Need to change sand after conversion

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Normally, you can swim in water up to shock level. But your water is not normal.

In your case I would not advise swimming because you have no stabilizer (CYA) in the water. Therefore the amount of hypochlorous acid present in the water (the stuff that kills algae and oxidizes organics) is extraordinarily high.

You should wait until the baquacil to chlorine conversion is complete and when you actually get stabilizer in the water. Then the CYA will buffer the chlorine and keep the hypochlorous acid level down to reasonable levels.


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I'm confused again. I'm assuming getting the FC number back up is much easier and quicker than before. Should I put the full amount suggested by pool math?

Sun is down here, so I'm assuming I hold tight and test before sun in the morning? If the major shifts in the readings mean something, give me a heads up please.

At 7pm:
FC 0.5
CC 2.0
TC 2.5

Added 3.25 gallons per pool math at 7pm and mixed water well

8pm
FC 21.0
CC 3.0
TC 24.0
 
PoolMath, I have found, is good at small changes in water parameters but not so accurate for large changes since pool chemistry does vary from pool to pool. It even says in PoolMath that you should make large changes in smaller increments to ensure accuracy.

So with your FC at 21ppm and your CCs at 3ppm, I'm guessing there are still organics being burned up by the chlorine. You can check your FC in the morning and I'll bet it's going to lose 1ppm overnight.

You should try to target FC a little more precisely. Next time, add only 60-80% of what PoolMath tells you to. The process requires more testing and adjustments and uses more reagent, but it's best to get as close to 15ppm as you can. This may sound odd and, if your interested in advanced chemistry you can look it up, but I can tell you that chlorine loss is not only just a function of sunlight, biological critters and organic junk but also proportional to the FC level itself. That is to say, the higher you raise the FC, the faster its inherent degradation rate will be. So if your FC is 21ppm when it should be 15ppm, the time it takes to go from 21ppm to 20ppm is shorter than the time it takes 15ppm to degrade to 14ppm.

Moral of the story - try to get as close to 15ppm as you can.


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Yep. You're water is still burning chlorine. Still more Baqua-product to digest. I'm sure it looks crystal clear and beautiful but the chemistry does not lie. Those CCs are pretty darn high.

How's the filter doing? Are you flushing it regularly? It might help to do a little extra backwashing to ensure the filter is staying clean.


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6:00am reading prior to sunlight showed no change.

FC 16
CC 4.5
TC 20.5

Filter is good. We are backwashing and flushing multiple time per day as well as vacuuming to waste daily. Pool still look awesome this morning. The conversion instructions don't mention having to get CCs to a certain level before changing the sand, but after. So change sand now or wait on CCs?

The Process
  1. Test your pH. You will want to adjust that to 7.2 - 7.4 before you begin.
  2. Use PoolMath to determine how much bleach you will need to raise your FC (Free Chlorine) from 0 to 15ppm.
  3. Add the bleach and watch the pretty colors! Take photos!
  4. Test your water frequently and add the appropriate amount of bleach to get back up to 15ppm. Do this as often as possible, as often as every hour if you can, but at least once a day. Make sure you test and add bleach before bed, and test again in the morning before the sun hits your pool. Initially, the FC will be used up very quickly. The more often you can test and boost your FC to 15, the faster the conversion will go. Toward the middle of the conversion, it is more prudent to test and add your bleach in the evening, or at other times when the sunlight is not directly shining on your water.
  5. Check the pressure in your filter frequently, and backwash (or clean cartridges) as necessary. You will flush out a ton of 'Baqua-goo'.
  6. Brushing and/or vacuuming is helpful.
  7. When you lose 1 ppm of chlorine, or less, overnight it is time to clean out your filter and change the media. Once the filter is cleaned up, add enough CYA to reach 30 ppm. Continue to maintain FC at 15 ppm.
  8. Your conversion is complete when CC's are 0.5 or less two days in a row.
  9. You are now ready to review Recommended Levels and ABCs of Pool Water Chemistry and begin balancing your water.
 
Always follow the instructions on TFP. Sorry for confusing you, I was following a SLAM in another post and had that in my head.

Looks like you're at the point of doing the sand change (I know you hate the idea). I absolutely agree with the process that all the Baqua-goop in your filter is driving the CC load in your water tests.

When you change the sand, snap some pics if you can if the sand media is really gooped up. It would be neat to post that for others to see.

You've done an amazing job on converting your pool. You should be really proud of all the hard work you've done. I find it inspiring when folks take on these challenges and succeed but you get all the credit for an awesome job well done!!


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Sorry it took me a while to reply. We've been enjoying our wonderfully clear pool !!! Sand filter was changed. Drain was clogged with baquagoo so the chore was not fun but was completed within 2 to 3 hours. Not a lot of goo inside but a lot of channeling. Glad we went ahead and changed it. Looking forward to not having to drive somewhere to have my water tested and wondering if the person testing it knows what they're doing. Sooo thankful for all the help!! I'm sure I'll be back if something goes astray, but for now I plan on enjoying the summer without Baquacil stress?
 

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Pcrider said:
Sorry it took me a while to reply. We've been enjoying our wonderfully clear pool !!! Sand filter was changed. Drain was clogged with baquagoo so the chore was not fun but was completed within 2 to 3 hours. Not a lot of goo inside but a lot of channeling. Glad we went ahead and changed it. Looking forward to not having to drive somewhere to have my water tested and wondering if the person testing it knows what they're doing. Sooo thankful for all the help!! I'm sure I'll be back if something goes astray, but for now I plan on enjoying the summer without Baquacil stress��
Click to expand...

Thanks for this post, Pcrider. I have not needed to backwash (according to pressure) since I started my conversion. It doesn't mean I haven't, mind you. I didn't have much goo, but that said, I have a feeling I have a sand channel and will definitely change it.

Happy swimming.
 
Pcrider said:
Sorry it took me a while to reply. We've been enjoying our wonderfully clear pool !!! Sand filter was changed. Drain was clogged with baquagoo so the chore was not fun but was completed within 2 to 3 hours. Not a lot of goo inside but a lot of channeling. Glad we went ahead and changed it. Looking forward to not having to drive somewhere to have my water tested and wondering if the person testing it knows what they're doing. Sooo thankful for all the help!! I'm sure I'll be back if something goes astray, but for now I plan on enjoying the summer without Baquacil stress[emoji106]
Click to expand...

May you have a thoroughly enjoyable, fun, clean and crystal-clear swim season!!

Cheers!


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