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We just set up a ~4000 gallon Intex above ground pool. It comes with a small pump and filter. The directions don't mention chlorination. From googling around, it looks like we can get by with one of those floating chemical dispensers and test strips especially since the pool will get light use.
My question is, do I want a floating chlorine dispenser, or a chlorine *plus* bromine dispenser? I'm not clear on what bromine is for. Also, how long/often am I supposed to run the pump/filter?
Bromine is, IIRC, more used in warm water applications like spas and hot tubs, since it has more stability at higher temperatures. However, if anyone in your family has a sensitivity to chlorine, it can be used instead of the chlorine as it is less likely to cause a rash. So, to answer the question, use chlorine tablets, don't bother with the bromine unless a) the water in the pool is going to be REALLY warm or b) someone is allergic to chlorine.
We had one of the Intek pools at our old house, and we got away with running the pump for about 4 hours a day, plus having it on whenever we were actually using the pool. Mileage may vary, depending on your climate and how much sun/shade the pool gets.
Run over to the local pool store with a sample of the water and they can help you get the chem balance right.
You don't need bromine. Pool store, free analysis of the water. Likely chlorine and maybe some pH balancing. Your main thing will be trying to keep it from going green. Buy a roll of black construction plastic to cover it when not in use and you'll cut algae growth dramatically as well as keep it cleaner.
Also, how long/often am I supposed to run the pump/filter?
That's the hidden thing pool suppliers don't want you to know about. The answer is run the pump and filter as long as possible. The more the water is turned over, the less chemicals you need, the less you need to shock, the water will remain stabilized longer, and the cleaner and clearer the water will be. but pool pumps are energy hogs so most people mistakenly run the pump shorter periods to save on electricity but have to use more chemicals to compensate.
As people run their pumps less, they start to have problems so they think getting a bigger pump is the answer. but the pump size is limited to the intake and outtake piping and you can do more harm than good to the equipment.
Try to run the pump as long as possible. You wil pay more in electricty but some of it will be offset by the lower chemical cost. You willalso spend less time futzing with the pool chemistry.
Actually not true at all. By doing that you are wasting energy that indeed does not need to be wasted. General rule of thumb is one turnover per day. If you keep your water properly balanced, and no this doesn't mean spending 100s-1000s on chemicals (refer to link above), you will enjoy an easy to maintain pool with less energy expenditure. Also consider that by running your pump so often you are most likely decreasing its lifespan
The problem is that you cannot get one turnover with a standard system, unless you run the pump a long time. If the water was divided by a polyethylene curtain into dirty water and clean water, yeah, you could run the pump for a minimum amount of time. Real world in Florida, 15,000 gal inground pool, roughly eight hours/day summer four or five winter.
Bottom line with pools is that they are a hole in the ground where you throw money. No matter how I tired (and I tried a LOT of stuff) I ended up spending at least $600/yr on the pool.
Not sure why you say you can't get one turnover. You yourself state that you can acheive that in 8hrs. That achieves your one turnover and I would consider that much better than running it for 24 hrs. Best to save as much as you can. And I would say last year on the pool I spent about $300 (15k inground), not including power of course.
Actually not true at all. By doing that you are wasting energy that indeed does not need to be wasted. General rule of thumb is one turnover per day. If you keep your water properly balanced, and no this doesn't mean spending 100s-1000s on chemicals (refer to link above), you will enjoy an easy to maintain pool with less energy expenditure. Also consider that by running your pump so often you are most likely decreasing its lifespan
That's what i always thought until i did some real research. the thing i found was the amount of turn over has nothing to do with the size of your pump and all to do with the amount of intake your pump can handle. Most people have oversize pumps that means they run it for shorter periods (and still not filtering all the water) to save on electricity. But each time the filtration stops, your stopping the filtration and water movement that creates chemical imbalance. The more you run your pump, the more water that is being filered, and the more the chemicals are properly doing their job. Each time you stp the pump, you have stopped the filtration process which can require more chemicals and the need to pump more water when you do run it.
I finally after doing my own research and speaking with a pool person who specializes in maintainace and not sales of products or chemicals, I broke down and got a new filter and pump. The old 2 hp pump was replaced with a smaller variable speed pump. The pump runs at a very low speed and is off only between 12am to 6 am. According to the energy usage thing they had on the system for the first 2 weeks, I'm saving over 75% of my electric cost and filtering the water just as good as the energy hog I use to have.
Because it's running most of the time, the size of my filter could have been reduced but since i already had it, they just upgraded the material inside. The big one was originally sold on the basis of cleaning the water better. But after doing my research and checking with others, it needed to clean the water better because it wasn't cleaning all the time. The real reason the bigger filter was installed was because it needed to take the unfiltered water that was sitting for many hours uncirculated and clean it as fast as possible so it looks and acts like people expect it to cat. But I actually could have gone with a smaller one based on the size of the pool if it was in use more often.
Over the last year I have spend about half of what i use to on shock and chemicals and don;t have the swings I use to have because the water wasn;t circulating for many hours each day.
This may not be the solution for everyone, but I can vouch for the fact that you don;t need a big a pump or filter as you may be told you need if you circulate the water as much as possble on a continual basis. But most people have the energy eating single speed pumps so they balance the energy cost and try to keep it low by running the pump less, which means needing a biger pump, which means using more electruicty, which means running it even less, which means....
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