In this guide: Circulation · Cleaning · Water balance · Weekly routine · Calculators
Pool care comes down to three habits done consistently: circulate, clean, and balance. Almost every problem — cloudy water, algae, itchy eyes, short-lived chlorine — traces back to one of those three slipping. This guide gives you a routine you can run in about 20 minutes a week, and shows where a quick calculation removes the guesswork.
Water only stays clear if the whole pool passes through the filter regularly. The industry rule of thumb is at least one full turnover per day — every gallon cycled through the filter once in 24 hours — and many pros aim for two in warm, busy months. If your pump runs too few hours, dirt and chlorine demand build up faster than the filter can keep up.
To size your run time you need two numbers: your pool's volume in gallons and your pump's flow rate in gallons per minute (GPM). Divide the volume by (GPM × 60) to get the hours for one turnover.
A 20,000-gallon pool with a 50 GPM pump: 20,000 ÷ (50 × 60) = 6.7 hours for one turnover. Run the pump at least that long each day, split into two cycles if you like.
Skim floating debris before it sinks and rots, brush the walls and floor (especially shaded corners and behind ladders where algae starts), and vacuum what settles. Empty the pump and skimmer baskets so the pump keeps its full flow — a clogged basket quietly starves circulation and undoes step 1. Rinse or backwash the filter when its pressure gauge climbs 8–10 psi above the clean baseline.
Test at least twice a week in season. The three readings that matter most are free chlorine, pH, and total alkalinity. Public-health guidance from the CDC targets a pH of 7.0–7.8 and free chlorine of at least 1 ppm in a stabilized pool (higher in hot tubs). Alkalinity in the 80–120 ppm band keeps pH from drifting. Chemistry is dosed by volume, so knowing your gallons is what makes label instructions accurate — a dose for 10,000 gallons in a 20,000-gallon pool does half the job.
Skim and empty baskets (2–3×/week), brush and test (2×/week), vacuum and adjust chemicals (weekly), and check the filter pressure and pump run time (weekly). Shock the pool after heavy use, storms, or any time the water looks dull. That is 90% of pool ownership.
These calculators turn the steps above into your exact numbers:
This guide is built on published health codes, national standards, and government energy guidance. For the exact equations behind the linked calculators, see our formula reference.
This guide is general information, not a substitute for your local health code or a licensed professional. Always follow the dosing instructions on your chemical labels and confirm readings with a test kit.