Help! Yes, "another" Baquacil " User !

I can not begin to tell you how happy I am to have come across the Forum. This would be my second year on Baquacil for a South Florida 15,000 gal.
( 18x33 )above ground pool. Just like all the others on this forum great at first then the Green set in this Summer and more $$$$ as well.
There is no question I would love to follow though with your conversion, but I must tell you...To say that I am a little nervous is an understatement ! This is our first pool and I have never been very good with all the numbers that come along with pool ownership ( thats why I fell into the Baquacil trap ) Just half of this and 2 of these.lol.& lets not forget 3oz. of this, so very simple.lol. And when I read though all the threads over and over the number thing (FC,CAL,TC.ect.) just makes me crazy! The only testing I have ever done on my water would be a little test strip w/ 3 color change strips & every 2 weeks a sample to the local pool store.So my question to ANyONE out there......Does anyone have the time and lets not forget patience to walk me though this Baquacil to Bleach conversion ????
Ok I am an optimist, so I am going to give that special someone what I do know about my pool...
South Florida (Hot)
15,000 gal. ( 18x 33 ) above ground
Sand filter
New Pool ( New liner & would like to keep it that way)
Started w/ what the pool store said is a conversion... bottle of conversion to chloine, 3 bags non-chlorine shock & alge killer, 2 treatments, and keeping 3 chlorine tabs in my skimmer at all times & to backwash.(started 5 days ago)
Ok here is what I did..all of above AND yesterday 7/26 went to clueless pool store ( not the Baquacil dealer one )Was told no chlorine in pool to add 2-5 gallon chlorine, 2 shock & 2 yellow out. I added 1 chlorine, 1 shock & 1 yellow out and to say the least it went Dark GREEN ! I freaked,stoped and ran to the internet where I found this forum. I got up this morning and you can see the bottom,very green still & alge still,(Baq.test strip color shows white).
Ok thats all I have.... I sit here with 10 bottles of bleach ready & willing to begain my journey !!!
**I give thanks I have found this forum and that there are people out there willing to take time to walk us though this.

you can read about a conversion process here and there are alot of other threads in the same topic. I know that there was one that had pictures in there of the conversion, and the colors were amazing to say the least. You need to keep at it, and the more effort you put into it the faster it will go, I gather that it will take around three to five days or so for a complete turnover. At which point you will need to clean and or change out your filter medium. good luck and don't lose hope.

Basically, they are giving you the run-around. Liquid chlorine and "shock" (powdered chlorine) both add chlorine to your pool. All the other stuff is, for now, wasted money. It probably will be later, too.

You are going to need
1) a better test kit. You can seek out your local Wally World (WalMart) and see if they have the HTH 5-way test kit that uses drops. Or you can see if you have a local Leslie's that has a kit that measures to at least 5ppm of chlorine. If you are really, really lucky, a local Leslie's may have something called a FAS-DPD chlorine test kit. It may be a single kit, just for chlorine, or part of another kit. Either way, it's the first best thing you need. You can also order a FAS-DPD full kit on-line. There's the PoolSolutions.com PS-234--that's sold by the sister site to this one and run by the guy who owns this forum. Ultimately, it's the best kit. But there are two other really good ones that are nearly as good and just as accurate you can get FAST! The first is the Taylor 2006 test kit. The second is from Leslie's on-line: The Chlorine FAS-DPD Service Test Kit. I can't tell you how much these cost, but figure $60 to $90. It'll be the BEST bargain you can ever buy for your pool.

2) Lots and lots and lots of chlorine. Bleach works best. Ordinary laundry bleach. Pool stores sell it as "Liquid Chlorine" or "Liquid Shock" but it's the same stuff. Sometimes the pool stores sell it at "12.5%" which is basically double strength. To be imprecise, one gallon of 12.5 adds about the same amount of chlorine as as 2 gallons of bleach. So if a gallon of 12.5 costs less than double 1 gallon of bleach, it's a good price. It's still the same stuff, just more concentrated. Chemically, it's called Sodium Hypochlorite solution.

3) Lots and lots of POPP--That's Pool Owner Patience and Persistence.

4) The realization you will need to completely replace and clean your filter medium when you are done. That means a new cartridge, or new sand, or a completely cleaned DE filter.

Read the stickied posts at the top of each topic. I wrote a few, so I don't have to write them again....;)

I posted this "Conversion Summary" yesterday, and have updated it with a bit of added info, thanks to Aylad, Janet. Some of this is what CarlD just posted.
* * * * *

Taking the Plunge does not list the steps out concisely, but rather tells what was done during this conversion, with many comments in between.

Basically, from what I have read, a good summary is this:

1. get your chlorine up to 15ppm using bleach (lots of it!) and keep it there. When you can hold a chlorine level of 15ppm overnight, your conversion is complete.
2. Test several times a day to ensure you are keeping 15 ppm chlorine levels. Use a drops based test, (Ben's kit, Taylor, or HTH 6-way) and dilute with distilled water if necessary to read the test. Here is CarlD's shot glass method for diluting your sample http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthr...?t=4592&page=2
3. Run your filter 24/7 and backwash as needed.
4. When your conversion is complete, change your filter media.
5. Add stabilizer and begin balancing your water.

Your water will go through many shades of green and orange as the Baqua is being consumed by the chlorine.

Thank you, Thank you for your replies...

Just another question.... How many bottles of Bleach at a time, Where to add ( new pool & liner ), how much is too much in a day & how many gallons of bleach (guess) do you think we are looking at to complete & days? Oh and should I clean & brush pool after I add each dose of Bleach ? I do know to backwash a few times a day & am getting a test kit today. Thanks again so much for your time. It's nice to know I'm not alone ! lol

Quote:

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Originally Posted by spankypsl

Thank you, Thank you for your replies...

Just another question.... How many bottles of Bleach at a time,

To my knowledge, as many as it takes to get your chlorine up to 15 ppm. Check out the other conversion threads to see how much others have needed. It will be a lot. If you have not already, download BleachCalc to help you determine how much is needed. Keep in mind that the Baqua will devour the chlorine rapidly at first. Get BleachCalc 2.6.2 here:http://home.earthlink.net/~mwsmith70...achCalc262.exe

Where to add ( new pool & liner ),

in front of the return jet. It will disperse throughout your pool.

how much is too much in a day

I cannot for sure answer this one, but I think that unless you go over 15ppm, there is no such thing as too much.

& how many gallons of bleach (guess) do you think we are looking at to complete & days?

Don't know. It depends on how much Baqua you still have in your pool and some other factors.

Oh and should I clean & brush pool after I add each dose of Bleach ?

Don't know

I do know to backwash a few times a day & am getting a test kit today.

Test frequently and add bleach to keep your Chlorine at 15ppm, several times a day, preferably. Backwash as your pressure increase indicates

Thanks again so much for your time. It's nice to know I'm not alone ! lol

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You're welcome!