Chemistry readings
Do this first
Put your readings and your pool’s size into the calculator: it gives the dose for each one. No test yet? Bring a water sample in and we’ll test it free.
Which reading is off?
The balance that makes chlorine work and keeps eyes, plaster and equipment happy. They move together: alkalinity steadies pH, and acid lowers both.
Fix it yourself
- Test both, and put them into the calculator with your pool’s size — it sizes the acid or the alkalinity increaser for you.
- Lower with muriatic acid poured slowly into the deep end with the pump running; never near the skimmer, never with other chemicals.
- Raise alkalinity with the increaser, broadcast over the deep end; retest after a full turnover (overnight is fine).
- Adjust one thing at a time and retest — chasing both at once is how pools bounce for a month.
What you’ll need
In the store and online.
Or we’ll do it
Chemical Only · $165/mo
We test and balance every week and bring the chemicals — the numbers stop being your job.
Book itDone when both sit in the targets below two tests in a row.
Either the sun is eating it (low stabilizer), the stabilizer is so high the chlorine works slowly, or something in the water is consuming it. The ratio of chlorine to stabilizer is what matters.
Fix it yourself
- Test stabilizer (cyanuric acid) as well as chlorine. The calculator shows whether the chlorine is enough for your stabilizer level.
- Low stabilizer: add some, so the sun stops burning the chlorine off by noon.
- High stabilizer: a reducer brings it down slowly, or a partial drain-and-refill brings it down fast; in the meantime run the chlorine higher.
- Add chlorine in the evening and test in the morning — a big overnight drop means something organic is still being killed.
What you’ll need
In the store and online.
HASA 4 Gallon Liquid Chlorine Case$35.99
REGAL 1 gal Liquid Pool Stabilizer$35.99
REGAL 4 lb Pool Stabilizer Pouch$22.99
Or we’ll do it
Chemical Only · $165/mo
We watch the ratio every week, so the chlorine holds through a Texas summer.
Book itDone when chlorine reads in range in the morning after an evening dose.
Hard DFW fill water pushes calcium up over the summer; low calcium etches plaster, high calcium scales tile and salt cells.
Fix it yourself
- Test calcium hardness and pH. Scale shows up when both run high; the calculator says which to move first.
- Low calcium: the increaser, dissolved in a bucket first, poured around the pool.
- High calcium: a scale control product holds it in solution; a partial drain-and-refill is the only way to lower the number itself.
- White crust on the tile line comes off with a scale remover and a brush; stains that are not scale need a look — send us a photo.
What you’ll need
In the store and online.
Regal Calcium Increaser 4 lb bag$8.99
Easy Care™ Scaletec Plus® Surface Scale & Stain Remover$68.27
4-In-1 Yellow Chlorine Test Strip 50 Strips per Bottle$13.88
Or we’ll do it
Chemical Only · $165/mo
We track calcium with the season and keep the balance off the tile and out of the cell.
Book itDone when calcium sits in the target below and the tile line stays clean.
Strips tell you the shape of things; a lab test tells you the numbers. Ours is free, while you wait.
Fix it yourself
- Fill a clean bottle from elbow depth, away from the returns, and bring it in the same day.
- We test the full profile and hand you a printed dose sheet for your pool.
- Pick up what the sheet calls for while you are here — we stock it.
What you’ll need
In the store and online.
Or come and see us
Bring the question, a photo, or a water sample — we’ll sort it out at the counter.
Visit the storeDone when you leave with the numbers, the doses and the products in hand.
The targets
The same numbers our techs and our calculators work to. Put yours into the calculator for the dose.
- Free chlorine
- 1–3 ppm
- pH
- 7.2–7.6
- Total alkalinity
- 80–120 ppm
- Calcium hardness
- 200–400 ppm
- Cyanuric acid (stabilizer)
- 30–50 ppm
- Salt
- 2700–3400 ppm
Go deeper
- Pool volume & dosing calculatorYour pool’s size, then the dose for pH, alkalinity, calcium, chlorine and stabilizer
- Water chemistry calculatorColour-coded status for each reading, and the balance (LSI)
- Free water test at our storeBring a sample; we test it while you wait
The full guides
- High Cyanuric Acid (CYA) in Your Pool? Here's Why It Matters and How to Fix ItCyanuric acid (stabilizer/conditioner) above 100 ppm makes chlorine ineffective. Learn why CYA builds up, what levels are dangerous, and the only real fix.
- How to Lower Pool Alkalinity: Step-by-Step Guide for Texas PoolsHigh alkalinity causes cloudy water, scale buildup, and pH problems. Learn how to lower alkalinity with muriatic acid, how much to add, and DFW-specific tips.
- Pool Water Hardness & Calcium: Managing DFW's Hard Water ChallengeHow to manage pool calcium hardness in DFW's hard water. Ideal ranges, testing methods, how to raise and lower calcium, scaling prevention, and the Langelier Sa
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