How to Create Custom Products, Chemicals, and Equipment in Pooli

Pooli lets you add your own products so the app matches exactly what you use on your pools and spas. This guide explains the two product types, when to use each, and how to handle the cases that trip people up the most: test supplies like SpinDisks, bromine tablets, and brand versions of a product you already use.

The one decision that matters: consumable vs. equipment

When you add a custom product, you are really answering a single question:

Do you use it up, or do you install and reuse it?

If it is...	Create it as	Examples
Used up over time	Consumable Product	Chlorine, acid, salt, bromine tablets, test strips, SpinTouch SpinDisks, reagents, DE, clarifier
Installed or reused	Equipment	Pumps, filters, salt cells, water meters, digital testers, reusable test kits, cleaners

The reason this matters: consumable products track usage and draw down from your inventory, and they can be recorded against a pool each visit. Equipment is installed at a pool and tracked as an asset - it does not get "used up."

Tip: If you want Pooli to deduct it from inventory every time you use it, create it as a Consumable Product.

How to add a consumable product (chemicals, tablets, test supplies)

Adding a consumable is now a short walkthrough. Pooli leads with the product form because that one choice decides how the product is tracked and dosed.

1. Open Settings -> Custom Products (or tap Manage from any product picker).
2. Tap Add Consumable Product.
3. Pick the form. Choose what matches what you use:
   • Tablets & granules - trichlor tabs, cal hypo, salt, DE.
   • Liquid - muriatic acid, liquid chlorine, algaecide.
   • Counted supplies - test strips, SpinDisks, reagents.
4. Find the closest match. Pick the product (or testing supply) closest to yours. Pooli prefills the type, and for chemicals it prefills the effects so dosing is ready.
5. Name your product. Confirm or edit the product type, then enter your brand or product name. The match is just a starting point - you can rename anything.
6. Set dosing or usage.
   • Chemicals: choose Custom effects (set how it changes the water), Adjust strength (same chemical at a different %, for example 10% vs. 12.5% liquid chlorine), or Scheduled use (added on a routine, like enzymes or algaecide).
   • Counted supplies need no chemistry - they are simply recorded as used and drawn down from inventory.
7. Save. It now appears in your product picker and inventory.

Special case: SpinDisks, reagents, and test strips

Choose the Counted supplies form, then pick the closest testing supply (Pooli already includes Test Strips, Test Kit, and Digital Tester as built-in types, so you will not create a duplicate). Pooli keeps count and subtracts one each time you record use.

To subtract supplies automatically when you save a test, turn on Auto-Reduce Test Strips or Auto-Reduce SpinDisks under Settings -> Test Settings. SpinDisks are reduced when you save a SpinTouch test.

If instead you just want to list a reusable tester or kit as a piece of gear (a digital tester or a refillable drop kit), create it as Equipment and choose the Water Testing type.

How to add equipment

Adding equipment follows the same walkthrough style as consumables.

1. Open Settings -> Custom Products.
2. Tap Add Equipment.
3. Pick the category — Pump, Filter, Heater, Water Testing, SWG, and others. Each chip shows examples so you know you are in the right place.
4. Other equipment type — if nothing fits, tap this link (not in the main list) and enter a custom type name such as Automation or Light.
5. Find the closest match (optional) — pick a similar catalog item to prefill the name, then edit the brand and model.
6. Name your equipment and save. You can install it at a pool and track it as an asset.

Making a brand version of a product

Already have a product type and just want your specific brand or strength? Use Add Brand in the product picker (or clone an existing product). This keeps Pooli's built-in dosing and effects, while letting you name the exact jug, bucket, or box you buy. This is the fastest way to set up your shelf without rebuilding chemistry from scratch.

Bromine tablets and sanitizers

Bromine is a sanitizer, but it has its own dosing and test logic (it is measured as total bromine, not free chlorine). Because of that, bromine products live under the Bromine type rather than the chlorine sanitizer group. If you run bromine spas or pools, create your tablets as a consumable Bromine product so dosing and targets stay correct.

Editing a custom product

Opened the custom products list and only saw a delete option? You can now tap any custom product to edit it - change its name, type, strength, effects, or form - and swipe left to delete. There is also an edit icon on each row.

Why you sometimes see "Add to Inventory" but not "Add to Pool"

The buttons you see depend on the product:

• Consumable products can be added to water / recorded as used at a pool, and added to inventory for stock tracking.
• Products with no water-chemistry effect (like a SpinDisk) show Record Use instead of "Add to water," because they do not change your readings - they are just consumed.
• Equipment shows Install at Pool and Add to Inventory, because it is installed, not dosed.

If a product only offered "Add to Inventory," it was created as equipment. Re-create it (or edit it) as a Consumable Product to be able to record using it on a pool.

Quick reference

• Use it up -> Consumable Product
• Install or reuse it -> Equipment
• Same chemical, different brand or strength -> Add Brand
• SpinDisks / reagents you want counted -> Consumable Product -> Counted supplies
• Reusable tester or kit -> Equipment -> Water Testing
• Bromine tablets -> Consumable Product -> Bromine

Still stuck? Reach out to Pooli support and we will help you set up your first few products so the rest are easy to copy.