PARTS PER MILLION (PPM): The measurement of a chemical substance within your pool water. With the exception of pH, your common chemicals will be measured in terms of "X" Parts Per Million; pH is measured using the "pH Scale." As a pool owner, you will never need to understand the science of how to calculate Parts Per Million. Therefore it is unnecessary to discuss. You simply need to know the ideal ppm readings for each of the common chemicals:

IDEAL PPM READINGS FOR SUCCESSFUL WATER CHEMISTRY:

NOTE: From region to region, pool professionals will offer slight variations to the following readings for successful water chemistry, but no one in the industry will argue with these ranges as being "ideal".

Chemical	Minimum	Ideal	Maximum
Chlorine	1.0 ppm	2.0-3.0 ppm	3.5 ppm
Cyanuric Acid	25 ppm	30-80 ppm	100 ppm
(Bromine)	2.0 ppm	2.5-4.0 ppm	5.0 ppm
Alkalinity	70 ppm	80-140 ppm	150 ppm
Hardness	150 ppm	200-450 ppm	500 ppm
Copper	0	0	0.1 ppm
Iron	0	0	0.1 ppm
*These chemicals are measured by parts Per Million (PPM) within pool water.
Chemical	Minimum	Ideal	Maximum
PH	7.2	7.4-7.6	7.8
*pH is measured by the pH SCALE