1500 gallon standalone spa--how long to run single speed pump for filtration?

[djibouti]

Hello all, this is my first post!

I have a 1500 gallon in-ground spa. The pump is a Challenger 2 HP (model CHII-NI-2FE) which runs through the filter and powers the jets (same circuit). There's also a waterfall pump that can be diverted to the jets but bypasses the filter.

I'm fairly new to spa ownership and the previous owner had the pump running twice daily for 2 hours. I now have it running 3 times a day for 1 hour. The chemistry stays pretty stable and as long as I chlorinate once a week it stays looking clear (although the chlorine really doesn't stick around, we actually kind of prefer it that way). I'm not sure what the GPM of this pump is but I'm guessing it's somewhere around 40 from other reading (single input pipe, rather wide diameter, I would guess 2 inches interior diameter at least). That makes it a ~2500 GPH pump, and so it seems that 3 hours is way too much? I'm thinking of dropping it down to once a day for 1 hour and just keeping an eye on how things look, smell, and test. Is that reasonable?

 

[Texas Splash]

Welcome to TFP! Spas & hot tubs, much like pool water management, don't care about water turnover. They key is running the pump only long enough to ensure chemicals are mixed well when dosing, and that you can skim the water's surface as needed. Those are the primary drivers of pump run time. Remember that filters aid in mechanical filtration (only) to catch particulates, but do nothing to sanitize. So as long as the water is chlorinated well according to the FC/CYA Levels and managed as noted in the link below, a minimal run time should be just fine. That should save you some time and energy ($$). If you have more questions let us know.

How do I use Chlorine in my Spa or Hot Tub?

If you have a question about any information within this Sticky, please start a new thread for yourself where you will receive very quick responses to your specific questions. Thank you! Introduction There are two main things to consider when maintaining your hot tub water, Water Balance and...

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[wireform]

The first question is how are you testing the water.

 

[djibouti]

The first question is how are you testing the water.

I take it to Leslie's for testing, every week or two.

 

[djibouti]

Welcome to TFP! Spas & hot tubs, much like pool water management, don't care about water turnover. They key is running the pump only long enough to ensure chemicals are mixed well when dosing, and that you can skim the water's surface as needed. Those are the primary drivers of pump run time. Remember that filters aid in mechanical filtration (only) to catch particulates, but do nothing to sanitize. So as long as the water is chlorinated well according to the FC/CYA Levels and managed as noted in the link below, a minimal run time should be just fine. That should save you some time and energy ($$). If you have more questions let us know.

Thank you for the sanity check. That makes sense. I figured that the filter also cleared some oils and so maybe that mattered.

I always run the pump when adding chemicals. It almost sounds like running it on a schedule, at all, is pointless since no amount of running it keeps all the leaves in the skimmer basket. I'll probably have to get a dual-speed or VS pump for that (which I plan to do).