Weekend Baquacil Conversion

OK, Im going to start my baquacil to chlorine conversion this weekend, weather permitting. I have a 18’ x 36’ oval vinyl abg pool with a Pentair 150 sq ft cartridge filter and 1 ½ hp pump.

I uncovered the pool last weekend and had a lot of what appeared to be dirt and leaves. My baquacil was at 52. I drained my pool down to about 16” from the bottom and refilled it. I got three different baquacil readings from two dealers and myself – one indicated the baquacil level still at 48, but my reading and the other store indicates around 0 to 15.

My ph is 7.4, total alkalinity is 100, and total hardness is 265. The water now has a cloudy, greenish tint to it, I assuming that algae is starting to grow. I’ve gotten some of the trash and sludge, off of the bottom – I’m sure that I got more, I can’t see it right now because of the cloudiness.

A pool dealer is telling me to either start with a non- chlorine shock powder or put a chlor-tab in the dkimmer to burn off the rest of the baquacil. Looks to me, I just need to start dumping bleach in as referenced in other threads. Is my baquacil low enough to start putting bleach in? That's my main question. Any other gotcha’s?

I’ve read where sometimes the precipitates that result from this process need to be vacuumed to waste – I assuming with a cartridge, I just have to keep shutting it down and cleaning it…

I was planning on getting the fas-dpd and oto test kits this weekend. Any tips would be appreciated. I'm nervous and need reassurances, I guess. Thanks …

If your Baq level is 0 to 15 your ready to start. You can start with it higher but it will just take longer and be more messy.

Just make sure you don't take your chlorine levels too high or you risk fading your liner. When you put the bleach in make sure you get it as far from the edge as possible and as close to the water as possible to keep it from splashing up.

You may or may not get "clumps" on the bottom. I never did. It did go through some wild colors before it was through. My neighbors were quite concern ... ha.

Since I had never had a pool or used chlorine before I was extremely nervous before I got started in the conversion too. Five days later it was as clear as I had ever remember seeing it.

You will need to keep a close watch on your filter because it will gum up pretty quickly the first couple of days. I was having to backwash my sand filter 2 or 3 times a day.

You will not regret switching to chlorine . Using the methods on this site you will be able to run your pool very cheap with little or no water problems.

I advise you to order the kit that Ben sells here so you can take charge of your pool. The price is nothing compare to what it will save you from not using Baq. :)

Good luck!!

Thanks for the response, I'm needing a little encouragement to get started. I just got back from getting the bleach, and test kits. I'm going to use these kits to get by - I waited too late to order and wanted them today - and get one from Ben next year.

I'm going use use the bleach calculator and start slow with putting the bleach in the pool, and build up.

Don't start slow. Aim to hit 15 ppm. Keep it there until you can hold that overnight. Starting slow...well, just makes it take longer. :)

Michael

OK, I can use your bleach calculator to figure how much to add - how do I measure to keep it there? Seems like I'm reading that I can only measure to 5 ppm with the kits?

Or will it go down so quickly that it will be in the 1 to 5 ppm range so that I know how much to add?

BTW, I have no cya stabilizer - do I need to wait until I go thru the shock period?

I would wait until after the conversion to add CYA. To extend the testing range of your kit, mix one part pool water with one part distilled water, test as usual and then multiply the result by 2. If you need to go higher, mix one part pool water with two parts distilled and then multiply the results by 3, etc. Each level of dilution loses some accuracy, but is good enough to help you determine how much bleach to add.

I used the beach calculator last night to calculate the amount to pour into my pool and did it. Today the pool appears slightly less green and a little more milky and cloudy - so it appears that something is working.

I have an OTO test kit from Walmart and a "Complete Pool DPD" Test Kit from Leslie's Pool Supply. I just tested my water - I couldn't get any kind of a reading diluting the sample - in case it was over 5 ppm - or not diluting it.

I'm getting readings of 2 ppm FC and 3 ppm of TC with the DPD test without having to dilute the sample, which would appear to indicate true chlorine readings. As has been stated, it looks like the bleach chlorine has been reapidly consumed.

