Bleach Question during Conversion

[thebumble]

:confused:

Hi all! I'm in day 3 1/2 (Started late Sun. afternoon) of my conversion from Baquagoo to Bleach/Chlorine. I opened the pool Sunday, ran the filter, and started dumping bleach. I initially got a yucky pea green/brownish color to the water with the usual crap floating on top.

I've been adding 4 gallons bleach each morning, and 4 more when I get home from work, and 2 more before bed, while running the filter 24/7. The water's starting to clear up and there's no more scum floating! The filter cartridge is less gunky each day.

My question, finally, is my Chlorine level is pretty high (9-10 reading), TA is also a bit high, while stabilizer seems ok, Ph is ok at 7.5. Upon testing the water again this morning, the chorine is still holding strong, yet the water's a light green and I still cannot see the bottom.

Should I just keep dumping bleach even though the CL readings are very high? When does the water usually turn totally clear?

Any advice on this conversion process and the end steps is greatly appreciated!

I have an Intex Metal Frame pool 18' x 4 ft., approx. 7,000 Gallons, FYI.

Thanks in advance! :)

[JohnT]

You should be checking the chlorine and adding as required. Your pH is most surely not 9-10. Probably an artifact of the high chlorine interfering with your test.

Post your numbers for chlorine and CYA to get better answers. It will clear up.

[thebumble]

Thanks for the quick reply!

I made a mistake in the post. My Chlorine is 9-10, not the PH. The Ph is about 7.5. The alk is slightly above normal.

I am currently using the HTH 6-way test strips so the reading is not 100% accurate. I will be getting a better test kit.

In the meantime, should I just keep dumping and will it eventually clear?

Thanks!:o

[thebumble]

HELP!!!!!! WHEN IS THE MADNESS GOING TO END? I MUST HAVE POURED 25 JUGS OF BLEACH! ARRGHHHHH

DAY 3.....:eek:

[CarlD]

Try going to a pool store and buying a couple of 5 gallon carboys of Liquid Chlorine at 12.5% (there's nifty nozzle you can get that fits the carboys that's great). Each carboy will be like adding AT LEAST 10 gallons of 6% bleach.

It will save you lots of empties and (with the nozzle) is easy to add.

You'll need to give a deposit on that carboys, but I've been recycling them for 4 years now on the original deposit!

Check pricing: to be worth it, A Carboy shouldn't cost more than 10 gallons of 6%. If it's less, it's a good price.

You need a LOT of chlorine, but at least this may make adding it all easier.

[thebumble]

Thanks, Carl! If I don't get a carboy, I'll get some of that 12% liquid chlorine from the pool store and dump a couple of those in at a time. I have a couple dozen empty clorox containers in the recycling bucket already -- the recycle guys are going to be cursing me! haha

Hopefully a couple/few more dumps of bleach will clear the pool!

:)

[GraceByDesign]

You need to know your CYA level, and then get your FC level up to shock level using this chart (http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=365). Keep testing your water, several times a day, if possible, and keep your chlorine at shock until your water clears.

Plan on replacing your filter cartridge after your conversion is complete

[Poconos]

One of the poolforum guys that lives near me did the conversion a couple years ago and I watched part of it. As I recall he kept dumping bleach and seemed to have no effect then all of a sudden...bingo. Pool cleared in a few days. He also had a mountain of bleach bottles. Be patient and persistant.
Al

[SPILL]

Hi all, I am also doing a baqua conversion - day 2. I have read a lot of posts on here before beginning so I think I'm off to a good start, but here's a few questions;
8000 Gal. AG, DE filter
FC flunctuating wildly, (from 3 to 15) impossible to keep at 15, adding bleach at rate of about 1 gallon/hr 10 gallons a day total.
CC >20
CYA 0
Alk 125
CH 90
ph 7.4

Questions, should I be worried about the high CC? I believe this is telling me that the conversion is working and 'eating' up cl.
The DE filter is gumming up quickly, cleaned and replaced the DE today, one hour later, barely any flow, if i bump it I can get a little pressure for an hour or so. Should I by pass?

I am aware I need to keep testing and keep at it, just concerned about the filter and the CC.

Any advice is appreciated, can't wait to get off the Baq.

[GraceByDesign]

Questions, should I be worried about the high CC? I believe this is telling me that the conversion is working and 'eating' up cl.

you are right. The CC is because it is eating the baqua

The DE filter is gumming up quickly, cleaned and replaced the DE today, one hour later, barely any flow, if i bump it I can get a little pressure for an hour or so. Should I by pass?

In my understanding, you have to filter the goo out. If you bypass, you will not be filtering it out, and the conversion will, at best, take longer.

I am aware I need to keep testing and keep at it, just concerned about the filter and the CC.

Any advice is appreciated, can't wait to get off the Baq.

Not sure what else you should do about the DE, as I am only familiar with sand and cartridge filters...

[SPILL]

Thanks for the response, Grace. Things are looking up, I have been relentless in the testing and shocking, using only 6% bleach. Today the water is Mt Dew green but clearing - I can see the bottom. Also the filter seems to be flowing better. I would highly advise anyone doing this with a DE filter to change the medium at least once during conversion. DE is cheap and it does capture a lot of gunk. I have been careful not to add too much bleach at once to avoid any negative consequences, been through 14 gallons and I figure will need about 6 - 8 more to complete the job.
Question: Once things clear up, to get rid of the CC will I need to shock to whatever the CC level is? e.g. Baquacil is gone, cl holding at say...2. but CC is 15, I assume I would need to shock to 15? For how long? Only then will I add CYA to stabilize...and replace DE once more.

[thebumble]

You're probably going to need more than another 6-8 bottles of bleach! I've been at it dumping bleach since Sunday afternoon and it's a light cloudy shade of green now. I must've dumped 20-25 gallons of 6% bleach and one large bottle of 12% pool store shock/bleach already! I'm still not there.

I'm going to Leslie's pool on the the way home and getting 3 more industrial strength 12% bottles of bleach. It's about to rain heavy tomorrow and I sure don't want all my work to go to waste because of the rain....:mad:

Good luck with your conversion! Hopefully we'll get there soon!

:)

[mbar]

I did amy own conversion 6 years ago, and I helped someone with a conversion two years ago. The most important thing is to Keep your free chlorine in the shock phase. Forget about the cc - it isn't the effective chlorine. You must test the chlorine at least 2x a day - more if you can and keep the chlorine at shock level. Most important is to get the chlorine up at night when the sun goes down - and if the sun is strong try to get a test in the afternoon. The conversion will go faster if you brush the pool then vacuum to waste daily if possible, filling as you go with fresh water. The more often you keep the chlorine up, the faster the conversion will go. Don't worry about any other readings till the water clears. Your ph may test high, this is because of the chlorine. You don't want to add any cya in it because then you have to have a higher chlorine shock leve, if you have cya make sure you are in shock levels according to the "best guess chart". Keep the filter running 24/7 - backwash and vacuum to waste, add more water. If you have a DE filter the more you change the DE the better the goop will filter out. If you have a cartrige then try to clean it as often as you can. If you have a sand filter backwash often - and when conversion is finished replace the sand. You will know when the conversion is finished when you hold fc overnight, the water is a nice clear blue, the pool looks like you want to swim in it:) Conversions take a lot of work, and a lot of patience - the more work you do the less patience you need:D Hope this helps.