Match the test to the treatment
| Measured parameter | Tool | Information to have ready |
|---|---|---|
| Salt / salinity | Salt water calculator | Pool volume, current ppm, generator target, salt purity |
| Free chlorine, routine increase | Chlorine calculator | Current and target chlorine, bottle dose or bag strength |
| Free chlorine, treatment increase | Shock calculator | Current and target chlorine, product strength on the bag or bottle |
| Total alkalinity as CaCO3 | Alkalinity calculator | Current and target TA, sodium bicarbonate purity |
| Cyanuric acid / stabilizer | Stabilizer calculator | Current and target CYA, dry cyanuric acid purity |
| pH too high or low | pH demand-test calculator | A fresh acid/base demand result and its exact treatment-table row |
| pH too high, using muriatic acid | Muriatic acid calculator | Acid demand table dose matching your HCl strength |
Read the test before choosing a product
Free chlorine and total chlorine are different readings. Total alkalinity is expressed as calcium carbonate equivalent, not as the mass of baking soda in the water. pH describes acidity but does not reveal the pool's buffering capacity.
Use the sample size, reagent and endpoint specified by your kit. Taylor #5165, for example, uses different sample sizes for several tests in the same kit. A drop count from one test cannot be reused in another.
Read the concentration basis on the label
For a dry product, purity or available chlorine is a mass fraction. Liquid chlorine may be described as grams of available chlorine per liter, available chlorine by weight, or sodium hypochlorite by weight. These are different inputs. A liquid weight percentage needs the product density to become a liquid volume.
Do not enter a trade percentage into a weight-percentage field unless the manufacturer confirms that definition. For liquid stabilizer, blended products and slow-dissolving tablets, use their own label instructions instead of substituting the same numerical percentage.
Add, circulate, then retest
Follow the product label for application and mixing time, then retest before adding more. Keep chemicals separate: never mix chlorine with acid or other chemicals.
Common questions
Which chemical should I adjust first?
Follow the product and pool-care instructions for the measured condition. This index does not diagnose cloudy or unsafe water from a single reading. Check sanitizer and pH, and seek pool-service guidance when results conflict or are outside the test range.
Can these tools lower an existing concentration?
Salt, CYA, alkalinity and chlorine additions cannot lower the measured level. Their addition calculations return zero for lower targets.
Sources & calculation notes
Check the original source for product-specific instructions and current details.
- Taylor: Complete kit instructions #5165, acid/base demand and treatment-table methodChecked 2026-10-27
- CDC: Staying healthy in swimming poolsChecked 2026-10-27
- HASA: Sani-Clor safety data sheet, 2026 revisionChecked 2026-10-27