My question is, do I need to continuously replenish the bleach into the pool during the day, or do I need to wait until dusk each day to get the chlorine back up to 15 ppm, knowing the the sun will rapidly break the chlorine down during the day ...

... and I'm assuming that getting desired level back to 15 ppm is difference between that and FC, and not TC ...

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Looks like I was a little impatient on the OTO - I went back outside to dump it and it was colored - it's indicating about 1 ppm, so it seems to confirm I'm nearly depleted of FC ...

You do not need to wait til dusk. As often as you want to test and replenish is fine. It will make your conversion that much faster.

An update on my progress ...

I have been getting frustrated at my progress. The pool is still green and cloudy; it seems to have improved a little today. Here's what I have done:

I'm either putting in 4 gallons of 5.25% bleach or 3 1/2 gallons of 6% bleach ...

Put in one dose Saturday at dusk, Sunday at dusk, Monday at dusk. After watermom's Sunday reply to this post and duraleigh's last reply to the "Softswim to Chlorine Conversion??" post, I stepped it up today, a dose at dawn and will do dose at dusk.

I'm cleaning my cartridge filter and skimmer basket sock 2 to 3 times per day. Both are definitely orange-brown when they come out for cleaning. The filter in there now is relatievly new and pressure is currently at 10 psi. When it climbs to 20 psi, I don't get very good results.

I've vacummed my pool several times and I scrubbed the walls and and all of the floor thoroughly Sunday and yesterday. The floor feels ok are far as trash goes, except I didn't go into the deep part, an area of about 10 feet by 10 feet which is about 1 1/2 feet deeper than the rest of the pool - I was too much of a chicken yesterday to go completely in the cold water. Of course, most of the trash settles there, but I believe that I have done a decent job of getting most of it. The pool is still cloudy and green enough that I can't come close to seeing the bottom of the deep end. I barely cannot see the bottom everywhere else.

No one is really home during the day - can I go ahead and get chlor-tabs to supplement the bleach process for during the day? Where should I look to buy and what brand should I look for ro avoid? The local pool place has a small container for $30.

My pool was green before starting the conversion. Will a bottle of polyquat algeacide help now?

I tested about 30 minutes ago:

OTO
Cl between 0.5 and 1.0 ppm
ph between 7.2 and 7.5 ppm

DPD
free cl is 0.5 ppm
total cl is 3.0 ppm
ph is 7.4 ppm
ta is 100 ppm
cal hrdness is 110 ppm

Thanks for any replies ...

I don't think the tabs are going to help. You need to shock the pool and tabs aren't going to give you that shock. Can you shock it as soon as you get home in the evening and then again right before you go to bed at night and then again in the morning? Then, on the weekend, really hammer it with bleach as often as you can. Someone may have a better idea, but that is my suggestion. Algaecide isn't really going to do anything for you at this point. Keep your pump running 24/7. Hang in there.

Watermom is right about the poly.....don't waste your money.

YOU NEED MORE CL!!!! Sorry to shout but I want to make a point. Look at your Cl readings....not enough for even maintenance on a pool already clear!!

Try this stategy...If the direct sun is off your pool an hour before sundown, put in enough Cl to go to 16ppm. Remember it's gonna go down immediately...it may never even get to 16. Now go out just before you go to bed, test, and bring your Cl back up to 16ppm again....I'll bet you need to add a lot.

If you wake up around 4:00AM, you can do it again. If you wake up after sunrise, any Cl you put in will be quickly consumed.

You have got to repeat this pattern each evening. If you let your Cl slip back to it's current level......you get no results......that's where you are now.

Keep the faith and understand the process.....You are burning Cl at a rapid rate and you must keep it up there or you languish.....and get no progress.

Your other numbers are fine....you need Cl.

Have I mentioned you might add some more Cl? :D :D

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Keep the faith and understand the process.....You are burning Cl at a rapid rate and you must keep it up there or you languish.....and get no progress.

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Yes, I keep asking questions to better understand the process and to get a boost from you in keeping the faith. I put in 4 gallons right after I posted above and I just got back from buying a bunch more.

First, after looking at the water considerably after posting above, I do notice that it has gotten clearer and the green does seem to be turning to an aqua green-blue. Maybe I am starting to turn the corner. It's been hard keeping the faith without seeing any results. However, I did notice some light brown algae starting to form on the skimmer on the inside of the pool.

