Pump cycle times?

[TigerFanatic1]

Well guys I am 1 week into my pool and enjoying it (not as much as kids). Are there any preferences/guidelines on when/how long to run the pumps? For the first 5 days we ran the pump 24 hours/day to assist with clearing the water. The last few we ran from 6 am to 2 pm. We were getting some dirt settlement and spot vacuuming as needed. I’ve noticed that water would turn slightly cloudy after swimming, so I changed the pump cycle to 6 pm to 2 am, so circulation is during/after swimming.

FC 5
CYA 30
PH 7.5
TA 200
CH 300

I am expecting the pool to remain somewhat dirty until grass is established where build-up dirt was spread. I have been vacuuming through the waste, so I haven’t been too concerned with the TA, as I will be filling as needed. Should this be of higher priority right now? Also, the installer provided a chlorine injector and tabs, so after adding CYA to 30, I’ve been waiting on the tabs to dissolve prior to increasing to 40ish.

 

[Texas Splash]

Since you are backwashing to waste, your CYA may not climb too fast with lots of replacement water. But it's getting hot now. You may find that a CYA of 40 (or maybe even 50) might be better to help preserve some FC each day. No need to rush increasing it, just something to watch if you do find FC falling quickly with clear water. The TA isn't something to become too concerned with at the moment unless you find the pH climbing quickly each day or two. Over time with consistent muriatic acid treatments, the TA should slowly fall anyways. Good job with your TF-100. Enjoy!

 

[TigerFanatic1]

Thanks. I may continue to use the tabs until my CYA is ideal. Initially I was going to remove the chlorine injector, so there are less components to break or leak. But, it may become useful for when we are out of town. Once I get the dirt under control, I may lower the TA, because I have been researching borates. I’m still undecided on borates though.

 

[TigerFanatic1]

Is there an ideal daily circulation volume? I realize this is probably subjective to the environment, just wanting to know if there any rule of thumb once I get everything cleared.

 

[jblizzle]

When using liquid chlorine, you only need about 2 hours of pump run time to circulate the chemistry. However you may find a need to run longer for many reasons including: running a cleaner, using a heater, more skimming to clear the surface, chlorine generating with a SWG, or in your case getting the tablets dissolved enough to add enough daily FC.

 

[TigerFanatic1]

Liquid chlorine is definitely my future, once tabs give me the desired CYA or are gone. Oh wow, I was expecting my current 8 hours to be close to a minimum circulation.

 

[jblizzle]

You only need 30-60 minutes circulation before you test and 30-60 minutes to mix the chemicals you add. That is the minimum, but like I said above likely you will want to run longer for other reasons.

 

[nemeth8]

Wait, so you only need to run your pump for a few hours/day? I always had it an hour for every ten degrees in temperature (90 degrees= 9 hours). Without the pump running, wont the algae come back?

 

[mknauss]

Chemistry keeps your water clean and sanitary. Pump simply takes stuff that falls into the pool to the filter to trap it.

Determine Pump Run Time

To figure out how many hours you need to run your pump, you need to know how fast your pump works. You can find this here.

www.troublefreepool.com

 

[nemeth8]

Interesting... I always thought it needed to run longer to keep the water moving/flowing.

 

[jblizzle]

Interesting... I always thought it needed to run longer to keep the water moving/flowing.

Would not be the first thing that pool builders and stores got wrong

Of course that could be true if you're relying on a tablet chlorinator so that they dissolve enough to keep your chlorine levels high enough.

 

[TigerFanatic1]

Chemistry keeps your water clean and sanitary. Pump simply takes stuff that falls into the pool to the filter to trap it.

Determine Pump Run Time

To figure out how many hours you need to run your pump, you need to know how fast your pump works. You can find this here.

www.troublefreepool.com

Thanks for linking this. I thought I saw this article on here, but couldn’t find it.