Your First Week
- Find the paperwork. Volume in litres, filter type, sanitiser type (chlorine, salt, mineral), and the builder's handover notes. Volume is the number every dosage is based on.
- Buy a decent test kit. Strips are fine for a weekly glance. A drop kit or a digital tester is better for decisions. Test pH, free chlorine, and total alkalinity this week.
- Learn the pump timer. In an Aussie summer you want roughly 8 hours of circulation a day, split morning and evening. Winter can drop to 4–6 hours.
- Walk the fence and gate. Self-closing, self-latching, no climbable objects nearby. This is the law, not a suggestion — see the safety guide.
- Don't throw a party yet if the water is still settling after a new build or a refill. Give chemistry a few days to stabilise.
The Five Numbers That Matter
| What | Target | Why you care |
|---|---|---|
| pH | 7.2 – 7.6 | Comfort, chlorine strength, surface protection |
| Free chlorine | 1 – 3 ppm | Kills algae and bacteria |
| Total alkalinity | 80 – 120 ppm | Stops pH swinging |
| Calcium hardness | 200 – 400 ppm | Too low etches, too high scales |
| Cyanuric acid (stabiliser) | 30 – 50 ppm | Stops the sun destroying chlorine |
Salt pools still use chlorine — the cell makes it for you. You still test free chlorine and pH. The salt level itself is a separate reading (usually 3,000–6,000 ppm depending on the cell).
Know Your Equipment
- Pump — moves water. If it's noisy, leaking, or not priming, turn it off and investigate. Running a pump dry kills it.
- Filter — traps dirt. Cartridge, sand or DE. Learn how to clean yours this month.
- Skimmer and pump baskets — empty them. Leaves in the basket is the number-one "my pump isn't working" call.
- Chlorinator or feeder — salt cell, tablet floater, or dosing pump. Know which you have and where the on/off is.
A Simple Weekly Routine
- Empty skimmer and pump baskets (2 minutes).
- Test pH and chlorine. Adjust in small doses (10 minutes).
- Brush walls and waterline (10 minutes).
- Empty the leaf scoop / run the cleaner (15 minutes).
- Glance at the filter pressure gauge. If it's high, clean or backwash.
That's it for a healthy pool. Once a month, do a full five-parameter test. After heavy rain or a heatwave, test again the next morning.
The Professor's first-month rule: Small, frequent adjustments beat one giant chemical dump. If you're unsure, add half, wait, retest.
What Not to Do
- Don't mix chemicals in a bucket "to save time".
- Don't add acid and chlorine at the same time.
- Don't ignore a green tinge hoping it will "blow through".
- Don't leave the gate propped open. Ever.
- Don't assume a salt pool is maintenance-free. It isn't.
When to Get Help
Chemistry you can learn. Equipment leaks, a dead pump, a cracked cell, or a surface that's etching or staining — that's a technician. For concrete resurfacing, coping and waterline tiles I recommend Concrete Pool Renovation in Brisbane's north. For day-to-day water questions, start with the other guides on this site, or send a note through the contact page.
