Baquacil conversion

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Lost 4ppm last night, better than 8ppm the day before, CC 2. Feels like some progress as this is Day #4 of conversion. Brush pool and backwash each night and wipe the goo from inside of skimmer. Keeping fingers crossed...definitely with the hot weather and longest sunshine hours of the year, this is a difficult time for this process. I just keep thinking of how much cheaper and easier the chlorine will be compared to the Baquacil. Thanks again for your help and support.
 
Lost 5 ppm this am. CC 1.5 Pretty discouraging. Water so clear and inviting. Did clean out and wash the pump strainer basket with a bleach solution as had not done that since starting conversion. Noted slimy goo on inside of pump chamber that holds the basket. Couldn't really wipe out as it just floated back into the water, but I thought at least it is free floating in the water and can now go through the filter. Probably the CDX is the cause, but have others eventually reached the 1ppm??? Is it just a matter of time or am I fighting a losing battle?? Any other suggestions other than the thorough brushing of pool I do every night. Added bleach at 5:30 am, but it is another beautiful, sunny day so I know the chlorine will be gone. I have been adding more chlorine to bring up to 15ppm around 4pm when I get home from work, but when I retested last night, that chlorine was gone in the late afternoon sun and FC down to 0 @ 7:15pm. So I am thinking I will just wait until later when the sun goes down to add bleach tonight. I appreciate all of your help and useful information.
 
When to add towards the end becomes a bit of a tradeoff. On one hand adding frequently speeds up the process however the sun consumes a majority of the chlorine. Adding after sunset (which I would advise on your case) doesn't go as fast BUT you see a smaller drop with less being consumed the sun.
 
pgatherum said:
...have others eventually reached the 1ppm??? Is it just a matter of time or am I fighting a losing battle??
Click to expand...

You'll get there. The OCLT was the hardest criteria for my pool to meet. Are there any crevices, nooks, or crannies you can think of? The skimmer frame or inside/behind the return jet eye perhaps? There is possibly a piece of foam behind the skimmer weir to keep it buoyant and gets little to no circulation. You should be able to pop the weir itself out with a flat head screwdriver and the foam slides out from there. Also think if there are any stains at or above the water line that have not been affected by the chlorine or brushing, which may require a bit more elbow grease. Mr. Clean Magic Erasers are good for that.

Keep at it. You'll get there.
 
Today @ 5am OCLT = 3.5 CC .5. Cautiously optimistic as I would love to change the sand in my filter and use the pool soon. I still need to wash the pool ladder before replacing back into the pool.. What should I use? I have heard Dawn dishwashing liquid or a dilute bleach solution?? Have 2 bricks in the bottom of the ladder for weight as recommended by the manufacturer. Will my new chlorine system affect the bricks. The baquacil did not affect the bricks.
Thank you!
 
I did it!! OCLT loss 1 ppm x2 days. Changed out sand in filter. Was a long process but thanks to You Tube I accomplished on my own. Unfortunately I have a leaking connector on the return side, despite trying 2 times with Teflon tape, then going out to buy a new connector and it still leaks. Would you say that the return port on the valve is cracked on the inside?? That is the only thing I can think of. Will live with it for the short NH summer. Did put the CYA in clean white tubesock and squeezed it occasionally and it took about 36 hrs. to totally dissolve. Ended up with a reading of 28 so added amt Pool Math suggested this morning in the same sock.
I have to admit, I was skeptical of the process, but have found all instructions on this site led to my success. Thank you to all you contributed and answered my questions. It has been a great learning experience for me and I look forward to maintaining my pool with liquid bleach and TFP's wonderful support.
 

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I'm glad to see that your conversion was a success and that you're enjoying your new pool water. Be prepared to be amazed at how much you are going to save now that you've switch.

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Thanks!!
 
My pool store took back the Baquacil products I had purchased in March of this year and gave me a store credit. Then he asked me if I needed any chlorine tablets/pucks. I told him I was using liquid chlorine and had just added and got my CYA level to 30. He told me that liquid chlorine (bleach) can not be stabilized... Is this true????????

I was told to be very, very careful as problems can happen quickly. Ironically yesterday and today when I checked the FC in the evening, it was zero. Very bright and sunny both days. Today's levels @ 7pm:
FC 0
CYA 32
ph 7.5
CH 100
TA 60
I added 71 ozs of bleach one hour later FC was 7.5.
Should the FC drop to zero despite what looks like within normal range chemistries 2 days in a row??
Is it normal to need to add chlorine every day??
My questions may now need to be moved to a different thread?? Thank you for all your help!
 
FC will constantly drop. It gets consumed by organics and sunlight so it is a consumable substance that needs replenishing. The process that enables it to sanitize your pool water is the one that causes it to be depleted. It definitely takes some practice to find the sweet spot of adding enough liquid chlorine to have it last through the day to maintain the minimum recommended FC level for your CYA.

