All the lucky owners of a swimming pool know that to have the water always perfectly clean and crystalline it is necessary to carry out constant maintenance of the system. To have crystal clear water, you must use all the necessary chemicals correctly and perform appropriate filtration. In the latter case, make sure that the water filtration system remains in operation for as long as necessary, especially during the day on hot summer days. You can determine the number of hours required for proper filtration of your pool water based on the volume and speed of the filtration system.
Steps
Part 1 of 2: Calculate the Daily Filter Time
Step 1. Calculate the volume of the pool
The precise time that the pool filter system must remain in operation to have crystal clear water depends on the size of the pool and the filtering speed. Start by calculating the volume of the pool by multiplying the length, width and average depth of the pool in meters.
- Multiply the final result by 1,000 to get the capacity of your pool in liters.
- Example: 5 x 10 x 1, 5 x 1000 = 75,000. This means that the swimming pool taken as an example, with a width of 5 m, a length of 10 m and an average depth of 1.5 m, has a volume of 75,000 liters.
- If your pool has areas with different depths, calculate the volume of these individual sections, then add the partial results together to get the total pool volume in liters.
Step 2. Calculate the filtration capacity of the pump
Also include in the calculation the hydraulic resistance that the water encounters when passing through the filter system. You can estimate this at 2.7 kg / m in the case of a small pool and 5.5 kg / m in the case of large pools or in which the pump of the water filter system is at a significant distance.
- The pump manufacturer of the filtration system will be able to tell you the filtration capacity based on a certain hydraulic resistance.
- On average a pump with a power of 1 HP is able to move about 200 liters per minute. This means that it can filter around 12,000 liters of water per hour.
Step 3. Calculate the time it takes to filter all the pool water
Normally the advice is to calculate a filtering time so that the entire volume of water present in the tank is completely filtered twice every 24 hours. To make the calculation, rely on this equation: (Pool_Volume ÷ Filtering_Speed) x 2 = Total_Filtering_Time. This will give you the number of hours it takes to perform two complete water filtration cycles in any given pool.
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Using the pool examined in the previous example, with a volume of 75,000 liters of water and a filtration system capable of filtering 12,000 liters per hour, you will get the following:
- (Pool_Volume ÷ Filtering_Speed) x 2 = Total_Filtering_ Time
- (75,000 ÷ 12,000) x 2 = 12, 5. Therefore it will take exactly 12 and a half hours to perform two complete filtration cycles.
Part 2 of 2: Properly Filtering a Swimming Pool's Water
Know How Many Hours to Run a Pool Filter Step 4 Step 1. Calculate one hour of filter pump operation for every 5 ° C of outdoor temperature
One of the general rules that you can follow throughout the year is to filter the pool water based on the outside temperature. In winter it will be enough to run the filter system for 6 hours or less, while in summer it may be necessary to operate the filter pump for 12 hours.
If the outside temperature reaches or exceeds 27 ° C in your area, you may need to run the water filter pump for 10-12 hours
Know How Many Hours to Run a Pool Filter Step 5 Step 2. Run the pool filter system during the day when the water is warm
The high summer temperatures favor the proliferation of algae and bacteria inside the pool. In this situation, keeping the filtering and automatic chlorination system on for the water all day will prevent the algae from growing and multiplying.
Although filtering the pool water at night could save you electricity and therefore money, it will not prevent the proliferation of algae inside the pool during the day, a process that cannot happen at night when the light of the sun is absent
Know How Many Hours to Run a Pool Filter Step 6 Step 3. Feel free to run the pool filter pump for 10-12 hours a day without worrying that it will harm it
The filtering systems in swimming pools are designed and built to remain in constant operation for more than 12 hours a day for long periods. You can run the pump at its lowest speed in normal situations and switch to the highest running speed when treating the water with chlorine or other chemicals.
- In this way you will be sure that all the water contained in the pool is completely filtered at least twice a day.
- If your pool is equipped with a small filter, you may need to run the filter system pump for a longer time depending on the hourly capacity of the filter. Also in this case do not worry if the system will have to remain active for a prolonged time. In this case it is always better to exceed, filtering the pool water for longer than necessary, rather than not filtering it sufficiently.
Know How Many Hours to Run a Pool Filter Step 7 Step 4. After a long period of use, clean or replace the filter (or filters) of the pool
Over time, dirt and debris will inevitably accumulate inside the pool filter and must be removed. Otherwise the effectiveness of the filtering system will decrease, forcing you to keep it running longer than necessary to obtain the same results.
Read this article for more information on how to clean or replace a swimming pool filter
Advice
- Check the pool regularly for insects, leaves, branches, plant residues, dirt and other contaminants. Remove them from the surface of the water using the appropriate pool net. Also regularly clean the bottom and sides of the tub with a vacuum cleaner.
- Test the pH and chlorine levels to adjust the automatic chlorine delivery if your pool is equipped with this device.
- Regularly check the quality of the pool water. Specialty stores sell a wide selection of kits and chemicals to carry out these types of checks. Contact the staff of these stores for advice on which products to buy based on your needs.
- Treat the pool water with the appropriate chemicals only at night, so that sunlight cannot have a negative effect on the chlorine level in the water.
- Activate the pump for the recirculation and filtering of the pool water at night so that it cannot overheat.