To better understand the process, is it existing organic matter and remaining baquacil in the pool that is rapdily burning up the chlorine at night? The ability to hold the chlorine at shock level overnight would mean that all available "stuff" to burn the chlorine has been exhausted? I know from comments in here that would mean I'm past conversion. At that point, I try to maintain chlorine at 5 ppm, and start adding granular cya?

I've always had problems after heavy rains, being under trees. I would need to consider shocking with chlorine after rains?

How often will I probably need to add bleach - rule of thumb - to maintain the normal chlorine conditions once I am past conversion assuming normal ph, ta, ch, and cya?

Sorry for all of the questions - I'm trying to think ahead - I'm still mentally in baquacil mode.

b,

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To better understand the process, is it existing organic matter and remaining baquacil in the pool that is rapdily burning up the chlorine at night?

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Bingo!

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The ability to hold the chlorine at shock level overnight would mean that all available "stuff" to burn the chlorine has been exhausted? I know from comments in here that would mean I'm past conversion. At that point, I try to maintain chlorine at 5 ppm, and start adding granular cya?

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Bingo, Again...except for the 5ppm level. Search the forum for Ben's "Best Guess" table to better understand the Cl - CYA relationship.

The other answers vary quite a bit, but, believe me, they will be a piece of cake (and inexpensive) compared to what you're doing now. :) :)

If I haven't mentioned it, keep your CL level up!!! :D :D

Success at last!

The pool looked pretty good this morning and it looked perfectly clear this evening. The bottom has not been this clear in a long time!

I checked the fc this morning - it was greater than 5 ppm, it was greater than 5 ppm again cut 50/50 with distilled water, and was at 5 ppm again cut 33/66 with distilled water. This would indicate to me fc was at 15 ppm. The only confusion that I have is the kit I have from Leslie's is a DPD and not a DPD-FAS, I assumed that at least the first test would bleach out to clear at that level of fc? Otherwise, it appears that my fc held overnight ...

Of course, this evening when I got home from work the fc was 0.

I was planning on shocking it at night for at least two more nights, and I did at dusk tonight - at least this afternoon the filter was still orange-brown after a few hours, I'd like to get as much of that goop out as possible.

I vaccummed the pool bottom real well this evening, so I feel I'm eliminating much of the organic matter to deplete the chlorine at night. It appears its going to rain tonight, so I'll be real interested in seeing what tomorrow brings. I'm most optimistic compared to my past baquacil experiences.

Should I start the cya process? Leslie's had a bucket of cya powder for $30. Is there a better deal somewhere else? How much should I buy and how much should I put in. I've read to stuff it in an old sock, and that it will take a while to dissolve and register.

I can't thank you all that responded enough - I'm pretty pumped right now about the condition of my pool. I feel like I have a fighting chance this summer.

"Baquacil has now left the building ..."

Great to hear your pool is clearing. After it looking so green during the conversion, it is hard to believe it will turn clear again, isn't it?

I would wait a few more days before adding cya. The container will tell you how much to add per volume to get to a desired level. I would initially shoot for 25-30. You can always add more later if you need to, but if you add too much now, the only way to lower it is to do a partial drain. Can't comment on the price from Leslie's - especially not knowing how big the bucket is. I don't remember how much I paid for my cya a month ago. Maybe somebody who recently bought it can comment on that question for you. You can put it in an old sock, but what I do is just dump it in the skimmer and let it dissolve in the filter. Your choice. Both ways are fine. The container may say to broadcast it across the pool, but don't do that because it will just lay on the pool floor for days waiting to dissolve.

Yes to shocking a couple more days. Then, after your conversion is done, you'll need to change your sand.

You're in the home stretch now! Glad we could help. You will not be sorry that you switched to chlorine from 'baquagoop!'

The change from green to clear was so sudden, I almost couldn't believe it.

I don't have a sand problem - I have a cartridge filter. I've been trying to ride the current filter, because I will chunk all filters and get a new one when I'm essentially baquapoop-free.

