What salt level should I target?

Follow your generator's spec — most residential systems want about 3200 ppm, within a 2700–3400 ppm window. Too low and the cell underperforms; too high and it may fault or corrode fittings. There is no chemical to remove salt, so aim slightly low and top up.

My salt is too high — what now?

You cannot chemically remove salt. Drain part of the pool and refill with fresh water to dilute it. This is why it is better to add salt in stages, brush it in, and retest than to dump the full amount at once.

Does the salt get used up?

Only slowly. The cell recycles the same salt over and over, so you mainly lose salt to splash-out, backwashing, and rain overflow — not to chlorine generation. Expect to top up occasionally, not constantly.

Salt System Calculator

Get the pounds of pool salt to reach your saltwater generator's target (usually ~3200 ppm) from your current level and pool volume.

Inputs

Pool volume — gallons

gal

Current salt

ppm

Target salt

ppm

Product — ≥ 99% pure sodium chloride

Results update as you type — no submit

Salt to add

400.58 lb

≈ 181.7 kg

salt change3200 ppm

ProductPool salt (NaCl ≥ 99%)

Formula

raise salt by 3200 ppm in 15,000 gal
salt = 400.58 lb ≈ 181.7 kg

Add chemicals to water, never water to chemicals. Broadcast over the deep end with the pump running, then retest before adding more.

Doses are estimates from published product concentrations — always follow the product label, add chemicals to water (never the reverse), test with a kit, and retest after dosing.

MeasureShedmeasureshed.com/calculator/salt-system-calculator

Salt dose — dose sheetUNITS: US GAL · ppm

Inputs

Pool volume15,000 gal

Current salt0 ppm

Target salt3200 ppm

ProductPool salt (NaCl ≥ 99%)

Results

salt to add400.58 lb

Other units181.7 kg

salt change3200 salt ppm

Safe dosing: add product to water (never the reverse) · broadcast with the pump running · wait and retest before re-dosing · keep chemicals apart and dry.

Shopping list

☐ 400.58 lb (181.7 kg) — Pool salt (NaCl ≥ 99%)

Formula

raise salt by 3200 ppm in 15,000 gal

salt = 400.58 lb (181.7 kg)

Doses are estimates from published product concentrations — always follow the product label, add chemicals to water (never the reverse), test with a kit, and retest after dosing.SHEET 1 OF 1

How it works

A saltwater pool is still a chlorine pool — the salt cell splits dissolved salt into chlorine as water passes through it. For the cell to work, the water needs a target salinity, usually around `3200 ppm` (check your generator; many run `2700–3400 ppm`). The calculator finds the pounds of salt to add from your current level, your target, and your pool volume.

Salt is a pure mass balance. Because water weighs `8.34 lb` per gallon, `1 ppm` of salt in `10,000 gal` is about `0.083 lb`, so bringing `10,000 gal` from zero to `3000 ppm` takes roughly `250 lb`. Pool salt is `99%`-plus sodium chloride, so no purity correction is needed. Use salt sold for pools — not rock salt or salt with anti-caking additives.

Pour salt across the shallow end with the pump running and brush it to help it dissolve; run the pump for `24` hours before trusting a reading, since salt takes time to mix. Do not turn on the salt cell until the salt has fully dissolved. Add to water, and confirm with a test strip or the generator's own reading.

Worked example

Volume `15,000 gal` · salt `0 → 3200 ppm` (`+3200 ppm`)
salt = 3200 × 15,000 × 8.34 ÷ 1,000,000 = `400 lb` (`≈10 × 40 lb bags`)

Questions about salt systems

To raise salinity by 1000 ppm in 10,000 gal takes about 83 lb. Filling a 15,000 gal pool from zero to 3200 ppm needs roughly 400 lb, or about ten 40 lb bags. Always start from a fresh reading — adding salt on top of an unknown level risks overshooting.

SOURCES — Water 8.34 lb/gal · Hayward/Pentair salt start-up charts · pool salt ≥ 99% NaCl

Doses are estimates from published product concentrations — always follow the product label, add chemicals to water (never the reverse), test with a kit, and retest after dosing.