Run The Pump & Filter 24/7
Give algae no place to grow by keeping your pool water circulating constantly.
How to do it:
- Run your pool pump and filter 24 hours a day.
For best results, adjust the filtration system, so the water flow rate is approximately equal to the amount of pool water youre replacing every hour.
If you have an automatic cleaner, run it while keeping your pool pump running.
What Causes Green Algae Stains
Green algae usually thrive when there are high levels of nitrogen or phosphorous in the water, poor water clarity , stagnant water conditions, or warm temperatures . On hot days, algae multiply rapidly.
If you find that your pool is green, its best to treat the problem right away with an algaecide before putting any chlorine in the water because the
Chlorine may not kill algae if its already colonized on the walls or floor of your pool.
Brush The Sides And Bottom Of The Pool
After flocking, use a brush or algae-covered vacuum head, which attaches to your telescopic pole, to remove algae from the pool walls and floor.
The algae should start to come off the walls and bottom of your pool, but you will still need to add some extra chlorine to ensure that all the dead algae are gone.
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But First Lets Talk About Why You Need To Run A Pool Pump
Your pool is filled with shimmering, blue water that begs you to dive right in and enjoy its coolness. But when the pump stops working and that beautiful water becomes stagnant, its not so appealing anymore. The pump moves the water, which is what creates the awesomeness that is your pool.
Did You Know?
Ever wonder how your pool pump works? It works like this: the pump pulls water in from your pool and then pushes it out through the filter. Then, the filter catches all the bacteria and debriseverything you dont want in your poolto keep the water pure and inviting.
All the water in your pool must run through the filter at least one time a day. This is called the turnover rate, and its an important aspect of figuring out how long to run a pool pump.
What Does The Pool Filter Pump Do
To understand how much run time you need, its important to know exactly what your filter pump does for your pool. The pool filter pump is the heart of your pool filtration system. It circulates water from the pool and returns it back, distributing pool chemicals and filtering your water. It is recommended that you turnover or circulate all of your pool water through the pool filter at least once throughout the day. This will ensure that the chemicals are evenly distributed and your water stays clean and clear. If you dont circulate the water, you run the risk of algae growth and water balance or clarity issues. This may lead to water that is unsafe for swimmers.
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The Big Question: Night Or Day
For many pool owners, choosing to run their pool pumps during the day or during the night is a big debate laden conflicting opinions. Why many people run their pool pumps after dusk is because some cities and counties have lower electricity tariffs at night. However, the question is what is the best thing for your pool?
When To Run A Pool Pump 24/7
There are some circumstances when youll need to run your pool pump day and night or 24 hours per day. These include having dirty pool water, having algae, shocking a pool, opening a pool or having a newly filled pool. Below is a summary but for a detailed look at the amount of time you should run your pool filter and pump, you can see our article: How Often Should You Run Your Pool Pump? And how long?
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Running Your Pool From Sunrise To Sunset
It may seem logical to have the pump running during the day, while people are swimming in it, so the water stays clean. And thats a good thought. But consider a couple of other things too.
Those non-peak hours your utility has may be at night, especially if you live in a warm climate where people are more likely to run their air-conditioning during the day.
Also, running your pump is usually necessary after youve added chemicals to your pool. In order to get the chemicals dispersed throughout the water, it has to be moving. Otherwise, you may end up with super-sanitized spots and pockets of not-so-clean water, and thats not the kind of Marco Polo you want to play.
But theres one chemical that needs to be added at night, or at least at dusk: pool shock. Add it during the day, and the sun will just burn most of it off, reducing its effectiveness.
So when you shock your pool, youll definitely want to run your pump at night, and for a minimum of eight hours to fully distribute the shock.
Can You Use Both A Solar Cover And Pump Together
The short answer is yes. It is perfectly safe to run your pool pump while you have a solar cover on. The pump only affects water beneath the surface. Since the solar cover sits at the surface, this means that it will not affect the performance of the pump.
In fact, most outdoor spas are built with a cover that is meant to stay on while the pump is working. The longer answer however, is that you should be careful when putting the solar cover on.
Remember that one of the functions of a pool pump is to circulate the water so that debris can be filtered out. If you throw your solar cover on your pool when there are a bunch of leaves and twigs floating on the surface, this debris may get stuck. When you lift the cover back up, you might still see all this debris still floating around in your pool.
