How much salt for a 12,000 gallon pool

Starting with plain water, you'll pour roughly 320 lb of salt into a 12,000 gallon pool to hit 3,200 ppm (parts per million, the number a salt test shows). That works out to 8 bags at 40 lb each. Got some salt in the water already? Enter your reading and watch the bag count shrink.

Units Gallons, pounds Liters, kilograms

Pool volume in gallonsgal

Don't know the gallons? Measure the pool

Pool shapeRectangleOvalRoundKidney

A: lengthftB: widthftShallow end depthftDeep end depthft

The gallons above fill in as you measure.

Salt reading now ppmYour chlorinatorTarget to dose to ppm

Example For 12,000 gallons, from 0 to 3,200 ppm. Type yours to see your bags.

Buy 8 bags of

Add 320 lb in all: pour 7 bags now, then bag 8 after you retest.

Pump on. Pour it around the deep end, not into the skimmer.
Brush any salt off the floor until it's gone.
Run the pump 24 hours and test. Add the rest only if the reading is still short.

How this is worked out

Gallons = A × B × average depth × 7.5 for a rectangle, 6.7 for an oval and 5.9 for a round pool (diameter × diameter), the factors in Hayward's manual; 7.0 for a kidney (length × average width), from Inyo's sizing guide. Pounds of salt = (target ppm − your ppm) × gallons × 8.34 ÷ 1,000,000. A gallon of water weighs 8.34 pounds. Bags round up. In liters: kilograms = ppm difference × liters ÷ 1,000,000.

Salt for 12,000 gallons by current reading

Reading now	to 3,000 ppm	to 3,200 ppm	to 3,600 ppm
0 ppm	Buy 8 bagsadd 300 lb	Buy 8 bagsadd 320 lb	Buy 9 bagsadd 360 lb
1,000 ppm	Buy 5 bagsadd 200 lb	Buy 6 bagsadd 220 lb	Buy 7 bagsadd 260 lb
1,500 ppm	Buy 4 bagsadd 150 lb	Buy 5 bagsadd 170 lb	Buy 6 bagsadd 210 lb
2,000 ppm	Buy 3 bagsadd 100 lb	Buy 3 bagsadd 120 lb	Buy 4 bagsadd 160 lb
2,500 ppm	Buy 2 bagsadd 50 lb	Buy 2 bagsadd 70 lb	Buy 3 bagsadd 110 lb
2,800 ppm	Buy 1 bagadd 20 lb	Buy 1 bagadd 40 lb	Buy 2 bagsadd 80 lb
3,000 ppm	Already there	Buy 1 bagadd 20 lb	Buy 2 bagsadd 60 lb

Every bag is 40 lb and the count rounds up. Pour all but the final bag, let the pump run a day, then test before you open it.

Intex and TruClear aim for 3,000 ppm, Hayward for 3,200 ppm and Pentair for 3,600 ppm. The chart by chlorinator lists every manufacturer's number.

Good to know at 12,000 gallons

In a pool this size, every 100 ppm gap takes 10.0 lb to close. So when your test reads 400 ppm under target, that's 40 lb: buy 1 bag of 40 lb.

CircuPool's advice is to buy a cell sized for 1.5 to 2 times the water you hold. For this pool that is 18,000 to 24,000 gallons, which fits the Pentair IntelliChlor IC20.

Close to this volume in the Intex range: the 24 ft x 48 in Metal Frame at 11,483 gallons and the 24 ft x 52 in Metal Frame at 12,481 gallons. Intex equipment works at 3,000 ppm, and the numbers are on salt for Intex pools.

Questions people bring to the counter

How much does a backwash or a rainy week cost me in salt?

Only the water you lose takes salt with it. If a top-up brings this pool from 2,800 back to 3,200 ppm, that's 40 lb: buy 1 bag of 40 lb.

How can I tell if my pool has enough salt?

Test the water. Most chlorinators light a low-salt warning below their range. A strip or drop kit reads in ppm, and that number goes in the salt reading box.

Next size down or up: 10,000 gal or 13,000 gal. Every size is on the per 1,000 gallons chart.