I'm acutally considering getting a sand filter and operating in parallel with the cartridge filter with cutoff valves so that only one filter operates at a time and use the sand filter for "heavy load" work and the cartridge filter for "pristine" work.

I'm going to see how I go thru some storms with chlorine before I pull the trigger. Baquacil was a complete and utter failure after rainstorms with all the oak trees hanging over my pool.

b,

If you put in your CYA prior to changing your cartridge, I wouldn't put it in the skimmer. It may accumulate in the cartridge for a few days and then you'll throw it out with the cartridge. :)

Good Job....Clorox is good stuff, huh? :)

:confused:
This isn't so much a reply, but a plea for help!! I use baquacil. :eek: I didn't cover my pool last winter, so I had a ton of leaves & debris in it. I worked my tail off getting all of that out, & then shocked w/baq. No change at all. Water looked like nasty chocolate milk. I called my baq dealer, had me test for metal, none, had me test baq level, none. So, he said I would have to use chlorinating granules to clear up mess, then start back with baq. He had me put 6 lbs of granules per day for 3 days!! 1st day: Huge difference, water green not brown, cl level low, added 6 lbs. 2nd day: little bit lighter green, added 6 lbs. 3rd day: no change, cl way over 10. He said, keep on for a couple more days, but don't add until 6 ppm. It has been 4 days, cl level still above 10. I even drained about 2 feet of water, & put about 6 inches back in. I am desperate. We had already bought seasons worth baq, before I found out how bad it is. My husband is determined to try it again, cause it didn't burn eyes, turn hair green, fade clothes, & felt really good to swim in. So, I called the baq company. They said that "their" dealer, told me the wrong thing & now I have a chemical reaction. They said to turn pump off, & wait for everything to settle to bottom(24 hrs). It has been 48, nothing has settled. Cl level is still +10ppm??? Can you help me?? BTW my pool is 30,000 gal. 16x32x8 inground liner.
Thanks in advance for any help you can give!!

I would suggest you read back thru these posts and search the forum. You really do not want to use Baquacil products for many reasons. Chlorine does not cause eye, skin irritation and does not change the color of your hair or clothes when levels are maintained properly. It is the most inexpensive way to sanitize and prevent algae growth in your pool.

Read thru the baqucil to chlorine conversion posts for suggestions on how to complete this process. It takes a lot of work and patience but in the end you will have a cleaner. inexpensive and easier pool to maintain

Thanks for such a quick reply. I am ansy!! I don't think my husband wants to convert to cl. So, what do you do when you are half way between the conversion? I have read all posts re: the conversion, but how do you turn back? We have already bought $500 worth of baq, with no return!:mad: :(

I don't have any experience with turning back to Baquacil with Chlorine in the pool. As you know the two chemicals are not compatible. You might consider continuing on with the Chlorine conversion and selling your Baquacil products on Ebay.

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Originally Posted by mjones

Thanks for such a quick reply. I am ansy!! I don't think my husband wants to convert to cl. So, what do you do when you are half way between the conversion? I have read all posts re: the conversion, but how do you turn back? We have already bought $500 worth of baq, with no return!:mad: :(

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Sell it on ebay.:)

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If you put in your CYA prior to changing your cartridge, I wouldn't put it in the skimmer. It may accumulate in the cartridge for a few days and then you'll throw it out with the cartridge.

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duraliegh, well I'm pulling my cartridge out two to three times a day now to clean - unless you're saying that it will lodge in the filter, and when I throw the filter away, I loose it. If that's the case, I can wait until I get a new filter. If I'm going to loose it when I power wash the filter, then I guess I can throw it in the pool although I didn't want it to sit on the bottom. How long does it take to dissolve?

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Good Job....Clorox is good stuff, huh?

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Thanks, and yes it is. My neighbor is the only person that I know that never has any problems with baquacil, and spends very little for chemicals. He is very meticulous and thorough in cleaning and maintaining his pool, and that is probably a big factor. Yet, he is impressed with my results and is considering converting later this season.

