What Size Pump Needed For Hayward C1200 Filter?

Picking the All-time Filter Size for Your Puddle

I've never understood why people buy the biggest pump they can afford, and so go small on the pool filter. I call it the "V-8 mentality." They want the biggest engine, in the smallest car.

To save you time in your valuable mean solar day, I'll give you the moral of the story upfront. The primary betoken of this post is to"GO BIG."

Choosing a larger puddle filter makes sense, and information technology has many benefits:

Longer filter cycles, or time betwixt backwashing
Less featherbed of fine particles
Greater filtration of the water
Faster cleanup of water issues
Longer-lasting filter media

Sizes of Residential Pool Filters

Filters are unremarkably sized by the foursquare footage of surface expanse. Information technology makes sense: The more than square feet of filter media you accept, the better the filter performance volition exist. But information technology gets tricky when you try to compare the 3 different types of pool filters to each other.

That's because they all trap dirt and debris in unlike ways — they're like apples and oranges!

Don't permit this confuse you lot, though. Inside each filter type, there are typically four or five sizes.

Of these sizes, the smallest are suitable for aboveground pools, the mid-range ones can exist used for pocket-sized pools around 15,000 gallons, and the big filters work best for pools above 25,000 gallons.

To add together to the confusion are the manufacturer's listed turnover rates for their pool filters. These are commonly listed on production information pages, and they evidence the maximum flow rates for the filters.

This snippet below, from our Hayward Star-Clear filter folio, seems to suggest that a 25-square-foot filter tin take care of a 12,000-gallon pool, and I tin tell yous that is non the case. Not even shut.

Sand Filters

For sand filters on in-basis pools, I similar to use a 30-inch tank diameter, which has a iv.ix sq. ft. filter expanse and holds 600 pounds of sand. For pocket-size pools (nether twenty,000 gallons), I might propose the next size down (24″ tank) if the budget is tight. But never go smaller than this for an in-ground pool.

Cartridge Filters

I accept a rule of thumb for cartridge puddle filters: 100 sq. ft. of filter surface area per 10,000 gallons of pool h2o, every bit a minimum. I like to see the 400 sq. ft. models on in-footing pools above 25,000 gallons. These can go an entire season without cleaning in most cases.

DE Filters

Considering diatomaceous earth filters offer the nearly superior type of filtration, people tend to go small and buy a 24 or 36 sq. ft. DE filter. Ugh … no, GO BIG! Don't apply anything beneath a 48 sq. ft. filter, and if your puddle is over 25,000 gallons, go with the big option (the threescore sq. ft. filter).

For the average in-basis puddle, if money is available, purchase a big DE filter and be done with it. If your budget is squeezed sparse this year, buy the xxx″ sand filter.

Pump Size to Filter Size

With a large pool filter, there's no worry near the pump beingness too large for the filter. Also, don't worry if your pump seems undersized for a larger pool filter — this is rarely the case. When the pump is too large, however, it can mean all sorts of problem. Dirt tin can be pushed through the filter, internals can become crushed or cracked, and loftier pressure makes for a slow, inefficient and potentially chancy situation.

Filter Size to Puddle Size

Some other rule of pollex I have for puddle filter size is to look at the swimming puddle size in gallons. If you've never calculated this before, take some measurements. The formula isLength x Width x Average Depth 10 7.5, for rectangular pools.For oval pools, change the multiplier from 7.5 to 5.9.

NSF Standard l

Filter manufacturers size all three systems in accordance with the National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) Standard 50 "Circulation Arrangement Components for Swimming Pool."

Loftier-rate sand:Max flow charge per unit 25 GPM per square foot of expanse, ordinarily sized between fifteen and xx GPM per sq. ft. A minimum menstruation rate of eleven GPM per sq. ft. is required to apply the torturous path filtration of depth blazon filter media. Menses rates over 25 GPM can lead to channeling.

Diatomaceous Earth (DE):Max flow charge per unit 2.5 GPM per foursquare human foot of surface area, usually sized at 2 GPM per sq. ft. Proper menstruum rate and pressure are essential to assure a uniform cake formation on the support grids.

Cartridge:Max catamenia rate ane GPM per foursquare foot of area; can be sized betwixt 0.25 GPM and 1 GPM per sq. ft.

Here'south some puddle filter size recommendations past blazon. Match your pool size in gallons (or less) with the filter model number. And, don't be afraid to go i size bigger!