why is pump generally before filter?

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That quote pretty much summed it up. That's where you have skimmer baskets and strainer baskets before a pump. As long as you keep out rocks and sticks, it can pass on small stuff. My issue with the two skimmer design is that if you don't have one of them plugged completely, if your vacuum gets stuck on the bottom for a second, you pull air through the other skimmer and lose prime on the pump. Is the pump at ground level? That's one thing I didn't fully think about. I was imagining an above ground pool most of the time. If the pump is above the skimmers, and it's an inground pump, then they should cancel each other out. Where did they find a 3-speed pump? Never seen one of those for a pool application.


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Not a big fan of that one, but hopefully if will work fine. I would be a bigger fan if it had a timer function, or some kind of programmability. Sounds like you have to turn it on each time, and it automatically reverts to low speed on its own.


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Yup, reverts to low after two hours at the speed you choose. We read this in the manual. After installation, of course; my parents left all equipment details up to the builder. I hope the pump is decent quality, at least. I find myself already thinking how the setup could be converted to using a normal downstream filter, if things don't work out with these skim filters. Fortunately there is no concrete over any of the plumbing, so it wouldn't be a terrible job.
 
Run those filters for the first two years, then when they need to be replaced, plumb in a little sand filter and call it good. That's what I would do anyway. For that size pool/pond, even one of the little intex sand filter/pump combos would probably be fine. Get the one with the salt cell, and you could have it all for what the 3 speed pump cost.


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Yeah, forgot again. Probably could find a used filter on Craigslist when the time comes. Even a small intex would probably work, just take a little longer to prime. Make sure you have all the lines full, and it would probably take right off. Are they doing salt, or some other chlorine addition? With the rocks and stuff, they could just keep it nuked, and maybe not have to worry about algae. If it's completely submerged. I doubt there will be an issue. I have an Aquaponics setup in my garage, and the only place algae ever shows up is right at the surface. It's not full sunlight though, so that may be different.


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As yet, there is no provision for any automated chlorine addition. There is space near the pump to add something like that down the road, if necessary. The builder initially asked my mom about possibly putting in a SWG, but didn't adequately explain the levels of salt required for that -- she just said 'no' because of fear that salt water would be bad for birds and other creatures that might drink out of the pond. I think she was imagining ocean levels of saltiness, as many people do when they first hear of 'salt water' pools. For now, I'm still explaining the need for regular testing and regular addition of bleach. Fortunately, water temperature is down below 70, so the algae is not marching out in force while we dither about the next step :drown:.
 
kadavis said:
Waterco and Baker Hydro HydroPak Skim Filter Parts and Accessories- PartsWarehouse, there was a builder in Tucson years ago that used this filter all the time... At the pump discharge there was a tee and two valves . One going back to pool and the other to waste, so when you pull the filter out to clean you could send dirty water and debri to waste...
Click to expand...
I've been puzzling over this part of what you described; until today when I visited my parents and happened to pull out one of the pond filter cartridges to see if it was dirty at all (from the couple of hours the pump has run so far with improvised wiring). There was the familiar container of grungy-looking water around the cartridge, just like what I see when I open my little cartridge filter at home for cleaning... However, whereas I can just unscrew a drain plug to let all that yucky water out onto the ground, here it sits, waiting to go through the pump and back out into the pond. Ta da...

Another thing that we (and apparently the builder) didn't think of.

edited to add: reaching down at arm's length through that murky standing water, to check that the bottom seating surface for the cartridge is clear of debris before putting the cleaned cartridge back in, isn't going to be a source of joy either. The more I find out about this filter setup, the more I'm leaning toward "stupid installation choice" :pth:
 
I have another question, not really related to the main topic of the thread, but it does have to do with the pump. So I will try asking it in the same thread.

What is necessary as far as a base under a pool pump? The pump in this installation (the 3-speed Speck Badu that I linked earlier in the thread) is currently perched on top of a cinder block, which is resting (flat side down) on a bed of gravel. Is that likely to be adequate? Or is there a problem with doing this? I realize most pumps I have seen in photos on the forum are resting on a concrete pad, or on pavers, sometimes even bolted down to the surface beneath them.
 

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As long as it's not going to fall off of the block, that's not going to hurt anything. You just want the weight of the pump supported so the pipes aren't holding the pump up.


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