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I called my baq dealer, had me test for metal, none, had me test baq level, none. So, he said I would have to use chlorinating granules to clear up mess, then start back with baq. He had me put 6 lbs of granules per day for 3 days!! 1st day: Huge difference, water green not brown, cl level low, added 6 lbs. 2nd day: little bit lighter green, added 6 lbs. 3rd day: no change, cl way over 10. He said, keep on for a couple more days, but don't add until 6 ppm. It has been 4 days, cl level still above 10. I even drained about 2 feet of water, & put about 6 inches back in.

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What kind of filter do you have? I have found the that keeping my cartridge filter cleaned at least a couples times a day is an important part of cleaning up a mess. there are several in this forum that have said that the filtering is the only way to remove it - the chemicals just kill it.

You note in my previous posts in this thread, but I'll repeat - I started at a baquacil level of 50, drained my pool down to 16 inches of water, refilled, baquacil was at 10 to 15 ppm. Prior to conversion, I got as much trash out as I could. My pool turned a nasty green due to algae. I started conversion - went 4 days with the same green, nasty mess. I now have 28 beach bottles in my back yard - I feel like I'm a plastic bottle recycling center. Finally, the 5th day - bingo!!! clear pool. I'm shocking for a couple more days to get all of the baquacil residual out. Again, I stepped up my filter maintenance process the last couple of days - I can't backwash - to rmove as much stuff as I could.

I am surprised that your chlorine levels are still up unless those are slow dissolving granules. At first, my chlorine went down to zero both night and day, and now holds during the night and goes down during the day due to the sun and no cya.

I can tell you what I would do - convert to chlorine. I have never gone through a rainstorm without my baquacil pool turning heavy green the next day - and I have to dump in $45 of shock. It rains two days later and I'm at the same point again. I've gone through two rainstorms the last two nights and my chlorine based pool is as clear as can be.

Either way you go, you have to eliminate one or the other, and I've never seen anyone on this forum convert from chlorine to baquacil. If I remember, baquacil's stie has information on converting from chlorine to baquacil.

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Sell it on ebay

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There should be no problems there except for the baquacil shock - it is considered a hazardous chemical and shipping costs are higher in accordance. I mail ordered all of my baquacil products last year except the shock because it was cheaper locally. If you've got $500 of baquacil supplies, I'm assuming that you've got a lot of shock. That was most of my costs.

b,

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duraliegh, well I'm pulling my cartridge out two to three times a day now to clean - unless you're saying that it will lodge in the filter, and when I throw the filter away, I loose it. If that's the case, I can wait until I get a new filter. If I'm going to loose it when I power wash the filter, then I guess I can throw it in the pool although I didn't want it to sit on the bottom. How long does it take to dissolve?

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Yep, it probably will lodge in your filter. May take as much as a week to dissolve completely. :)

Ok, I have talked my husband into converting to cl!!:D :eek: Now, I need help!! Are y'all using just regular bleach like from Wal-Mart? If so, how many gallons do I need to put in at a time? Also, my free cl is over the 10 on my strip. Total hardness 0-100, total cl +10, ph 6.8, alk 120. I put more algaecide in pool yesterday. I have a sand filter. I don't think that the gauge is working because when pump is off, it is still on 30-35. When on it is 50-55, & when backwashing it is 40-45. I have been using chlorinating granules that are 56% cl. I have put a total of 15-2 lb bottles in since last Friday. I am excited & scared about this conversion. I really need reassurance. My husband thinks that I am going to ruin our liner that we just spent $2300 on last summer. The people that put it in told us that if we mixed cl & baq, it would ruin it, & that cl would fade it! Anyway, should I go buy a bunch of bleach today? It has been a week since 1st shock with cl, but I haven't been keeping it really high like I have been reading about, since it has been at 10 or better all week. Also, what is cya? And, my filter has a cl feeder on it. How do I use that and how much cl should I need for summer? Do I need to buy a 5 gallon bucket of tablets($96 @ lowe's)?
Thank you all sooo much for all the great help!!

My pool was the same size w/ vinyl liner at my conversion four years ago as your pool. During conversion I used no algicide or CYA, just 4 gallons of 10% pool bleach per night for four nights. I let the pump on throughout. I'm not 100% positive, but I think your not shocking your pool with enough chlorine. I did not see any fading with my liner at that high level of chlorine, but yours may be different. Since conversion, this site (Ben) has saved me hundreds of dollars in pool chemicals. My pool has been crystal clear following Ben's protocol.