Edit: I am not a pro but that is my understanding of the process.
 
Texas Splash--Can you please give me you feedback on my below post? Thanks in advance for your help.

pgatherum said:
My pool store took back the Baquacil products I had purchased in March of this year and gave me a store credit. Then he asked me if I needed any chlorine tablets/pucks. I told him I was using liquid chlorine and had just added and got my CYA level to 30. He told me that liquid chlorine (bleach) can not be stabilized... Is this true????????

I was told to be very, very careful as problems can happen quickly. Ironically yesterday and today when I checked the FC in the evening, it was zero. Very bright and sunny both days. Today's levels @ 7pm:
FC 0
CYA 32
ph 7.5
CH 100
TA 60
I added 71 ozs of bleach one hour later FC was 7.5.
Should the FC drop to zero despite what looks like within normal range chemistries 2 days in a row??
Is it normal to need to add chlorine every day??
My questions may now need to be moved to a different thread?? Thank you for all your help!
Click to expand...
 
It is normal to add bleach everyday to keep a pool chlorinated, but the FC should never drop to zero. In fact, when you look at the Chlorine/CYA Chart, you see that for a CYA of 30, the FC should never drop below 2, with an ideal range of 3-5. Now your situation may be a bit unique. Here at TFP, we generally expect a well-balanced pool to loose about 2-4 ppm of FC in 24 hours - more if the CYA is too low or if there is a heavy swimmer's load. The other situation to losing too much FC would be algae/organics. In your case, I would also be concerned about the tail-end of the conversion. I'm assuming that above when you say you completed the conversion, that you not only changed the sand, but maintained your FC at 15 until you passed the TWO consecutive days with CC at 0.5 or less afterwards right?

As for the pool store's comment about bleach not being stabilized, that's hogwash. Chlorine is chlorine, and all chlorine needs some form of stabilization to protect it from the sun. Since bleach has no stabilizer in it, we add it separately in a precise/controlled fashion. So the other thing I would consider is ensuring the CYA is a good, solid 30 and not lower which could be an issue for the sun's UV stealing FC. If your CYA is good at 30, then I would do another OLCT just to ensure nothing is trying to grow. Even if the water is clear, better to be safe. If you pass the OCLT, it may simply be a matter of increasing the CYA a little bit (i.e. 40) and maintaining a slightly higher FC range for the CYA (5-7). Hope that helps. Keep us posted on your progress.
 
pgatherum said:
I added 71 ozs of bleach one hour later FC was 7.5.
Should the FC drop to zero despite what looks like within normal range chemistries 2 days in a row??
Is it normal to need to add chlorine every day??
My questions may now need to be moved to a different thread?? Thank you for all your help!
Click to expand...

Realizing you are specifically asking for Pat's answers, allow me to add my $0.02, as I was in your exact position a little over two years ago....

71 ounces to reach 7.5 FC is normal provided you use 12.5% LC.
FC = 7.5 is slightly higher than ideal (though still swimmable) for a CYA = 30.
There is a chance that FC would drop to zero within two days if you do not dose it up in the meantime at CYA = 30. FC loss of between 2-4 ppm is normal.
Yes, it is normal to have to add LC everyday, especially if it is hot and/or considering swimmer load.
 
Yes, passed OCLT on 6/17/17 and the two consecutive cc .5 on 6/16& 6/17 I added CYA in a sock starting evening of 6/17/17. On 6/18 FC dropped to zero but I thought it was due to the dissolving CYA bonding with the chlorine. Since then FC has dropped to zero each day when I checked in the early evening, and during those days I was only adding enough chlorine to bring up to maintenance dose for CYA level. Again tonight it is zero @ 6pm and based on your thoughts, I am thinking I need to slam it. There has been no one or nothing in the pool water except the chemicals and my pool brush which I have been doing each night.
I have to admit, I am very discouraged and feeling overwhelmed and constantly worried about the pool. It does not feel good. Have to admit a little part of me is thinking ...why not bring in a sample to the pool store and get whatever they suggest. But I have worked so hard to get to this point I would like to be able to manage it myself. Thanks for letting me vent a little :) Paula
 
Paula, we totally understand. Especially when summer is here and you want to enjoy your pool. The CYA won't use-up any FC. FC is used by two things - organics and/or sunlight. So if your FC dropped overnight, then something is alive and well in the water. If not some residual baqua, then perhaps some algae began to grow during the transition or when the FC dropped to zero. No worries though, you've come this far, so you can do this. If I were you, I'd increase the FC to SLAM level. That would be "12" if your CYA is still at 30. If you find your CYA to be closer to 40, then make the FC 16 and simply keep it there with daily brushing until you pass the 3 criteria. With any luck and some SLAM consistency it shouldn't take too long, and you can still go in the water as long as your FC does not go over the SLAM level for your CYA. :swim:
 

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