For this reason, it is a good idea to skim the surface of your pool before you put the solar cover on. You wont have to worry too much about debris at the bottom since the pump and filter will take care of it although its never a bad idea to run your pool vacuum along the bottom to help the filter out.
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Winterizing A Sunbelt Pool
If you are unable or unwilling to maintain the pool, you may be better off closing the pool, so that you dont have to worry about it. For many sunbelt pools, just covering the pool and removing the pump and filter drain plugs is sufficient.
If you are wondering about how to close and winterize the pool for the season, heres a quick rundown. For more, see our other many blog posts on how to winterize a pool.
Add winter pool chemicals, then lower the pool water below the base of the mouth of the skimmer. Your filter pump may lower the water, or you can also use a submersible pump.
Cyclone blowers or a large Vac/Blower can be used to blow out the lines. Start with main drain and the skimmers, and then blow air through the pump and the filter and back to the return lines. Once the air is blown out you can then use your winterizing plugs to plug up and seal the pipes for winter.
Pool antifreeze is helpful to use for the pipe for any water that may still be in the pipes. Pool antifreeze will protect the skimmer from freezing water that accumulates from winter rains.
Manual Solar Pool Covers
Manual solar pool covers can be as simple as throwing the cover over the pool and tying it down onto pre-set points installed for that purpose.
A solar pool cover wheel is available to purchase. Although still a manual process, this does enable the solar pool cover to be rolled up on the big wheel and stored safely while the pool is being used.
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What Is The Minimum Circulation Required For My Pool
Now that you have these two pieces of info, you can figure out how long it will take for your pump to fully circulate your pool water.
Just take the total gallons of your pool and divide by the pumps GPM. e.g. 12,960 / 80 GPM = 162-minutes, which is 2.7 hours.
Add a little bit more time to give your pump a little buffer of start-up time when it first starts flowing any stagnant water.
The calculated time above, plus another 15-minutes would be the minimum amount of time per day you want to circulate your pump on high-speed. In this case, it would be 2.95-hours.
NOW back to the question
Different Types Of Pump
When deciding on a pump for your pool, there are several options to choose from, including:
Single-speed pump The original and the most economical pump that you can buy for your pool is a single-speed pump. The impeller runs at a continuous set speed that cannot be adjusted
Dual-speed pump A dual-speed pump allows you to adjust the speed to either high or low. High is the same pace as a single-speed pump. Being able to switch it to low enables you to reduce your energy costs.
Multiple-speed pump Multi-speed pumps have multiple speed settings to choose from offering you higher energy efficiency.
Variable-speed pump For the ultimate energy-saving benefits, you cant go past a variable-speed pump. You can adjust the speed to any pace you choose, not just whats on the pump. Quality versions of this pump automatically alter the speed, so you dont have to.
Generally, the more settings the pump has the more expensive they get, however, in saying that, they are far more energy-efficient and the long-term savings they provide make them worth that little bit of extra money upfront.
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Operate Your Pool Pump During Non
Have you noticed that the energy cost you pay varies during the day? Its dependent on what utility companies refer to as peak hours, which are times that more consumers are consuming more electricity and causing more strain on the power grid.
Peak hours differ from one place to the next. In hotter weather, peak hours are likely to coincide when people switch on their air conditioning, such as late afternoon or early evening as they come home from work and pump on the A/C.
It only takes a phone call to your provider to find out the non-peak hours in your region. If you have that information, try to plan your pool pump run time for those hours to save money.
Using a programmable pool timer to switch the pump on and off at the appropriate times would make things even easier for you.
The How Long To Run A Pool Pump Dilemma
The ideal answer to this question is all day, every day, all year, all the time, forever.
And then go out and get three more jobs because your electric bill is going to be ridiculous if you do that.
So while that would be ideal, its not practical, or even completely necessary. The key is to understand your pool pumps purpose, the type of pump you have , and how best to take advantage of its features.
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Can You Run A Pool Pump With Solar Cover On
The short answer is a firm and definitive Yes! Depending on your environment, the average time to run your pool motor is 5 6 hours a day.
