Filter Cycle Time

[F Wegeners]

I'm having a discussion with my wife about how long we need to run the filter for my pool. I read that we should cycle all the water twice a day, I'm thinking around 8-10 hours a day, and she thinks we only need to run it for 4-5 hours a day. My pool is around 28,000 gallons and we have a DE filter with a 1.5 HP pump. What is the correct time...any help would be much appreciated.

[PoolDoc]

There's no absolute rule; you just need to run it long enough to do the job.

With a DE filter, if your pool is lightly loaded (few swimmers, little leaf debris), you should be able maintain it with *2* 3hour intervals, separated by at least 8 hours. It's not a good idea, usually, to leave your pool completely stagnant for 20 hours, which is what happens with a single short run period.

But . . . if you have a SWCG (chlorine generator) or inline feeder, you may need to experiment. Many SWCG's are not large enough to generate enough chlorine for your pool in only 6 hours. If you are not maintaining chlorine in the most POORLY CIRCULATED areas of your pool -- test just BEFORE your pump starts a cycle -- then you'll need to do something to compensate.

Ben