How much alkalinity increaser do I need for my pool?

180 grams per 10,000 litres raises total alkalinity by 10 ppm, per the published direction on the AlkaJuster buffer sold by Pool Supplies Canada. So a 50,000 litre pool that reads 70 ppm and wants 100 ppm needs five lots of 180 grams for the first 10 ppm, times three, which is 2,700 grams or 2.7 kilograms. The calculator does that arithmetic and shows the gap it closed.

Why are most pool chemical calculators in gallons?

Because most of them are American. The dose ends up in pounds and ounces per 10,000 US gallons, and a Canadian owner reading litres has to convert twice before they can weigh anything out, which is two chances to be wrong by a factor that matters. Every rate on this page is a Canadian product direction published per 10,000 litres. Nothing is converted.

How much chlorine should a pool hold?

1.0 to 3.0 ppm of free available chlorine, with pH between 7.2 and 7.8, per the directions on the chlorine pucks Pool Supplies Canada sells. Daily maintenance works out at about 25 grams of stabilised puck per 10,000 litres, so a 50,000 litre pool goes through roughly 125 grams a day. At opening, before there is any residual at all, Pioneer Family Pools directs 65 grams of unstabilised granular chlorine per 10,000 litres, or one litre of liquid chlorine per 10,000 litres, then a test after 10 minutes.

Can you calculate a pH dose from a pH reading?

Not honestly. How much acid or base a pool needs to move its pH depends on the alkalinity buffering it, not on the pH number, which is why the Canadian products are labelled as one dose for the pool followed by a retest rather than as a formula. This page follows the label: it shows the published dose, tells you to test again in two hours, and repeats. Any calculator that hands you an exact gram figure from a pH reading alone has invented it.

What order should I add pool chemicals in?

Alkalinity first, then pH, then calcium hardness, then stabiliser, then the sanitiser, with the pump running throughout and time between each. Alkalinity is the buffer that stops pH bouncing, so correcting pH before alkalinity means correcting pH twice. Adding calcium and a pH raiser together will cloud the water. Never mix two products in the same bucket, and always add the chemical to the water rather than water to the chemical.

How much stabiliser does a freshly filled pool need?

300 grams per 10,000 litres to establish a level of 20 to 30 ppm, which both Pool Supplies Canada and Pioneer Family Pools publish. After that, 75 grams per 10,000 litres lifts the reading by roughly 8 ppm. Stabiliser protects chlorine from being destroyed by sunlight, which in an open Ontario backyard is where most of it goes. It does not break down on its own, so it only ever comes back down by draining and refilling.

How much do I actually add?

Last updated:August 26, 2026By The Pool Trade Desk

Grams and millilitres, from litres, using the directions printed on chemicals sold in Canada. No gallons anywhere, and no conversion between you and the scoop.

What to add, in grams and millilitres

Water in the pool (litres)

Not sure? The pool volume calculator works it out from your measurements.

Total alkalinity now (ppm)

Alkalinity you want (ppm)

Published band is 100 to 120.

Total hardness now (ppm)

Hardness you want (ppm)

225 to 300 plaster, 175 to 250 vinyl or fibreglass.

Stabiliser now (ppm)

Stabiliser you want (ppm)

Published target is 20 to 30.

pH reading (pH)

In range is 7.2 to 7.8.

To bring this pool into balance

50,000litres of water to treat

Alkalinity increaser, to lift 30 ppm180 g per 10,000 L moves it 10 ppm: 2.7 kg
Calcium increaser, to lift 75 ppm112 g per 10,000 L moves it 10 ppm: 4.2 kg
Stabiliser, to lift 20 ppm75 g per 10,000 L moves it about 8 ppm: 938 g
pH Up, one dose then retest in 2 hoursPublished as one dose for the pool, not a computed quantity: 500 g

Add one at a time, with the pump running, and leave at least a couple of hours between them. Alkalinity first: it is the buffer that stops pH bouncing, so fixing pH before alkalinity means doing pH twice.

The routine, for this pool

125 gof chlorine pucks a day

Non-chlorine shock, first dose of the season225 g per 10,000 L: 1.13 kg
Non-chlorine shock, weekly110 g per 10,000 L: 550 g
Algaecide, 40 percent, first dose100 mL per 10,000 L: 500 mL
Algaecide, weekly30 mL per 10,000 L: 150 mL
Stain and scale control, first dose120 mL per 10,000 L at normal hardness: 600 mL
Stain and scale control, weekly30 mL per 10,000 L: 150 mL
Clarifier30 mL per 2,000 L: 750 mL
Opening: unstabilised granular chlorine65 g per 10,000 L, test after 10 minutes and repeat until 1.0 ppm: 325 g
Opening: unstabilised liquid chlorine instead1 L per 10,000 L: 5 L
Opening: stabiliser on a fresh fill300 g per 10,000 L to reach 20 to 30 ppm: 1.5 kg

Work out your litres first What these chemicals cost in the GTA

These are the directions printed on Canadian products, so they assume Canadian products. Read the label on the tub in your shed before you measure: concentrations differ between brands, and a 35 percent shock and a 75 percent shock are not the same dose. Always add chemical to water, never water to chemical, and never mix two products in the same bucket.

