Improper Filtration Leads To Algae Growth

If you own a swimming pool, it’s easy to think that all filtration equipment is going to run itself, the pool will remain blue and clear all the time and all equipment should run at a high level of efficiency most of the time. But, in reality, pools will become challenging to take care of, equipment will break from time to time and having an understanding of how your equipment works should always be a top priority for anyone who owns a swimming pool even if they have a weekly pool service. Please keep in mind that a weekly service company spends on average 15-20 minutes on your property a week which means that things can happen when we are not there and we hope this blog post gives you some insight on what you should be looking for.

Since warmer temperatures are just around the corner and your pool water is heating up, to keep your swimming pool functioning optimally the following are some helpful tips that you can do to prevent issues with equipment and poor filtration:

• Always monitor your swimming pool after a storm. If you notice a fair amount of debris on the surface of the pool, please skim it out. It is also vital to empty the skimmer basket to allow adequate flow of water into your pump and motor.
• Monitor the equipment for any leaks. Even a small leak can cause improper filtration. Typically they are easy to see if the ground is wet around the filtration equipment
• If any of the equipment is making loud noises or if something doesn’t sound right, have it checked immediately.

Please note, that even poor filtration for one day during the summer can cause cloudiness in your water and potential algae growth. Adequate and proper filtration in large bodies of water along with proper chemistry is vital in keeping your swimming pool blue, clear and ready to swim in. With that said, we would like to share with you how you can calculate the necessary runtimes for your filter. Typically, these formulas are for the summertime when the water is warmer and proper amounts of filtration are vital to prevent algae growth.

You will need to use the following equations to help determine how long to run your filter…..

Pool Volume/Filtration Rate = Number of hours to run your filter

To determine your pool volume, you will need to take the length of the pool times the width and divide it by the average depth.

To determine filtration rate you will need the following:

• 1HP Motor moves approximately 50 gallons a minute
• 1.5HP Motor moves approximately 75 gallons a minute
• 2HP Motor moves approximately 100 gallons a minute

With the above calculations, if you have a 15,000-gallon swimming pool with a 1HP motor you will need to run your motor for 5 hours. With a 1HP motor, it will move 3000 gallons in an hour so you take 15,000 and divide it by 3,000 to come up with 5 hours. Please note that this is just one cycle through and depending on how warm the water gets during the summer you might need to run it two cycles, which means this pump might need to run for 10 hours during the summer time to keep this pool clear. If you have any questions about run times during the winter and summer please contact us today!

****The above calculations are based on having the properly sized equipment if your equipment is too small or too large for your swimming pool, the above calculations won’t’ work****