Started my conversion to BBB this morning.

All,

I started the conversion to bbb last night. I have a 28' x 48" round (18471 gals. according to Bleachcalc). Here's what I've done so far. My numbers will follow...

Pulled off cover, filled water level up to normal level, got the pump and filter going, backwashed the filter until it ran clear, scrubbed the liner walls and floor and then checked pH. pH was on the lighter side of 7.2 so I added almost a pound of Borax and brought pH up to 7.6. I then Backwashed the filter again and waited until this morning to let all of that gunk settle to the bottom so that I could vacuum to waste. Once all of this was done I gave the water a good skimming and checked pH one more time. It was at 7.4.

At this point, I put this pools future in the palm of this forum's hands! Ha ha!

According to Bleachcalc, I needed 4.5 gallons of 6% bleach in order to raise my chlorine up to 15ppm. So that's what I did. The water INSTANTLY turned cloudy aqua to cloudy pea green! My pool is in shade for a big part of the day so I thought that the chlorine levels would stay a little higher, but I was wrong. This afternoon my CC was 0.

I don't have Ben's test kit yet, so I took a water sample up to Leslie's. This is what I got back from the tests:

FC = 0
TC = 0
pH = 7.4
TA = 110
CYA = 0
TDS = 500
Phosphates = 300

So with cya at 0, I went ahead and spread 2lbs. of stabilizer throughout the pool (this was before I read about the sock!). I then waited for approximately 2 hours and retested. FC was back down to 0 so I added another 4.5 gallons of 6% and retested after about 30 minutes of circulation. That did the trick. I retested again about 2 hrs later and FC was 15, pH was 7.6.

That's where I stand. I will be taking another sample to Leslie's tomorrow to make sure that cya is good.

Am I missing anything?

Hi, One of the things you missed was to not add the cya until the conversion is complete. The chlorine eats the baq and the cya reduces the power of the chlorine. It probably will not hurt you tho. Make sure you keep the chlorine level up to 15 as much as possible as this is what will finish the conversion. Check the water 3 times a day if possible and run the filter 24/7 as long as it doesn't plug. What type of filter do you have?? Good luck Ken

OH! Thanks. I didn't know about the cya. Although I have to say that only after I added cyanuric acid did I really start to see the bleach going to work. The little swimmies and Baquaglop really started to come to the surface.

I must be doing something right though. I work 3rd shift and have been at this since Monday morning when I got home. I woke up about 1/2 of an hour ago and looked out back and the water is really getting clear. I'm hoping only a couple of more days at the most. THIS IS REALLY WORKING!!!

There is one thing that I discovered that I didn't take into account - since I am backwashing 2 -3 times per day I am having to refill the water level back up to normal levels. I decided to test the tap water that I am using (city water) for pH and test results showed that the pH in the city water is a whopping 8.2 ppm!!!! So when I would refill my pool, my pH readings would jump WAY up. So I've had to stay extremely vigilant about the pH. Muriatic acid has been a good friend of mine!

I will be posting some more numbers this evening. I can see the bottom of the pool now though!!!! YIPPIE!!!!!

Don't expect to see your cya showing up when you have it retested tomorrow. It dissolves slowly - takes up to a week. Don't add any more either until after your conversion is complete and you retest.