking at what the numbers did last night, i should be pretty close to 1ppm loss..
There is likely no reason to replace the sand, it rarely wears out. Late Edit: I just read you should change your sand as part of the B conversion...my bad.
Making sure you run your CL rich water through the pipes during the process. You have a 24 round above ground? For my pool, all I have is one flexible PVC hose from my skimmer to my pump and one hose from my filter to the pool. The filter and pump are connected by a union with each other. I do not have any valves. I assume you have one pipe to connect the filter and pump to each other If this is all you have, the forces of the water being filtered should be enough to clean them. That being said, if they are simple flex PVC, they are not too expensive to replace. I am going to assume the filter body, sand, pump body and skimmer will all be cleaned of the B in them while they are filtering the B and stuff out of the pool water. I would brush the pool floor and walls with a nylon brush along with the inside of the skimmer body. The more times you brush the walls and floor, the less B gets stuck to them.
Time and patience are required during this process that at best takes a week and a month for others.
Making sure you run your CL rich water through the pipes during the process. You have a 24 round above ground? For my pool, all I have is one flexible PVC hose from my skimmer to my pump and one hose from my filter to the pool. The filter and pump are connected by a union with each other. I do not have any valves. I assume you have one pipe to connect the filter and pump to each other If this is all you have, the forces of the water being filtered should be enough to clean them. That being said, if they are simple flex PVC, they are not too expensive to replace. I am going to assume the filter body, sand, pump body and skimmer will all be cleaned of the B in them while they are filtering the B and stuff out of the pool water. I would brush the pool floor and walls with a nylon brush along with the inside of the skimmer body. The more times you brush the walls and floor, the less B gets stuck to them.
Time and patience are required during this process that at best takes a week and a month for others.
yes, 2 flex hoses(skimmer to pump and filter to return) and a smooth bore heavy section from pump to filter. i know that the new sand will make a big difference with clearing the water up, the current sand is old and full of baq goop..i havent really seen a big rise in pressure, but have back washed twice anyways...being laid up out of work with a herniated disc, has given me pleny of time just to find stuff to do around the house, in turn the pool has become a main focus.(and gives wife a reason to stare and shake her head) side note/ question..do i need to wait to add borates and such untill all of this is done? or can i add them when i start adding cya?
Borates, based on what I have heard, are what you add when your CL and other levels have been stable for about a month and you are bored and looking for something to do. I did add some to my pool and I like the way it looks and feels.
After you get all the B out, I think it will be pH, then CYA , then CL. Get these working and stable for a while and fix your other commonly tested values and them maybe... borates. Basically, they are optional and low on the priority list.
After you get all the B out, I think it will be pH, then CYA , then CL. Get these working and stable for a while and fix your other commonly tested values and them maybe... borates. Basically, they are optional and low on the priority list.
To clean all tools, covers, ladders, toys, and on bring the pool to shock level and toss them in. Stir them up and let them soak.
things are going great with conversion..did the OCLT test last night and passed, swapped out sand in filter today, keeping it at shock levels, CC still dropping, but was at 1.5 this mornin. so its getting closer by the day, maybe i can pull this swap off in just less then a week. Just having issues geting all of the fine particulate dead alge/BAQ stuff filtered out, but the water is getting really clear...thanks for all the help on here folks, i wil see if i can get a few pics loaded when it is all said and done.
well, it worked, pool looks great, holding CL levels great over night, and the CC's have stayed at .5 or less for 2 days now. still brushing it pretty heavy and holding the FC a lil on the high side for a few days to keep the deep cleaning going. Im adding the CYA over about a 3 day time frame shooting for about 40ppm because my pool is in direct sun all day till about 6-7pm. but heres my latest numbers if anyone wants to tell me what they think. FC 6, CC <.5, PH between 7.2 and 7.5, TA 120, CH 270-300< i sorta think that a lil on the high side, but i dont think it will hurt the vinyl liner, i owe the high numbers to the "pool store" when i first started with the BAQ, live and learn i guess.