Does the Spa Waterfall have to run if the pool pump is on?

[jllottin]

Hi I'm new to TFP.

We are just finishing up having our pool built. They just turned on the pumps and tested everything. So far, so good. The PB said to leave the pump running non-stop for the first 24 hrs to clear up the water. I noticed that the waterfall/spillover from the spa to the pool was on and asked if we could turn it off (it's kind of loud and seemed unnecessary to run constantly). The PB said the spa waterfall/spillover will always be on (spilling/flowing) when the pool pump is on??? Ugh! Is that true? I live in Houston and the pump will be on a lot. Don't get me wrong, I like the spa spillover/waterfall, but I would like to be able to control it. Any thoughts, comments?

 

[mud]

You should have a valve after the pump/filter/heater that controls where the water is returned. One side is for the pool and the other is for your spa. You should keep the spillover on for the first day as PB suggested to make sure the spa water is also cleared up.

Bonus: if you return all your water to the pool instead of the spa, make sure the suction side is only from the pool otherwise you will empty your spa.

 

[anonapersona]

Mine is set to do that as well. It may be that you can regulate just how much goes to the spa. but you probably do want circulation through the spa as much as possible. Just to keep the chlorine up.

I find that chlorine seems to get used up in the spa faster. In the winter if you use it, you add heat and more bodies per volume of water which uses up chlorine faster. In the summer, my spa is still hotter than the rest of the pool, I guess since it is raised and has no shade at all while the rest of the pool is deep and gets shade here and there.

I will typically notice the first hint of green in the spa if I see it anywhere. So, based on that, I'd not let the spa sit uncirculated if I could help it. At this time of year I mostly run the filter in the cool hours of the day but I do an hour of circulation mid-day just to be sure that freshly chlorinated pool water gets into the spa.