You probably are familiar with fish ponds – used for rearing fishes. Pond filters are used in this environment to keep the pond healthy enough.
It also helps to get rid of algae, and this, in the end, keeps the fish being reared in good condition. Can we use these fish pond filters in a swimming pool? Stay with me, as I do justice to this question in this article.
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Can You Use Pond Filter for a Swimming Pool?
This would have been possible, but no, it is not. The pond filter is not designed specifically for a swimming pool environment. A pool filter is made to take in water from various spaces.
Different swimming pools have different water capacities. All these capacities need a different kind of pool filter. It is not proper to use the filter you intend to use for a swimming pool that can hold 16,000 gallons of water with a swimming pool with 1000 gallons. The efficiency won’t be 100%.
So, it is not recommended to use pond filters for the swimming pool.
What Kind of Filter Should Be Used For a Swimming Pool?
A swimming pool filter is really important in keeping the swimming pool healthy. It keeps the swimming pool in good swimming condition. The absence of a filter will easily cause dirt to be in the swimming pool water and spur algae growth. This can pose serious health risks for the users of the swimming pool.
There are different kinds of swimming pool filters for you to choose from. We have the sand filter, the cartridge filter, and the Diatomaceous Earth filter.
The major duty of a swimming pool filter is to extract. It keeps contaminants and sediments in the filter, disallowing them to gain entrance back into the clean water. The contaminants that are held by the filter can be eliminated using backwashing.
1. Sand Pool Filter
This is the simplest filter type used for a swimming pool. It does backwashing easily with the help of a multiport valve and an auto backwash system. The filter is built to hold sediment or particles between 10-100 microns. The filter is mostly or always connected to a pump and the prefilter whose job is to take in suction from the main drain.
Sand filter is the easiest to maintain. It might only be necessary to open the tank once in three years, as long as the backwash and maintenance are done well.
If you want a filter that will serve long, is worth the money, and is simple, then a sand filter sounds like what you want.
2. Cartridge Pool Filter
If you have a small above-the-ground swimming pool, a cartridge pool filter will be perfect. Cartridge pool filters are built using spun polyester. The filtration system does not use a backwash like the sand pool filter.
The maintenance, which is majorly the cleaning of the filter, should be done in intervals of 4-6 months, depending on several factors. You can know if it is due for cleaning by checking the clean pressure gauge. If the clean pressure gauge is above 10 lbs or 0.6 bar, you should clean it.
Cleaning the cartridge is not hard as you might be painting it. All you need to do is run your cartridge with water using a garden hose. Dry it, and then get it soaked in trisodium-phosphate. If you have cleaned the cartridge about 15 times, you should change the cartridge for efficiency.
3. Diatomaceous Earth (DE) Pool Filter
This is the best pool filter type out of all the three mentioned. It can filter particles down to 3 microns. Yes, it is that efficient. The main part of the filter that works is the DE powder.
The skimmers facilitate the entry of the powder into the fine filter mesh-covered grid. The pool water goes through the powder and the fabric-covered grid through the DE. Then the sediments and dirt get locked in the coats of the DE powder.
The downside to this filter is that it is costly and harder to maintain than other pool filters. The upside, it is so efficient, so the value it gives is worth the price.
How To Choose The Right Filter For Your Swimming Pool
One of the things that will increase the efficiency of your pool filter is if it is right for your pool. Choosing the right pool filter cannot be overemphasized.
1. Get the measurement of your swimming pool.
Use tape to get the measurement of your swimming pool. The parameters needed are your swimming pool’s length, width, and depth. The depth should be the actual depth, not the capacity.
2. Find the area of the swimming pool.
Now that you have the measurement parameters, calculate the swimming pool’s area using the length and breadth of the swimming pool.
3. Estimate the water currently in your swimming pool
We need to know the amount of water that your swimming is holding. Go online to find a pool volume calculator to get this done easily. This will make it easier.
4. Estimate the minimum and maximum rate of flow
To get the minimum flow rate, you need to divide the volume of water in your swimming pool by 8. Again, divide the quotient by 60. The answer is the minimum rate of flow.
For the maximum flow rate, you need to know the size of the pipes in your swimming pool. The size of the pipe will determine the maximum.
5. Choose the right pool filter.
You can use the swimming pool’s surface area in an online filter sizing chart. You can choose between any of the three types of pool filters. Don’t forget; the DE filter is the most expensive but the best. You can easily maintain a cartridge filter. Sand filter is the least costly, and it is not as efficient as others.
