Just converted from baquacil to chlorine and have been told I have a chlorine lock

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YippeeSkippy said:
Were you using calcium products before to treat your pool? I know NH is the "granite state" but is your water like liquid cement???

Maddie :flower:
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Haha. Nope, haven't used calcium stuff for over a year. No idea why the level is so high. Should I test my tap/fill water before I refill? I haven't drained yet, need to time it right. I am keeping the FC level up by using liquid chlorine, may not be able to start until Monday.
 
Testing your tap water is good practice so you have an idea of what to expect once you drain and fill. I'd do it once, write it down for posterity and call it a day. It is a good practice to keep a written log of what you tested and what you added until you get a better handle on things. There is an app that will let you do the same thing. I'd old school so I just keep a pocket sized notebook with my test equipment.
 
flyingv said:
I converted my 28 foot round pool from baquacil to chlorine this Spring. I switched pool stores to one closer so it would be easier to get what I needed. They helped me convert it. In the past 2 months, I have been basically unable to keep my chlorine level above .2-.5. I am embarrased to tell you how much I have spent, based on my pool store's advice, on liquid and powder shock to fix this issue. 3 times they had me put over 30 pounds of shock in my pool, and I STILL have almost no free chlorine. ARGH! This was supposed to be cheaper than baquacil.
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flyingv said:
Haha. Nope, haven't used calcium stuff for over a year. No idea why the level is so high. Should I test my tap/fill water before I refill? I haven't drained yet, need to time it right. I am keeping the FC level up by using liquid chlorine, may not be able to start until Monday.
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If I’m reading this right, 3 times of putting 30 pounds of shock in the pool would be 90 pounds. Assuming that shock was cal hypo, it would help explain the high CH level.
 
So the day has come to start draining. I’ve been told in this forum to take 2/3 of the water out as my CYA is 110.

im going to start that tomorrow am using siphon method after it drains below the skimmer. i plan on starting the refill immediately after the drain.

sound okay? And once it is back to normal level show the results? Should I put more liquid chlorine in it when Refilling?

thanks.
 
I have to ask, if I don’t drain the pool 2/3 and refill, will this CYA level diminish over time? My wife was ask8ng that if we just maintained the pool for the next 6-8 weeks of the pool season (whigh is when we’d cover it), then winterize and do this in the spring will the level decrease? Or will I end up with a swamp in the spring?
 
In your climate, your CYA will fall with dilution. Or, over the winter, at times it turns to ammonia, which takes large amounts of chlorine to eliminate.

Up to you. If you feel you can keep the water clean and sanitary and comfortable to swim in at your high CYA, go for it. Drain at winterization and during winter whenever the level rises due to rain or snow melt.
 
flyingv said:
I have to ask, if I don’t drain the pool 2/3 and refill, will this CYA level diminish over time? My wife was ask8ng that if we just maintained the pool for the next 6-8 weeks of the pool season (whigh is when we’d cover it), then winterize and do this in the spring will the level decrease? Or will I end up with a swamp in the spring?
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The number I've heard around here is CYA will degrade at a rate of about 5-10ppm per month depending on the conditions (like temp). So its entirely feasible to live with a higher CYA if you know how to manage it and wait for the rainy/snowy winter weather to help dilute it. I've seen this considered when it's unreasonably expensive to refill a pool, ie the only source of water is a bad well and its expensive to be trucked in.
 
We have gotten about 36 inches of fresh water in the off-season in the northeast the last bunch of years. Then the April showers hit. If you don’t mind maintaining the extra FC for the remainder of this season, The high CYA will fix itself for sure if you leave the pool open or mesh covered. But that’s a long 6-8 weeks with such a high CYA now.
 
To keep it sanitized if I don't drain, I assume I need to keep my FC between 3 and 5 all the time as well as my PH proper. Might not be here for 7-10 days in late August and not sure if I am going to ask my son to keep putting the liquid chlorine in.

I've needed to put about 1-2 gallons per day into the pool now to keep a FC level right. That's a lot between now and closing time, i.e. beginning of September. Need to consider this.
 

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mknauss said:
In your climate, your CYA will fall with dilution. Or, over the winter, at times it turns to ammonia, which takes large amounts of chlorine to eliminate.

Up to you. If you feel you can keep the water clean and sanitary and comfortable to swim in at your high CYA, go for it. Drain at winterization and during winter whenever the level rises due to rain or snow melt.
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By drain at winterization do you mean drain it down before I cover it, and then just put the level up to where I normally have it when I close it?
 
flyingv said:
By drain at winterization do you mean drain it down before I cover it, and then just put the level up to where I normally have it when I close it?
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Those of us with non solid covers drain 12-18 inches at closing. it fills up in the late fall, and we need to drain another 12-18 inches before it freezes, and then its full again when by early spring.
 
My experience has been that most if not all of my CYA degrades over the winter. We had a mild winter last year. It's the first time in five or six years that I had any CYA left when I opened the pool.
 
+3, I start the winter around 70 and can’t tell what the # is come spring because it’s under 20.

At the same time though, @flyingv is starting at 170 so it may only go down to 100. Which would still be a great help come draining time.
 
Hi, draining process has been going on all day. I should have it down to having just sllightly more than 1/3 of the water left tonight. Okay to leave it like that overnight? No strong winds expected. I hope I'm doing this right, as I am measuring how much to take out by how high the water level was when I started. It was at 42" so I am trying to get down to 14" to make it 1/3 remaining.
 

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