Calculating pool volume...

Ripper70 · May 25, 2016

Hey All,

Well, finally the new liner is in and i should have new water ready to go by tomorrow afternoon. As I begin to ready myself for a fresh start I began to question what I always assumed was a 17,500 gallon pool volume. I remember doing a cursory calculation last season based on measuring the length and trying my best to average the width of my freeform shaped pool but I'd like to have as accurate a reading as possible to make sure I'm putting the correct info into the pool calculator when figuring my chemistry.

I now have the detailed measurements from the vinyl liner installation but really can't wrap my brain around how to figure out the volume with the data that I have.

Any chance one of you pool geeks could give me an idea of how far off my 17.5k estimate is in real life? Below is the blueprint for the new liner. I was really hoping that the pool volume would be included in their measurements but, alas, it's not.

JoyfulNoise · May 26, 2016

Unfortunately there's no simple method of getting a more exact volume from that schematic unless one loaded it into a decent CAD program and rendered it in 3D.

That said, there is a fairly accurate chemical method of figuring out your pool volume - A Chemical Way of Calculating Pool Volume

Downside is, it uses a lot of TA reagent from your test kit.

pooldv · May 26, 2016

I would start at 16k or 17k and see how your chlorine additions match up with Poolmath and tweak from there.

Ripper70 · May 27, 2016

Okay. So, initial test results are as follows:

FC = 8.8
CC = 0.0
Ph = 7.3
TA = 40
CYA = 0
Temp = 72*

Yesterday I added 1 gallon of Clorox and 5 tricolor pucks to the feeder to help bring up the CYA.

Assuming 16k gallons, how'm I doin'?

RobbieH · May 27, 2016

Test 30 min after adding your chlorine, with pump running. See if it matches your estimates in Pool Math. After a few times, you'll have a really good idea of the volume of your pool.

Ripper70 · May 27, 2016

RobbieH said:
Test 30 min after adding your chlorine, with pump running. See if it matches your estimates in Pool Math. After a few times, you'll have a really good idea of the volume of your pool.

Well, I added the Clorox yesterday so it's too late for that. The pucks, I'm guessing, will last about 4 or 5 days which I figured would be about the right time to test for CYA again.

Should I try to raise the Ph any? Or the TA?

RobbieH · May 27, 2016

A pH of 7.3 doesn't bother me, but those pucks are going to lower it even further. You might shoot for 7.5-7.6 and see what happens. TA really depends on if you experience pH swings. If you stabilize, I wouldn't worry about it, but if you get swings you need to raise it. Most of us fight to get TA down, so you are on the "lucky" side.