Deciding the proper capacity for your pump is an important part of your pool construction process as it plays a crucial role in keeping the water clean and usable. Purchasing a pump which is not suited to the size of your swimming pool would lead to many difficulties in the future, driving up pool repair costs. The following guide will help you better understand the aspects of purchasing the right equipment for your swimming pool.

Understand the role of a pump
Swimming pool water would be exposed to many pollutants, especially if it is situated outdoors. Leaves, dirt, pebbles and other such environmental elements would constantly be entering the water. These pollutants need to be filtered out and the water should not be kept stagnant as this would encourage the growth of algae.

A pump is used to create suction which pulls the water through the filtration system. The filtration system gets rid of pollutants and debris and makes the water safe to use. The best way to understand the importance of a properly functioning pump is to see what happens to the swimming pool without it. The water would slowly change its color to a greenish hue and it becomes unsanitary to use.

The pump capacity
The capacity of a pump decides the volume of water it can draw for a specified amount of time, and this is measured in gallons per minute. Higher capacity pumps would be able to draw more gallons for every minute of operation than lower capacity pumps but the electrical power required for using these equipments would be higher.

If the size of your pump is properly decided, you would have to spend the least amount of money on running the filtration system in the long run. A pump that is able to circulate the entire volume of water in a swimming pool within twelve hours should fit well. So if your swimming pool has around 15 thousand gallons of water, the pump need to be able to handle 1250 gallons per hour, putting its capacity to about 20.8 gallons per minute.

Running the pump
It is actually a better idea to keep a perfectly fitting pump running continuously than having a high capacity pump running intermittently. The overall cost of pool maintenance would reduce as the electricity bill would be lower, while the water would be continuously cleaned, giving very little chance for algae growth and debris build-up.

Any problems that you face with a malfunctioning pump needs to be addressed immediately as the quality of water reduces fast. All pool repair procedures should be left at the hands of professionals who are better able to identify problems and find solutions.