How to Improve Your Pool Circulation?

Recycling is a definite part of the process when it comes to keeping your pool clean and beautiful throughout the season. Without adequate circulation, your water won't get the proper filtration and chemical balance needed to create a safe and healthy pool.

However, making sure you get the best circulation really isn't that hard, and these tips below will help you improve circulation in your pool.

Before doing any recycling, you must first have a pool pump. It is crucial to make sure you have a pool pump that fits your pool size. Likewise, you want to avoid oversized pumps.

During the off-season, store the pump in a dry and room temperature location. If necessary, clean and lubricate any areas according to your manufacturer's instructions. Make sure your pump is in good working order at the start of each swimming season.

To make sure you have the right size pump for your pool, determine how many gallons per minute your pump will flow. It is recommended to turn the pool water at least once a day for 8 to 12 hours.

You can use a really simple formula to determine the size of the pump you need for your swimming pool. The formula below will calculate how many water cycles you will get in 8 hours.

Pool Water Volume ÷ Pool Pump Run Minutes = Pumps Output: Gallons Per Minute

If your pool has 10,000 gallons of water, you would divide by 10,000 ÷ 480 (8 hours X 60 minutes = 480) = 20.8.

In the example above, if you wanted the water to be turned over every 8 hours of use, a 10,000-gallon pool with a pump running for 8 hours would require a pump with an output of 20.8 gallons per minute.

Change the numbers in this formula as needed to determine the pump size needed for your pool. Making sure your pump is the correct size will improve and maintain proper water circulation.

I believe you've vacuumed your pool and noticed that at some point while you've owned the pool when cleaning the bottom of the pool, the return pressure drops quickly. If you have this, it's because your pool bottom is very dirty, or a large object is blocked in the vacuum line, filter, or skimmer.

When this happens, the pump cannot push the same amount of water through the pipe due to the dirt, leaves, grass, and other debris that the vacuum collects.

By cleaning or replacing your pool filter media, water can be allowed to flow unrestricted and will not stop.

If your pool uses a cartridge filter, removing it and spraying it with a strong hose will remove most of the dirt. You will need to do this for a few minutes on all areas of the filter to get the most out of your spray.

Of course, replacing the filter element with a new cartridge will give you the best results and should be done according to the manufacturer's instructions that came with the pump. Typically the filter needs to be changed every 2 to 4 weeks, possibly more frequently during the peak swimming season.

Between filter changes, most cartridge filters can be easily sprayed with a hose to increase circulation before changing the filter. For example, if you change your filter monthly, spraying the filter every 2 weeks may keep your pool circulating better by removing dirt from the filter.

For pools equipped with sand filters, simply backwash the filter to remove all dirt, grass, and leaves inside the filter.

By doing this, you will allow the pump to push the water through more freely and get more circulation. It is recommended that you flush the sand filter pump at least every other week, sometimes more frequently.

If you've recently vacuumed your pool or have large swimmers in the water, you'll need to flush more often. After backwashing, don't forget to run a rinse cycle before returning it to filter mode. Your pool will now have more pressure from pool backflow, resulting in increased circulation in your pool.

For an ongoing cycle throughout the season, all you really need to do is make a regular schedule and stick to it religiously.

For sand filters, if you just choose 1 day per week or every other week to always backwash the filter, you will have a greater water circulation throughout the swim.

The same applies if your pool uses cartridges. Choose to spray the filter one day a week to keep it clean, and replace it with a new filter regularly, and the water in the pool will improve circulation.

During summer, especially during the hottest months of the year, your pool water will evaporate a lot.

This will cause your water level to drop, sometimes quickly even when no swimmers are using your pool. Pools can lose 1 to 3 inches in a week when the temperature is 90 degrees or higher.

You need to top up the water level while doing regular weekly maintenance to make sure the water level is where my pool skimmer and pump can provide the best performance and circulation.

If your water level is too low, the pump will not be able to draw the amount of water the pump needs to function properly and your pool circulation will suffer.

Always keep the pool water at a level that doesn't cause the pump to suck in air and bring air into the pipes, otherwise, circulation will be reduced and the pump may also be damaged if it dries out.

Without water circulation, your pool water will not be able to distribute cleaning chemicals evenly throughout the pool, which will cause your pool to become cloudy and dirty,

The recycling process also filters bugs, grass, dirt, and other particles floating in the water to keep the water clean and hygienic.

Proper and inappropriate cycling can have a huge impact on whether the pool water remains clear throughout the swimming season.

The pool pump is where all the cycles begin. Sizing the pump for the amount of water in your pool is critical to maintain adequate circulation.

The pump will have a horizontal hose attached to the pool skimmer. Once the pump is on and running, it will create suction through the skimmer.

The vertical hose on top of the pump will connect to a sand filter or cartridge filter. Water drawn from the skimmer and pump will enter the filter area through a vertical hose.

A filter will collect any debris that flows through the pump.

Finally, another hose from the outlet section of the filter will be connected to the return water, and the clean and filtered water will be returned to the pool.

Once the water re-enters the pool through the return flow, it will circulate through the pool, mixing in any chlorine and other chemicals added, and continuously filtering out unwanted debris. 

If the pool does not cycle, it will need to be drained and refilled weekly to keep it clean.

The above describes in detail how to improve swimming pool circulation, if you still have questions or want to buy a swimming pool pump or other swimming pool accessories, welcome to contact us.

MAYGAO is a professional custom swimming pool pumps and accessories manufacturer. Since its establishment, MAYGO POOL has successfully developed the main component of CFD hydraulic design, the impeller. Our product range includes pool pumps, sand filters, cartridge filters, filtration systems, and pool accessories. The product is constantly updated and iterative, with more functions and more choices.