You dont have to manually remove the solar pool cover every time you start the filter pump that would make swimming pool ownership hard work.
Not only is it OK to run the pool pump with the solar cover, but it is also preferable and can reduce the time you spend on maintaining your pool.
But Why Should I Run My Pump At All
Your pool pump is the hub of your pools cleaning system. It makes sure the water is circulated, so dirty particles can be filtered out. It also widely distributes your cleaning chemicalssort of like stirring cream into your coffee.
No pump equals no circulation, which means no cleaning. No kidding: if you turned off your pump for a significant amount of time, your pool would become a green pond of stagnating water and unwanted bacteria. No, not exactly what you might picture for a refreshing swim.
Tired of having to painfully crouch and lean just to scrub the angles of your pool? This Professional-Endorsed 360-Degree Bristles Blue Torrent Pool Brush has a patented designed for easy cleaningand is a favorite of pool servicers everywhere.
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How Long Should I Run My Pool Pump Every Day
It seems like a simple question with an obvious answer, doesnt it? It shouldnt be difficult to figure out how long to run a pool pump. And really, its not.
But before you just turn it on, walk away, and forget about it, you do want to consider a few important factors into account like circulation, chemical balancing, and cost. Especially cost. Because this is one of those parts of pool care that, if you get it wrong, can cost you quite a bit of money.
Do You Have To Run Pool Pump In Winter
If you do not run the pool pump in winter then in all likelihood you will have a very dirty and green pool to deal with in the spring when you open the pool. This is not the end of the world but does require more work to get it ready for swimming of course. You may think that the money saved in not running the pump is worth it so that is a decision for you.
In a very cold climate you will probably need to drain the pool pipework, and perhaps the pool too, to stop damage caused by the swelling of the pool water when it freezes. In this case you have no option but not to run the pump.
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When Should I Run My Pool Pump The Ultimate Guide
BackWhen Should I Run My Pool Pump? The Ultimate Guide
- When Should I Run My Pool Pump? The Ultimate Guide
When Should I Run My Pool Pump? The Ultimate Guide
Having your own swimming pool is hugely exciting, but theres plenty of maintenance to get your head around! You want to make sure your pool looks sparkling clean all season long, but you dont want to break the bank with unnecessary bills!
One of the biggest questions when it comes to regular maintenance is the swimming pool pump.
Its not necessary to have your swimming pool pump running at all times, as this can be a serious expense on your electric bill. So, how long is needed?
Should I Run My Pool Pump During The Day Or Night
May 5th, 2021
Depending on where you live in Australia and the local climate, your swimming pool pump might need to operate for up to 10 hours per day or even longer for adequate filtration and chlorination. Naturally youll want to minimise your energy consumption and costs, so is it best to run your pump during the day or night?
The answer depends on a few different aspects.
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How Long Do I Have To Run My Pump Each Day
On average, your pool pump should run for 8 hours per day, however, this can vary depending on a few things such as:
The size of your pool.
The size of your pool pump.
How often the pool is used.
How dirty the pool gets from external contaminants such as sunscreen, leaves, oils etc.
If you have a pool cover or not.
How much sun/shade your pool gets.
The climate where you live.
Its Best To Run Your Pool Pump During The Day
TLDR: If the sun is out, run your pump
The hotter the day, the more you should be running your pool pump. Algae, just like any other plant, needs sunlight to grow. Not only does sunlight give fuel for algae to grow, it also destroys your pool chlorine and this is why you should always run your pool during the day! Add to that the organic load added to your pool by swimmers, you have the perfect recipe for an algae bloom! Is it really worth risking an algae bloom just to save a few dollars on your electricity bills right? Youll end up spending more money on chemicals and time getting your pool back to shape if you get an algae bloom.
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Is Night Or Day Best To Run A Pool Pump
It is best to run your pools pump during the day when the sun is out to reduce the risks of algae bloom and because there is generally more debris and contaminants that will enter your pool in the day.
You can also run the pool filter at night to enjoy a discount on electricity and the overall cost of running a pool.
Another option is to run your pool pump both during the day and at night too. You dont need to run your pump in one continuous block and can run it for a few hours during the day and a few hours at night.
We recommend using a pool pump timer, that way you can set and forget it.
