Baquacil to Chlorine - something wrong

[SwiminNJ]

I had a 16x40 fiberglass pool installed last august. After being convinced to use baquacil we decided this year that we wanted to use chlorine. So we went back to the pool store and they had me start loading up with bags of restart which at the beginning made the pool slightly green.

After a few days the green disappeared and the baquacil level dropped to 0, but the baquacil shock was at about 90ppm.

After about 3 weeks of using about 7 bags of restart every few days and then cleaning the sand filter and backwashing the pool was crystal clear and the baquacil shock level hit 0.

My PH was low at about 6.8, alkalinity at about 80, so they had me start with chlorine (3 inch tablets and PH up).

After about 5 days I took a water sample in (that was this morning) and they told me I need to add alot of shock.

Prior to adding the shock the pool was crystal clear and clean.
I added 3 gallons of liquid shock and within minutes the pool has turned a murky green (like the pictures others have posted).

I am trying to find out what to do next. I see people talking about bleach are you speaking of shock?

The pool company told me to raise the alkalinity tomorrow.
Is this what I should be doing? Is their something else I should be doing. Do I need to be backwashing?

I do not have the option to let the water out, as it is fiberglass.

Can someone please let me know what to do next.

Thank you.

[mbar]

You are fine - you just have to finish the conersion. You will need plenty of bleach (regular laundry bleach). But first you have to post some numbers - FC, CC, TC, ph, alk, cal, cya. You probably won't have any chlorine, and you probably don't have any cya. It will take a lot of chlorine, and backwashing, and vacuming to waste to clear the pool. Read through the posts about baquacil conversion - it always looks darkest before the dawn!! But you will be very happy to have switched. We will help!!

[SwiminNJ]

Marie

Thank you very much. I already feel better. I will get a test kit and post numbers tomorrow. Thanks again.

[mjones]

Yeah, me too!! I have been having soooo much trouble, but I think I may be getting close. If I find out anything that might help you I will let you know. My water has been murky green too! Now it is a light shade of "murky green" So I hope that is a good sign.
Good Luck!

[SwiminNJ]

Ok so this is the information my pool company printed out for me.

FC - 0
TC - 0
CC - 0
ph - 6.6
CYA - 14
Copper 0
Iron 0
Alkalinity - 10
Calcium Hardness - 10

These numbers were before I added 3 gallons of liquid shock. I was also told to add 12 pounds of alkalinity increaser (twice, 3 hours apart). And then to add 7 pounds of stabilizer.

As of this morning, some of the green has gone away, i backwashed the sand filter and it was dark orange when it came out. I then added 12 pounds of alkalinity increaser and I am going to add the additional 12 pounds in a few hours.

I am going to add the stabilizer tonight.

Since the green is starting to go away, should I be adding more bleach? I will be purchasing my own kit so i do not have to keep running to the pool store.

Thanks for any help.

[mbar]

I wouldn't bother to add the cya yet, because you will be having to backwash and vacuum to waste a lot, and the chlorine will be more effective with a low cya. You must keep your chlorine levels at least at 10, I would even go a little higher,. You will have to add chlorine to get you up to 10 at least 3 x a day. It takes a lot of chlorine to get rid of all the baquacil left over in the pool, and you have to keep your filter running 24/7. Once you can hold a chlorine level overnight, then you are getting close to the end. When you can start to hold chlorine (you ewill not hold it in the day because with the low cya the sun will eat the chlorine, that's why it's necessary to check the level in the middle of the day too.), you can then add the stabilizer. Put it in an old nylon sock and tie it ito the ladder of the pool - it can be added in the skimmer, but you can't backwash for at least a week after adding it through the skimmer, so you will have to add it to the pool - it dissolves slowly, so you have to have it in something to contain it to one place (the stocking) because you will still have lots of fall out from the conversion and will need to vacuum to waste. Once the water is crystal clear, and it will be!!, then you will need to change the sand in your filter - the orange that is coming out of the backwash is the stuff that is gumming up your filter, which is normal after a baquacil conversion. Just keep adding bleach - the more bleach you add the faster the conversion will be. I did the conversion on my fiberglass pool also. You are on the right track, just add the alk up, if you didn't buy it yet, you can just add regular baking soda - that is all that alkalinity up is, but you pay more for it at the pool store. Don't take your ph above 7.0 to 7.2 for now, until you can bring your chlorine levels back down to normal, you can get staining in a fiberglass pool, which can also be removed, but keeping the ph low for now will be better. So don't add more alk up untill you test again and post the numbers. You can go to the Pool Solutions site and read up on swimming pool tips, it will give you a lot of great information. Here is a table of the best guess chlorine chart is to maintaining chlorine:
tabilizer . . . . . . Min. FC . . . . Max FC . . . 'Shock' FC
=> 0 ppm . . . . . . . 1 ppm . . . . . 3 ppm . . . . 10 ppm
=> 10 - 20 ppm . . . . 2 ppm . . . . . 5 ppm . . . . 12 ppm
=> 30 - 50 ppm . . . . 3 ppm . . . . . 6 ppm . . . . 15 ppm
=> 60 - 90 ppm . . . . 5 ppm . . . . . 10 ppm . . .. 20 ppm
=> 100 - 200 ppm . . . 8 ppm . . . . . 15 ppm . . .. 25 ppm

