Pool Tools &
Calculators
Use our interactive tools to understand your pool's chemistry, get exact dosing recommendations, and fix the most common pool problems yourself — no guesswork.
Water Chemistry Calculator
Input your current water readings and get one verdict that counts every warning, plus the doses in the order to add them — the same plan our store counter prints for the same water, with the strength every dose assumes.
Water Chemistry Calculator
Enter your pool's current readings. You get one verdict that counts every warning, and the doses in the order to add them.
Pool Volume
Common pool sizes: 10,000 - 30,000 gallons
Current Water Chemistry Readings
Drag each slider to match your test strip or drop test — or tap the number to type a reading. The white box marks the ideal range; the badge says what the reading means for THIS water.
Free chlorine 2 ppm is low for your stabilizer
Stabilizer (CYA) 60 ppm is above the 30–50 ppm range
Used for the water balance (LSI)
What your water needs
Doses assume your entered volume of 10,000 gallons. How this calculator works
Your water needs 1 adjustment.
The water is corrosive (LSI -0.48) · Free chlorine 2 ppm is low for your stabilizer · Stabilizer (CYA) 60 ppm is above the 30–50 ppm range.
Saturation index -0.48 — corrosive: this water is pulling calcium out of the plaster, the tile grout and anything metal it touches.
What the readings say
- FixThe water is corrosive (LSI -0.48)Saturation index -0.48 — corrosive: this water is pulling calcium out of the plaster, the tile grout and anything metal it touches. The steps below bring it to -0.20.
- FixFree chlorine 2 ppm is low for your stabilizerHigh stabilizer does not lock chlorine — it slows it, and how much depends on the ratio of free chlorine to CYA. With stabilizer at 60 ppm, the published guide is free chlorine of at least 5 ppm (7.5% of the CYA) — see the stabilizer note.
- WatchStabilizer (CYA) 60 ppm is above the 30–50 ppm rangeHigh stabilizer does not "lock" chlorine — it slows it, and how much that matters depends on the ratio of free chlorine to CYA: the published guide is at least 7.5% of the CYA, 5 ppm here (yours is 2). No product lowers CYA; replacing about 33% of the water with fresh water brings it to about 40 ppm — in stages, never emptying the pool. Trichlor tablets and dichlor add stabilizer with every dose; liquid chlorine and cal-hypo add none.
What to add, in this order
One at a time, pump running: add it, let it circulate, retest before the next one.
- 1Soda ash (pH increaser)1.3 lbs
pH 7.2 → 7.5, taking alkalinity 100 → 115 ppm with it.
Broadcast over the deep end with the pump running.
Assumes: Soda ash (sodium carbonate) — sized from YOUR alkalinity by the carbonate chemistry, not a fixed "per 0.1 pH" rule, and only for the gap the bicarbonate left.
Good to know
pH target set to 7.5 (inside the ideal 7.2–7.6) so the water lands balanced: LSI -0.48 → -0.20.
Never mix chemicals with each other — each one goes into the pool water on its own, acid into water, never water into acid. Follow every product label and SDS. Doses are sized for the volume you entered; when in doubt, add a little less and retest.
Want us to handle this?
In the Dallas–Fort Worth area, our technicians test, balance and maintain pools every week.
Get a Free Service QuoteHow this calculator works
Both of our calculators — this one and its twin — run the same dosing plan our store counter prints for the same water. These are the ranges it holds a pool to, the rules it follows, and the rates behind every dose.
| Reading | Range | Aims for, when out of range |
|---|---|---|
| Free chlorine | 1–3 ppm | 3 ppm |
| pH | 7.2–7.6 | 7.5 |
| Total alkalinity | 80–120 ppm | 100 ppm |
| Calcium hardness | 200–400 ppm | 300 ppm |
| Cyanuric acid (stabilizer) | 30–50 ppm | 40 ppm |
| Salt (salt pools) | 2,700–3,400 ppm | 3,200 ppm |
- A reading inside its range is left alone — a balanced pool is never sold chemicals. A reading outside it is aimed at the middle of the range.
- The water balance is the calcite saturation index (LSI), computed from temperature, pH, alkalinity, calcium, stabilizer and dissolved salts with published thermodynamic constants — the same model the Orenda calculator uses. Balanced is within ±0.3. When the water would still be out of balance, pH, then alkalinity, then calcium are moved INSIDE their ranges until it lands.
- Free chlorine is raised when it is under 2 ppm, to 3; above 5 ppm it is high. Above the 30–50 ppm stabilizer range the calculator also says what the published FC/CYA guide asks — free chlorine of at least 7.5% of the CYA — because high stabilizer slows chlorine; it does not "lock" it.
- Acid is ONE addition, sized by the alkalinity it removes, and never takes a pool below pH 7.2; the rest is aeration. Alkalinity is raised before pH, and soda ash is sized only for the gap the bicarbonate leaves.
- Stabilizer, calcium and salt come down only by replacing water. The notes say how much, and it depends on the numbers — and, for calcium, on your fill water.
- Salt pools: the cell makes chlorine from the salt. A low chlorine reading means turning the cell up as well as catching up with a dose; salt-cell makers print their own ranges, so check your cell's manual (Hayward's Aqua Rite manual, for one, gives 2,700–3,400 ppm salt with 3,200 optimal).
- Every dose line says what it assumes — the product's strength and the rate it was sized at. Add chemicals one at a time, in the order shown, with the pump running, and follow the label.
- This is the same plan our store counter and our technicians print for the same water.
Sources the rules rest on:
Color-Coded Status
See at a glance which readings are good, need attention, or require immediate action.
Exact Dosing
Amounts sized to your pool volume, each one stating the product strength it assumes.
Volume Calculator
Don't know your pool volume? Use our built-in calculator (Length × Width × Depth × 7.5).
Common Problems, Real Fixes
Most pool problems trace back to a handful of causes. Here's the plain-English diagnosis for each, with a step-by-step guide and the products that actually solve it — shipped nationwide.
Cloudy Water
Usually one of three things: the filter isn't running long enough, chlorine dipped and let fine particles accumulate, or algae is just getting started. Test your water first — the fix depends on which one it is.
Green Pool / Algae
Algae blooms when free chlorine hits zero for long enough — heat and rain speed it up. The real fix is shock dosed to your pool's volume, daily brushing, and running the filter around the clock until it clears, not a single magic bottle.
Chlorine Won't Hold (High CYA)
Years of trichlor tablets push cyanuric acid (stabilizer) up. High CYA doesn't “lock” chlorine — it slows it, so the test reads fine while algae gets ahead. The fix depends on the ratio: keep free chlorine at least 7.5% of the CYA, or lower the CYA by replacing part of the water — the calculator above works out both.
Scaling or Etching (LSI)
When pH, alkalinity, and calcium drift high, water deposits white scale on tile and salt cells; when they run low, aggressive water etches plaster and corrodes equipment. The balance point is the saturation index (LSI) — our calculator above reads it for you.
Ask a Pool Expert — Free
Not sure what you're looking at? You don't have to figure it out alone, and none of these cost anything.
Chat With Us
Tap the chat bubble in the corner of this page and describe what your water is doing — you'll get an answer in seconds, any time of day.
In DFW? Test In Store
Bring a water sample to our Northlake store for a free 5-minute digital analysis.
Free water testing →Got Your Numbers? Get Your Chemicals.
Everything the calculator recommends is in our shop — pro-grade chemicals, test kits, and equipment with fast nationwide shipping.
In Dallas–Fort Worth? We also service pools — see our service options.