Pool newbie-- possible baquasil

[stelr92]

First of all let me say that I dont know anything about pools and I was really happy to stumble upon this website. I just purchased a 25 year old home and it has a small above groud pool in the backyard (24 feet?). I have no idea how old the pool is or how long it has been sitting winterized. The pool itself is in kinda rough shape, it looks like the cover has been on it for some time due to the dirt and other junk laying in the water that was on the pool cover. Also there appears to be a rust hole just above the water line where it appears the liner could pooch out of if i fill it above that level. I was thinking about taking a piece of vinyl and putting it in the hole, so that the vinyl doesnt get damaged by the rust hole. Is this a good idea?

Today I finally got the courage to see what was lurking beneath the cover. When I lifted it off it appears to be in pretty good shape, it is about half full, with a little dirt on the bottom, and there were 4 dead froggies that I had to fish out, but other than that the water color is good, and i dont see any algae on the sides.

I think the previous owners used baquacil because there is a box under the deck that says baquacil on it. Since I just bought the house, funds are limited and I have a couple questions regarding the conversion process. Assuming that they did actually use baquacil, do you think a conversion will be necessary? If so where is the cheapest place to buy bleach/chemicals?

I plan on taking a few bottles of water from the pool to my local pool store to see if they can test for baquacil tomorrow. Is there anything else I should be concerned with?

[medvampire]

First of all I would be concerned about the hole. I am not an expert but there are plenty here. Can you post a pic of the hole?
There is a procedure for conversation from baq to chlorine. I again am not an expert but you will find the answers here on how to.
I would recommend a good test kit. Ben sells the best here (http://www.poolsolutions.com/cart/ps234.php).
Most of the people here use common chemicals found at your supermarket (http://www.poolsolutions.com/gd/grocery.html) for their pools with great results at a lower cost.
Listen to the pros here they have been there done that and will move you in the right direction.
If you go to the pool store go with a open mind and a closed wallet. This entire site is devoted to preventing us newbees from getting “pool stored”.
Read as much as you can here and at the sister web site (http://www.poolsolutions.com/sitemap.html).
Good luck:)
Steve

[prh129]

I'm with Steve - I would get the hole under control first. Go look in the Above Ground Pool section in this forum about repairing holes and if you don't find the information you need there then post a new thread and you will get some help. As Steve suggests, a pic would help if you need to post your question.

Once you get that squared away (and you get your first water sample test results) then you can work on water chemistry. One thing I would do though is to check your pH right away as low pH (6.8 or lower) can cause liner damage.

Peter

[stelr92]

I have a pic here that I will be posting shortly as soon as webshots confirms my account. Started to fill the pool today and added some shock to see what came out, it immediately turned rust colored so I am assuming there was quite a bit of bacquacrap left in the pool. Right now my chlorine level is about a 4, and ph is at about 7.8 or 8. I'm off to buy some stuff to get the ph down, and a whole lotta bleach. Also there is a small leak coming from the filter door thingee because one of the screws is stripped preventing it from making a good seal with the pool.. Think I'm gonna duct tape it for now. From reading this forum, I think I'm going to need to add something to lower the ph, and once that is done, I'll go nuts on the chlorine, and bring it up to 15ppm. I'm also going to try to get a better tester, as the one I have now only tests ph and cl.

[stelr92]

Okay, so here are the pics of the pool today. Is this what you would expect?

http://community.webshots.com/myphotos?action=viewAllPhotos&albumID=551785299&security=PAYHvO

[medvampire]

Looked at your pics. Untill you get a better tester the chem problems are gonna be hard for the pros here to help you. Didnt see a pic of the hole. I would be more concerned about it. You might use some jb weld and thread releaser in the skimmer to reform the threads. I would lower the ph after you get the pump going. Need to mix the acid and chlorine. The red color may be a iron problem but I am not a chem pro. You might want to get a metals test at the pool store.
Later
Steve

[stelr92]

I appreciate all the replies and suggestions. I have a strip tester that indicates the following.. Total hardness is at about 100, CL is at about 1, free chlorine is at 0 or 1, ph is 8.4, alkalinity is about 100, cyanuric acid is 40 or so.

About the hole.. I ended up pushing a piece of vinyl inbetween the hole and the pool, and also put a piece on the outside for good measure. I'm guessing the previous owners noticed it too because they poured some concrete right around it, which you can kinda see from the first poolpic. Upon closer inspection, I noticed several other small holes(think about eraserhead size) along the bottom of the pool, but I'm not too worried about em.

I had to work all day today, and had no time to devote to the pool so my cl level is all the way down to 1, and I noticed that my ph is 8.4 or so. I bought some muratic acid, and Im going to add that first thing tomorrow. I'm starting a week long vacation tomorrow, so I'll really have time to get crackin on this thing.

I have a few questions..
Muratic acid, how do I know how much to add? I noticed the bleach calc program mentioned before, anyone know where to get it? How do I know how many gallons my pool holds? It is about 17 feet across.

Your replies will be greatly appreciated.

[medvampire]

Holes
I would get a pic of the mentioned holes and post in the above ground topic and let the pros there give there more knowledgeable advice.
Testing
You will find a consensus here that test strips are not very accurate. I know your funds are limited (I can relate) but I would recommend going and getting a liquid based test kit. It will be very hard to balance your pool using test strips. Walmart has a 6 way kit for around $15. The Walmart kit does OTO for the total chlorine only but you might want to check the pool stores in the area and see if you can find a DPD test that does both free and total chlorine. I found a kit here that has free and total chlorine by DPD as well as other chems for around $35. I am not sure where you are located at so prices may vary. I feel its best to spend little more on testing and less on chemicals.
Chem in the pool
Like I said I am not a pro here.
Bleach Calc
http://home.earthlink.net/%7Emwsmith70/data/BleachCalc262.exe
Later
Steve

[stelr92]

Thanks for the link, I was able to figure out the right amount of muratic acid to put in with that. Things are looking much better in the pool today, I can see the bottom, and it is only a little cloudy. There is also a bunch of floating stuff, which I'm thinking is dead baquasil. I noticed in previous thread that someone suggested putting a sock over the skimmer cup, and I did that, and it seems that is really helping catch the baquagoo.

[stelr92]

Just wanted to follow up. Water has been clear for the last 2 days, so I changed out the sand in my filter today. All my chemical levels are looking good, chalk me up as a successful baqua convert. Thanks for the help guys!

[medvampire]

Happy to hear about getting the water clear...Just follow the BBB guide and you will have great water all summer. So what did you do about the holes?
Steve

[stelr92]

Didnt do anything about the little holes on the bottom yet. Ive got some bigger fish to fry. The skimmer has a pretty noticable leak on the outside and I think its due to one of the screw holes being corroded to the point where it is letting water through. I have been using duct tape to plug this up, but it only works for a day or two until the tape gives way and I have to retape. I was reading through this site for a while tonight and I think I'm going to try some teflon tape next. If this doesnt work, I think I'll silicone it. Also, sometimes the sand filter leaks at seemingly random places, sometimes at the top, other times at the middle. Only sometimes.. very weird.