Opening for Spring

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SWATC

SWATC

Active member
Jan 28, 2019
33
Nashville, TN
I used Baquacil all year last year and I hate it (first year we owned the house). Now I'm planning on converting to SWG. Reading the forums and instructions on how to convert. I assume the best time to do it when I open the pool up for the Spring?

I've read about people not being able to break down the CDX and having to drain... Is that a likely problem with it being closed all winter?
 
Just because CDX was in your pool doesn’t mean you’ll instantly have issues, but you may. Converting in Spring is the perfect time so let’s see what all you need to do to get away from Baqua.

Help us out, how many gallons is your pool?
 
One way to test how things may go with your conversion is to scoop out about 5 gallons of pool water into a big white bucket (like they sell at hardware stores) and then add household bleach to it. Do you see a lot of goo develop and funky colors in the water?? This can clue you in to how it *might* go with your pool.

Obviously the less mess it makes in the bucket we hope will be a good sign for the conversion in the pool too!

Baqua pools are just the pits IMO. Smart move to change it over now.

Maddie :flower:
 
YippeeSkippy said:
One way to test how things may go with your conversion is to scoop out about 5 gallons of pool water into a big white bucket (like they sell at hardware stores) and then add household bleach to it. Do you see a lot of goo develop and funky colors in the water?? This can clue you in to how it *might* go with your pool.

Obviously the less mess it makes in the bucket we hope will be a good sign for the conversion in the pool too!

Baqua pools are just the pits IMO. Smart move to change it over now.

Maddie :flower:
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Thanks Ill try that. When during the conversion do I add salt and start working the SWG? Do I just use liquid chemicals to get to where I need it first?
 
At 40k gallons you’re in for a fight. My first suggestion will be to call around and attempt to find 12% liquid chlorine. Second, read this article as it has all the info you’ll need to convert.

For now you’ll want to avoid using the SWG and salt as it simply wont provide enough chlorine to make it worth your while. Once chlorine comes into contact with the Baquacil it will create a “goo” that you need to break down. With you preforming the conversion now there’s a good chance your Baqua levels are low but you’ll still need to follow the conversion detailed above first.
 
Leebo said:
At 40k gallons you’re in for a fight. My first suggestion will be to call around and attempt to find 12% liquid chlorine. Second, read this article as it has all the info you’ll need to convert.

For now you’ll want to avoid using the SWG and salt as it simply wont provide enough chlorine to make it worth your while. Once chlorine comes into contact with the Baquacil it will create a “goo” that you need to break down. With you preforming the conversion now there’s a good chance your Baqua levels are low but you’ll still need to follow the conversion detailed above first.
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Thanks, is it ok to run the water throught the SWG during this process? Just not turn it on?
 
It shouldn’t hurt anything. Basically if you run the SWG it’ll provide you some chlorine, but not enough to make it worth your while. Call around to pool stores, janitorial outlets, or pressure washing companies in search of 12% chlorine. Your back will thank you. :)
 

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Have you considered the cost of water?? If you have cheap water your best bet is a full exchange of water. You will still have to go through the process of conversion but will take the fraction of cost/time. This could be an option.

Felipe
 
Looks like water is $0.0075 per gallon. So I’m looking at $250-300 for water if I drain and refill. Do you think it’s worth the it just to refill? What is a ballpark cost to go bleach route?

Also, will a bunch of bleach faid the color of my liner (blue ) ?
 
As long as you follow the directions your liner is fine. I undergone the conversion several years ago and never noticed any fading.

As for what’s most cost effective,
We cannot tell you for sure what’s best. Wish we could, but it’s just not possible. Seeing you’ve got a rather large pool combined with preforming the conversion in the spring odds say it’ll be cheaper to just keep the water you got rather than a drain/refill.
 
You’ll want to change it after. The “Goo” the Baquacil and chlorine create is rather sticky. It will cause your sand to clump up thus the reason you’ll want to change it.
 
SWATC said:
Thanks, any thought on that sand?
Quikrete 50 lb. Pool Filter Sand-115350 - The Home Depot
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What type of sand

You want to make sure that you get a very coarse or larger grain sand, if it's too fine, it will just get pushed through the filter by the pump.

We just got a cheap bag of coarse play sand ;) (but we have a smaller pool/filter situation)

Whichever sand is used, should be well rinsed to clear the finer 'dust' and particles out before setting up the filtration system.
 

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