Baqua to chlorine

Baquacil, SoftSwim, Revacil, Splashes, Poly Clear. Using these
non-chlorine products and converting from biguanides back to chlorine.
tolon11

Baqua to chlorine

Postby tolon11 » Tue 24 Mar, 2009 06:17

I have had my pool on baqua for 2 seasons now. I am afraid of losing control of the water balance and end up with big headaches in the swimming season.

Do you advise switching to chlorine now, should I stick with baqua or should I wait until the water brakes down? Your ideas are valuable for me.


ron aldo

Baqua to chlorine

Postby ron aldo » Wed 25 Mar, 2009 03:17

I would change back to chlorine as soon as possible. Once you start with water mold and baquacil problems, you truly have a hard and costly slog ahead of you. :(

My advice is don't wait. 8)
Ray1031
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Baqua to chlorine

Postby Ray1031 » Sat 28 Mar, 2009 16:56

I agree with the change now verdict if you are considering changing anyway. My primary reason is entirely chemically related ...

Should you develop a water mold, the only "Killer" that baquacil offers is Baqua Shock ... Baqua shock in massive quantities and usually for an extended period of time before the problem is solved.

After such a problem, the change over will take longer ... why you may ask? ...

Each gallon of Baqua Shock contains "anti-chloramides" ... or more simply put: Chlorine killers. They generally do not dissipate or filter out of the water until they find some chlorine to attack. Under the best of circumstances the conversion from baquacil to chlorine is time consuming and best done with a "clean pool". You do not need to fight algaes and other problems during a conversion.

The time frame I am talking about? .... without any unexpected problems: the conversion from Chlorine to Baquacil can be completed in three to five days.
Obversely ... withour any unexpected problems : the conversion from baquacil usually takes ten to fourteen days. The Anti-chloramides are a big part of it, though not all.

One of the largest sellingpoints for Baquacil is it's "hardiness" It is a long lasting and tenacious chemical and (in pools that are often closed for five months for winter) after a winter closing, the spring will still normally find 25 - 30 ppm Baquacil content in the pool water. A similar closing with a chlorine pool will find a zero chlorine content after only a month or two.

The steps in conversion (Baquacil to Chlorine): First, a non-chlorine oxydizer is added to the pool in large quantities to "neutralize/burn-out" the Baquacil. The pool water will usually cloud or trun "milky" while both chemicals are present in the water. The last conversion I did was in a 23,000 gallon pool and I "started" with a full case (12 1-lb bags) of the oxydizer. Two days later I tested the water and found it to still have a Baquacil content so another half case (6 bags) was added. Two days later, there was still a touch of Baquacil in the pool - the the remaining 6 bags in the second case went into the pool. Finally, six days after starting, a reading of zero baquacil was attained. The pool was then "shocked" and the chlorine levels were raised using a combination of liquid and granular products. 24-hours later a chlorine test gave a "Zero" reading. and the water was still "cloudy" (All of those anti-chloramides that were built up in the pool.) it took three attempts at chlorine build up before it finally began "holding". "That" particualr conversion was in a "trouble-free" baquacil pool.

The same type of conversion - a year earlier - done on a pool that had been fighting a white water mold for most of the summer took over 21 days, from the beginning of the conversion until the water finally went from cloudy to clear over-night and the pool held a chlorine reading. They had so many anti-chloramides build up in their pool that it was eating up the chlorine basically as fast as it was being added.

In both cases, once the water cleared and began holding a chlorine reading the homeowners had trouble-free seasons with their pool.
Ray10311 is an experienced pool professional with 25 years experience
chem geek
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Baqua to chlorine

Postby chem geek » Sat 28 Mar, 2009 18:32

Ray,

That's really interesting info about the time differences in Baquacil conversion to chlorine. For a faster, but more expensive, conversion that is also less colorful, one can use sodium percarbonate which in water produces sodium carbonate (same as pH Up products) and hydrogen peroxide. It's basically a high pH high Baqua oxidizer (which is hydrogen peroxide) oxidation of Baquacil/biguanide/PHMB. This post on another forum has a link to the procedure (Orenda on that forum was the one promoting that procedure). A cost comparison of using chlorine vs. sodium percarbonate is in this post -- about a factor of 2.

Interestingly, at both The Pool Forum and at Trouble Free Pool, I hadn't really noticed any of the really long conversions. Most took less than one week. Perhaps just a lucky coincidence.

Richard
Ray1031
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Baqua to chlorine

Postby Ray1031 » Mon 30 Mar, 2009 01:04

chem geek wrote:Ray,


Interestingly, at both The Pool Forum and at Trouble Free Pool, I hadn't really noticed any of the really long conversions. Most took less than one week. Perhaps just a lucky coincidence.

Richard


Richard,

Seven to ten days really is about average for a good Baqua to Chlorine conversion. The "Long One" I cited was really the worst one I ever did and was a bit unique. They had spent over three months basically pouring a case of Baqua Shock into their pool every week to try and fight a bad "pink" infection that they had allowed to get really bad. A young, il-informed new employee at a company that had just begun handling Baquacil products was their "chemical advisor". As such, they never cleaned out the light pot - ladder rails - and never treated their suits or pool toys. They were leaving the solar cover "off" of the pool during the week while shocking the pool, then putting it back on every weekend while they went "up north" and left their equipment non-running and the pool static. My first contact with the jobs was at the end of the summer when they had already mostly given up and had already decided to convert, and to replace their filter in the bargain.

They were at the extreme edge of my service area and it was a busy summer, so I probably added to the time involved by not being able to get there "daily" (I tried to, but some of the other scheduled work at the time was tricky and ran longer than expected). The customers themselves also added to the time involved by "not" following the instructions I gave them to help keep thing moving. I am sorry to say this, but it was just one of "those" jobs.

Ray
Ray10311 is an experienced pool professional with 25 years experience
minime5478

Baqua to chlorine

Postby minime5478 » Sat 12 Jun, 2010 14:00

Hello,
I am new to pool care this is my first year and the last 2 seasons the pool used baquacil under the old owners. This year opening (Thursday) we decided to go with chlorine. I went to my local pool place and they had me put a algecide, stabilizer, chlorine tabs, and a shock. I learned very quick when my water changed to a green that something was wrong. After the fact they tested to see if there was any baquacil present and of course it was at the end of the season there was a double shock performed. The levels are normal with ph being 7.6 and the alk at 140. The pool place has had me put a total of 14lbs of oxidizer in 2lbs was flip out and the rest a chemical oxidizer under the foxx pool brand. The pool is a 27' by 48" deep roughly 17,182 gallons using a pro line cartridge filter system. I just want to make sure I am being led in the correct direction and that these places aren't trying to just sell me more chemicals. By the way the chlorine tabs have been pulled.

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