Having the right equipment for a swimming pool and/or spa can mean the difference of not only money but safety as well. Is bigger always the best way to go when picking a pump and filter for your swimming pool and or spa?? The answer is..........Yes & No!

I've been in the Swimming Pool Industry for nearly 15 years and have seen enough pool equipment sets sized incorrectly to question whether the money that is being wasted would clear our national debt. So often the pool pump is too large, and the filter too small. Common equipment set I see in the S.Calif area for a 20,000Gallon Pool with an 8ft round spa with 6-8 Jets with the equipment pad approx 50ft from the pool & spa return line(s)....

(1)2.0 Horsepower High Head Pump(i.e. whisper-flo, Northstar, Max-e-Pro)

(1)48sqft or 60sqft. D.E. Filter or 325sqft High Capacity Cartridge filter.

Then you have the heater and possibly a salt system to assist in sanitizing..... This type of set-up is completely incorrect. This example should not be the norm!!! Let me explain....

When running a 2.0 H.P. Pump for pool or spa circulation, you are simply pushing the water thru the filter and a flow rate that will  damage the Filter elements inside the filter(Grids or Cartridges) prematurely. Also the goal in water circulation is to turn all the water over thru the filter in 6-8 hours (In peak season). A 2.0 H.P. power pump should only be used for the Spa Jets. That is what larger pumps are meant to do.

Water clarity is optimized when the water is being turned over completely in the allotted time of equipment operation . If the water is being blasted at too high of a G.P.M.(Gallons per minute) thru the filter, The filtering action is greatly diminished. Moving the water thru the filter as slowly as possible while turning over the water will optimize the filtering process & water clarity. 

Filter size is where Bigger is Better!!!! The more filtering area that is available for the water to pass thru, the better the filtration will be. Common sense when one considers this.

So how do we do this??? Must a 2nd Pump be added?? That's more money for this swimming pool project!!! Yes, your swimming pool equipment will be slightly more expensive going this route. Let me remind you, a 2.0H.P. pump draws more power though. Electricity these days is not cheap. Also, the filter grids and cartridge elements are not inexpensive eathier. As far as saftey, A human life is priceless. Too strong of a pump if not plumbed correctly can and has resulted in numerous drownings and other injuries due to the suction being too strong. The most efficient set up for this example is....

Eathier (1) 2 speed pump: Low speed for Pool & Spa circulation, High speed for Spa Jets    OR A (2) Pump system.... (1) 1.0H.P. for Circulation and (1) 2.0H.P. for Spa Jets. Filter size should be a 72sqft  D.E. or a 450 thru 525sqft cartridge filter.

I hope this guide is helpful and I look forward to hearing everyone's opinion. Thank you very much for reading!!