What this does, and what it refuses to do

Method

Three of these doses scale and one deliberately does not. Alkalinity, calcium hardness and stabiliser are published as a weight of product that moves the reading a stated number of parts per million, so the arithmetic is your volume, times the published weight, times the gap divided by the step. Enter a reading already above the target and the answer is nothing to add, rather than a negative weight of product that cannot exist.

pH is the one that does not scale, and this is where most pool calculators quietly invent a number. How much acid or base a pool needs to move its pH depends on the alkalinity buffering the water, not on the pH reading, which is exactly why the Canadian products are labelled as one dose for the pool followed by a retest in two hours. This page follows the label. If you have seen a calculator hand you 384 grams of pH Down from a pH reading alone, it made that up.

The order matters as much as the amounts. Alkalinity first, because it is the buffer that keeps pH from bouncing and correcting pH before it means doing pH twice. Then pH, then calcium, then stabiliser, then the sanitiser. Pump running throughout, and a couple of hours between each, and never two products in the same bucket. In an open Ontario backyard most of your chlorine is destroyed by sunlight rather than by swimmers, which is what the stabiliser is for and why a freshly filled pool needs 300 grams per 10,000 litres before anything else works properly.

One warning worth repeating: these are Canadian product directions, so they assume Canadian products. Concentrations differ between brands and a 35 percent shock is not a 75 percent shock. Read the tub in your shed and let it overrule this page.

Frequently asked questions

How much alkalinity increaser do I need for my pool?: 180 grams per 10,000 litres raises total alkalinity by 10 ppm, per the published direction on the AlkaJuster buffer sold by Pool Supplies Canada. So a 50,000 litre pool that reads 70 ppm and wants 100 ppm needs five lots of 180 grams for the first 10 ppm, times three, which is 2,700 grams or 2.7 kilograms. The calculator does that arithmetic and shows the gap it closed.
Why are most pool chemical calculators in gallons?: Because most of them are American. The dose ends up in pounds and ounces per 10,000 US gallons, and a Canadian owner reading litres has to convert twice before they can weigh anything out, which is two chances to be wrong by a factor that matters. Every rate on this page is a Canadian product direction published per 10,000 litres. Nothing is converted.
How much chlorine should a pool hold?: 1.0 to 3.0 ppm of free available chlorine, with pH between 7.2 and 7.8, per the directions on the chlorine pucks Pool Supplies Canada sells. Daily maintenance works out at about 25 grams of stabilised puck per 10,000 litres, so a 50,000 litre pool goes through roughly 125 grams a day. At opening, before there is any residual at all, Pioneer Family Pools directs 65 grams of unstabilised granular chlorine per 10,000 litres, or one litre of liquid chlorine per 10,000 litres, then a test after 10 minutes.
Can you calculate a pH dose from a pH reading?: Not honestly. How much acid or base a pool needs to move its pH depends on the alkalinity buffering it, not on the pH number, which is why the Canadian products are labelled as one dose for the pool followed by a retest rather than as a formula. This page follows the label: it shows the published dose, tells you to test again in two hours, and repeats. Any calculator that hands you an exact gram figure from a pH reading alone has invented it.
What order should I add pool chemicals in?: Alkalinity first, then pH, then calcium hardness, then stabiliser, then the sanitiser, with the pump running throughout and time between each. Alkalinity is the buffer that stops pH bouncing, so correcting pH before alkalinity means correcting pH twice. Adding calcium and a pH raiser together will cloud the water. Never mix two products in the same bucket, and always add the chemical to the water rather than water to the chemical.
How much stabiliser does a freshly filled pool need?: 300 grams per 10,000 litres to establish a level of 20 to 30 ppm, which both Pool Supplies Canada and Pioneer Family Pools publish. After that, 75 grams per 10,000 litres lifts the reading by roughly 8 ppm. Stabiliser protects chlorine from being destroyed by sunlight, which in an open Ontario backyard is where most of it goes. It does not break down on its own, so it only ever comes back down by draining and refilling.

Where these figures come from

Provenance

Two Canadian retailers, both publishing their own product directions in metric. Pioneer Family Pools runs 19 Ontario locations and Pool Supplies Canada ships across the country, and where they cover the same chemical their figures agree.