How Much Baking Soda Does Your Pool Need?

For salt generators or liquid chlorine, the guide range here is 80–100 ppm. Trichlor tablets use 100–120 ppm. Those ranges alone don’t diagnose scale or metal corrosion. Choose your target with your finish and equipment instructions, pH and full water balance in mind. Assess scale or metal corrosion separately.

Enter your measured TA, target and pool gallons to get a baking soda weight. The first addition is capped at a 30 ppm TA rise. Use the bag’s application and dissolving directions, then wait at least six hours, or longer if the label requires. Test again and calculate the next addition from that fresh reading.

Acid lowers pH along with alkalinity. Start with a valid pH test; the pH calculator uses measured TA and CYA to estimate a small acid step. Aeration can then raise pH without putting the removed alkalinity back. Retest both before another addition. Follow the acid label and never pour concentrated acid into one spot with the pump off.

Alkalinity is part of your water’s buffering, which affects the acid or soda ash dose for a pH change. Enter a measured TA so the estimate uses your water’s buffering. For a full water-balance assessment, include the other readings too.

Baking soda is used to raise TA. Soda ash adds more alkalinity per unit weight and is used here to raise pH; the pH rise from either depends on the water’s buffering. Take fresh pH, TA and CYA readings to choose an adjustment, then retest after adding it.