Pool Salinity Calculator

Calculate the approximate amount of salt you will need to add to your pool to have it reach a certain level of salt concentration. Keep in mind, the ideal salt concentration is typically around 3,000 and 3,400 ppm.

Required Information


Amount of Salt to Add:

What it is

What is Salinity?

Create Date: August 20, 2024

Last Modified Date: November 19, 2024

Salinity refers to the amount of salt that is in something, it also may be called salt concentration, and it is often shown as parts per million (ppm).

How to Calculate the Amount of Salt Needed

There are three variables when calculating the amount of salt needed to bring your pool to a certain salt concentration. They are the volume of the pool, current salt concentration, and desired salt concentration. The formula then used to calculate the amount of salt is:

An image showing the formula for calculating pool salinity.
Where:
  • TSN = Total Salt Needed

  • PV = Pool Volume

  • SN = Salt Needed (in ppm)

Understanding Your Results

When you hit the calculate button on this tool, the answer you will get is the total amount of salt you need to add to your pool to bring it to your desired salt concentration. It is a weight, so you may need to add 450 lbs of salt, or you can convert that to kilograms if needed with just the click of a button.

What is the Ideal Pool Salinity?

Pools should have a salt concentration of around 3,000 and 3,400. If you do not know what yours should be, it is advised to go down to your local pool store and talk to the experts there. They can also provide you with the test strips needed to get your pool's current salt concentration.

How to Use the Pool Salinity Calculator

There are just a few steps needed to use our tool, they are as such:

  1. Enter your pool's volume, change the unit of measurement if needed.

  2. Enter your pool's current salt concentration. You will need a test to get this value which you can find at your local pool supply store or online.

  3. Then enter your desired salt concentration, by default it is set at 3,200 which is regarded as a very good level of salt for most pools.

  4. Hit enter and you will instantly get your answer!

Calculation Example

Let's say you have a pool that has a volume of 20,000 US Gallons and a current salt concentration of 2,950 ppm and want to get its salt concentration back up to 3,200 ppm.

Using this tool you can get the approximate amount of salt needed to achieve this. The formula looks something like this: (20,000 * (3,200 - 2,950)) / 1000. Then convert that to lbs to get an answer of 41.73 lbs of salt needed, or 18.93 kgs.

Pool Salinity - Frequently Asked Questions

4,000 ppm of salt is higher than recommended for safe swimming conditions. It should be lower, ideally 3,400 at most.

If you find your pool's salt concentration is too high the only way to lower it is by diluting it. Add more water to lower the concentration of salt in the water.

The exact amount it raises your pool's salt concentration depends on your pool's volume. A table explaining this more in depth can be found here to give you a better idea.

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