Converting Baquacil to Bleach

[supermom]

I'm a newbee here and am so intrigued by all of your info that we've decided to switch from the AWFUL baquacil which has almost caused a divorce for the last 4 summers to bleach!! We had good luck with baquacil 1 year then algea overtook us for the next 3. We have changed our sand multiple times because the pool lady thought cotton was gumbing up the sand--we changed it atleast 3 times per year and we still fought algea. SO here we are ready to convert to bleach. We took off cover today and the bottom has a nice green layer on it. We are filling with water now and I did test the water and it seems to have no baquacil. pH is currently at 7.2. We just changed sand today also. Once our water gets up to the correct level should we start pumping in bleach or do we need to vacuum to waste whats already on bottom? I know that our pool will turn cool shades of green and we need to hold bleach at 15ppm which will tell us the conversion is complete. Is there any other advice as we are diving head first into this as we are SICK of baquacil and all there "false" hope!!
21' ag vinyl
3/4hp pump with sand filter
Thanks for any advice!!! Maybe we'll get through this summer divorce free!!! and enjoying our pool!!!!

[kalan]

Hi, I would vacuum the gunk on the bottom of the pool before I start adding the bleach no point in using up chlorine to try to burn up that stuff. It is unfortunate that you already changed sand as you will have to do it again after the conversion!! Good luck ken

[Poconos]

Welcome to the forum.
You seem to have the situation well understood. From what I've seen on the old forum and watching a local friend do the conversion last year, don't bother changing the sand until the conversion is complete. And yes, vacuum what you can off the bottom as anything there will consume chlorine unless it's been oxidized already. You'll also need a lot of bleach. May check local pool stores for the 10 or 12% stuff in refillable containers. If you can, take some pics of the progress.
Good Luck and welcome to the world of Chlorine.
Al

[supermom]

Happy Monday!!! Today is the first full day of our conversion since it took us a full day to vacuum the gunk off the bottom. I added 3gal 3% bleach (now I know to buy ultra) at 8 last night.
The testing kit I have doesn't break down Cl to FC and CC it just does TC. Do I need to buy the refill kit from Ben that will test for the FC and CC?
I checked at 10pm and my readings were: tc=2
pH=7.2
TA=300 (wow)
So at 10pm I added 2gal more. This morning at 7am readings were:
tc=6
pH=7.2
TA=280
I will explain that on the bleach cal I didn't look that pool size was in L as I put in gallons--so I corrected this and after the 7am readings I added 14L of bleach. I just tested again 9am and the tc=18 pH=7.3. Today looks like completely sunny in Kansas so do I continue to test today or assume Cl will burn off today so start over tonight? Our pool did turn a neon green last night after the first dose but now it is a hazy blue!! Are we on the right track? I have been taking pics which I will post when process is done--I hope so far so good!
I was concerned about TA though!! I do remember our values ALWAYS being high at the pool store when we used Baquagunk!!! So I did some research this am and our city water has alkalinity listed as 338.24ppm which was high on the standard range. Is TA something I'm going to have to fight since our fill (city) water is already on the high side?
Thanks for all your answers and help!!
Misti
9100 gal above ground vinyl
3/4hp sand filter

[Poconos]

You're on the right track. Not sure what to do about the strong sun as it will normally kill the chlorine pretty fast without stabilizer. However in a gunky colored pool I have no idea what will happen. I wouldn't be concerned about the TA until the conversion is done. Lowering it is pretty easy. There is a sticky at the top of the Alkalinity forum that explains how to lower it. Keep an eye on the pH though as it's at the low end and with vinyl you don't want it to go any lower. I'm a little out of my arena here so if someone else can chime in with better or corrected info I'd be grateful.
Al

[CarlD]

You can order Ben's kit, or you can go to Leslie's web site and order the FAS-DPD test kit--and have them rush it! It's essentially the same FC test that Ben includes, though the components may look a little different.

[supermom]

http://i4.tinypic.com/10447yf.jpg
http://i4.tinypic.com/10448k1.jpg
http://i4.tinypic.com/1044tj5.jpg
http://i4.tinypic.com/1044tpf.jpg
pic 1 is pre-bleach, pic 2 is day 1, pic 2 is day 2, pic 3 is complete and clear!!
We have completed our conversion!!! We have held Cl level 2 nights straight! I have hopefully uploaded these pics for you to see the conversion. Now if I've read right we want to change our sand then have TC at 3ppm and add CYA till we reach 30-50ppm and keep pH around 7.5! Is this correct? To add the CYA we put it in a sock and place it in our skimmer or tie to ladder--is that right? During this process ( a few days I understand it will take to dissolve) where do we keep our Cl level? Also our TA is still around 270--do we need to worry about it yet our get everything else stabalized? Right now we have TC of 10, pH of 7.3 and TA of 270. I have on order a kit to do the FC and CC because right now I can only to TC. Also, we would like to get an auto cleaner. Any suggestions? We have a 21' ag vinyl that is quite bumpy on the bottom. We thought the Kreepy Krawly or the Dirt Devil? Any other suggestions! Thank you all a MILLION!! We are SO happy so far and hope this is the best swim summer yet!!!

[supermom]

Not sure why the pics are automatically coming up--if anyone one knows how to change this please let me know!! Thanks, Misti
I figured it out!!!

[supermom]

Got my FC and CC tester today. Right now our readings are FC=3 CC=less than 1 pH=7.4 TA=270 CYA=30. Does this all look OK or do we need to do anything? I'm still curious about an auto cleaner that I posted before this one? Any suggestions--bumpy bottom--vinyl ag 20'? Thanks again for all your help!! Oh, how often do I want to shock the pool????

[aylad]

Your numbers all look good...you need to shock your pool if you have CC more than .5, or if it looks cloudy. I also shock mine after a large kiddie swimmer load, and after heavy rains. Some people shock theirs once a week just on general principles, and that's okay, too!

Janet