Guppy

You're not going to ruin your liner (unless you use waaaaay to much chlrorine, like in the 20ppm++ range).

We converted to chlorine from Baquacil in 2004. I had just found this message board at that time. There really is no perfect science when converting to chlorine. It was way easier than I thought it would be. I thought we might end up with a yellowish/green mess for an entire summer. I was pleasantly surprised that the entire conversion only took about 3 days, and it was very easy.

Friday night: We dumped in about 6 or 7 large cups (like the old laundry scoops you used to get with big boxes of laundry detergent) - of Cal Hypo shock. Immediately, the pool turned a weird looking yellowish color. Then we put about 5 tablets of Trichlor pucks in the skimmer basket and we put 5 pounds of CYA (stabilizer) in a ladies nylon hose and tied it to the inground ladder. Stabilizer dissolves very slowly, over the course of several days.

Saturday: Dumped another several scoops of cal hypo shock in the pool during the afternoon. Backwashed the filter once in the morning and again later in the evening. The water was already starting to turn more of a light greenish color - I'd call it a "clear green". Saturday afternoon we dumped the sand in the filter and replaced it with new sand, which took a couple hours.

Sunday: Surprise! The water was virtually clear! I couldn't believe it cleared up so fast. I backwashed the filter again, and added a couple more scoops of Cal Hypo shock.

So for us....in about 48 hours, our water was nearly perfect. I realize that for other folks it has taken several days longer...so I'm not sure why ours went so easy.

That was back in July 2004.....so here is an update:

Spring 2005: Opened the pool to a yucky brown color. We had installed a sewer line and a sidewalk near the pool, and evidently all the dust and dirt in the air settled on our mesh cover...and filtered down into our pool water. Yuck. But, it only took about 5 days, a few pounds of shock, and quite a few gallons of bleach, and a quart of polyquat algaecide to completely clear up. The rest of the year was very easy - we always had 100% clear water, no algae or other problems.

Spring 2006: This year, our water was completely clear when we opened the pool last weekend. No construction during the fall or spring months, so therefore there was no dirt or dust in the air to get into the pool.

Overall....chlorine is ten times better than our experience with Baquagunk. And it's cheap too! I spend ~maybe~ $150 in chemicals for an entire year. That includes a couple quarts of polyquat algaecide, about 30-40 jugs of 6% bleach, and a bucket of trichlor pucks.

Good luck with your conversion...and don't be scared! It's not as bad as you think.

OK, I just put 8 lbs of shock in pool(bottle says 56% available cl). It already looked a tad bit lighter shade of green, but that could be because we added more water. I am not sure about the CL level. I have tried strips & oto. Strips say hardness about 100, total cl 5 ish, f cl way over 10, ph 6.2-6.8, alk 80-120. I can't understand the oto. tried the diluting thing, oto said +3 cl? I don't know.. I am confused & to the point that I just want to keep putting cl in every 8 hours or so. Hoping it will clear up soon.
I bought 4 gallons of plain ole bleach, 1 1/2 gal of clorox "outdoor"?, says it makes up to 30 gallons?? and the 8 lb bottle of shock. The bottle of shock said not to mix with cal hypo?? what does that mean?

Your ph is really low, I would add a box of borax asap, test after 2 hours, and add more if needed. You don't want your ph below 7, that could damage your liner. Chlorine is more potent when the ph is low, but you shouldn't let it get lower than 7.2 on your test, because the ph may be even lower than the test shows sometimes.

Not much difference this morning. I just added 4 gallons of 6% bleach. I was wondering if I need to go ahead & change my sand, because of psi so high, & skimmer isn't sucking very hard.

what do you mean by "damage" my liner? Re: my low ph?

PH readings below 7.0 are acidic and thus can damage the liner.

mjones,

You would do much better to start your own thread so you can get the help you need.

You will not have too much luck testing with strips. post your test results from a drops-based kit and we can give you help.

That "outdoor" Clorox you used is not wise....you are putting stuff in your pool that is not helping you....post for FC, CC, CH, pH, Alk, and CYA. :)

does the sand in the filter need to be replaced when this is all said and done?