Pool Chemical Calculator
Balance your pool water without guesswork. This pool chemical calculator tells you exactly how much chlorine, pH adjuster, alkalinity increaser, and cyanuric acid to add based on your current readings and target levels. Dosing is given for liquid chlorine (10% sodium hypochlorite) and granular cal-hypo (65%), plus the proper order to add chemicals so they do not cancel each other out.
Pool chemistry target ranges:
- Free Chlorine: 1-3 ppm (or 3 ppm if shocking)
- pH: 7.4-7.6
- Total Alkalinity: 80-120 ppm
- Cyanuric Acid (CYA): 30-50 ppm for outdoor pools, 0-20 ppm for indoor
- Calcium Hardness: 200-400 ppm
Dosing Formulas
- Liquid chlorine (10%): 10.5 oz per 10,000 gallons raises free chlorine by 1 ppm
- Granular cal-hypo (65%): about 1.55 oz per 10,000 gallons per 1 ppm
- pH Up (soda ash): 6 oz per 10,000 gallons raises pH by 0.2
- pH Down (dry acid): 12 oz per 10,000 gallons lowers pH by 0.2
- Alkalinity increaser (baking soda): 1.5 lb per 10,000 gallons raises TA by 10 ppm
- Cyanuric acid: 13 oz per 10,000 gallons raises CYA by 10 ppm
How to Use the Pool Chemical Calculator
Test your pool water with strips or a drop-based kit first. Enter the results alongside your pool volume in gallons. The pool calculator chemical output gives the precise amount of each chemical to add, plus the correct dose sequence. Never mix chemicals together in the same bucket, and always add chemicals to water, not water to chemicals.
Pool Chemical Calculator App vs Website
Many pool owners switch between a pool chemical calculator app on their phone at the pool and a free pool chemical calculator on a laptop for planning. Both work from the same math: parts per million, pool volume, and a known dose factor per chemical. This tool runs in the browser so no install is needed.