Feel free to ask any questions. I know it's hard, but the patience will pay off in the end, and running a chlorine pool is much easier, and much cheaper!!. When I put my fiberglasss pool in 7 years ago, they started me on baquacil too, and I switched the following year, because of the hassle and cost.

[duraleigh]

Good morning,

I would do two things to your pool immediately.

1. Go to the Grocery store and get 1-4lb box of 20 mule team borax and put it in your skimmer...pump running. Also pick up about 10 jugs of 6% Clorox....you're gonna' need it.

2. While your out, purchase a drops-based test kit so you can measure pH and Cl, at least.

While you're waiting a couple of hours to test your pH, read everything you can on this forum....particulary a thread entitled, "Beginner's guide to pool chemistry" posted by watermom.

From your first post, "shock" is not a product but a procedure. You'll "shock" with the Clorox.

Post up your numbers for pH (it's WAAAAY to low) and Cl. It would be better if you can get a 5-way kit that tests for Alk, CH, and CYA as well.

Be prepared to put another box of borax in the pool after you post your pH number.

Do not add stabilizer yet......you'll backwash it out. More info to follow after you post your numbers.

[mbar]

Check out these pictures Voldaddy posted, it will help you to see how it can be accomplished. Thanks Voldaddy for posting them!

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=308

[SwiminNJ]

Thanks for all of your help, so far so good. This is what is going on now.

After backwashing this morning, i added 12 pounds of alkalinity increaser at 9 AM, I then added 10 more at noon. I then added the stabilizer to the skimmer(before reading your post not to).

At about 2 PM I added 1 gallon of 5.25% bleach.
At 8 PM I reran all tests using a test kit.

Below are the results.

FC - 5
TC - 5

PH 7.2
Alk - 180 (just added today, 24 pounds)
Calcium Harndess of 90
CYA 33.

The water is very clear, but still has a green tint to it.

After rerunning the tests I have added 5 more gallons of 5.25% bleach.

The pump has been running 24 hours a day.

Is their anything else I should be doing at this point? Should I be adding more bleach, and if not when do I know that I should. I also have my autochlorinator feeding 3" tablets.

One other thing.

I have an automatic cover to cover the pool. It has been open while I have been doing all of this as the bleach would bother it. Would it be better if I kept it closed after the bleach circulates?

Thanks for any help

[duraleigh]

I am assuming your pool is around 20k. You need to put in some more bleach. Raise your Cl up to about 16-18ppm and HOLD IT THERE until your pool turns blue.

There is a gonna' be an issue with your CYA. If your test showed 33, you didn't need anymore. I would test for CYA tomorrow AM, and if it's 40 or more, I would do a huge backwash and try to blow the rest of it out of there. If you do not and your numbers are accurate, you will end up with CYA in the 90-100 range and cause yourself agony the rest of the Summer.

For the same reason, I would take EVERY puck out of that chlorinator and throw them away, they are continually adding CYA.

Leave the cover back....better to watch your pool, anyway.

Remember, KEEP your Cl level up around 16 - 18....that's what's gonna' clear your pool.

You are casually tossing stuff in your pool that's causing you problems. If the pool store is telling you to do this and you continue to do it, it will be very difficult to give you solid advice.