Everyone always wants to know what levels of chlorine (tablets & powders), pH (pH increaser & pH decreaser), alkalinity, calcium hardness, TDS, and stabilizer they ought to have in their pool.
Too bad a vinyl liner pool in Upstate Michigan usually requires a different set of water chemistry parameters than a gunite pool in Southern Arizona… and a fiberglass pool in Central Kansas requires a slightly different set of parameters.
Don’t get discouraged, though. Just stick w/in the following guidelines to start, though, and then correct as you go along… with the goal of finding the perfect chemical balance for your pool — hopefully with the help of a pool water testing expert from your local pool store!
- pH: 7.2 – 7.8
- Free Chlorine: 1.0 – 2.0 ppm
- Total Alkalinity: 80 – 120 ppm
- Calcium Hardness: 180 – 220 ppm, though some say 200 – 400.
- Cyanuric Acid: 25 – 50 ppm
- Total Dissolved Solids: 500 – 5000 ppm
For those between pool store visit testing times, meaning you need to test your pool at LEAST two or three times a week, you may want to consider using a liquid test kit such as one of the following:
