How to Choose the Proper Equipment for Commercial Swimming Pools

A commercial pool water treatment system is meant to keep your pool water clean and healthy. It includes the following parts:

• Automated water treatment controller
• Chlorinator
• Metering pump
• PH minus system
• UV system

Water treatment controllers automatically monitor your pool water around the clock to ensure that it’s as clean and safe as possible. Some of the well-known brands on the market are BECS and Walchem. While Walchem offers a variety of water treatment products, BECS has a specific focus on controllers when it comes to pool equipment.

The chlorinator is responsible for dispensing chlorine gradually to sanitize the water in a way that’s both safe and effective. Too much chlorine is dangerous but too little won’t effectively sanitize the water.

Your pool needs more than just chlorine, which is why you need a metering pump. This piece of equipment dispenses other fluids into your pool water. Commercial pools need small, precise amounts of chemicals, and a metering pump is able to dispense them much more accurately than any person could.

If your pool’s pH isn’t balanced, the consequences can be significant. Not only will your pool not be properly sanitized, but pool goers may experience skin and eye irritation. A pH minus system will make sure your pool’s pH is exactly where it should be at all times.

Lastly, having a UV pool system is yet another way to keep commercial pools safe. These systems reduce the chemical content in your pool while eliminating any chlorine byproducts. Because they also destroy pathogens and eliminate the need for algaecide, these systems reduce a pool’s operating costs.

Commercial Pool Chlorinators

Chlorine kills germs, making your commercial pool a safer place for swimmers. It’s one of the most important commercial pool chemicals, but getting the right amount of chlorine can be tricky. You don’t want too much because it creates a health hazard and you don’t want too little because the chlorine will be ineffective. Ideally, commercial pool chlorine levels should be somewhere between 1 and 3 parts per million at all times.

A chlorinator cleans the water as it filters back into the pool from the filtration system. As long as you choose the right chlorinator for the job, you should be able to avoid using too much or too little chlorine.

As with many types of equipment, the first thing to consider is your pool’s capacity. The more gallons your pool will hold, the bigger the chlorinator that it will require. Some chlorinators are designed to sanitize pools that hold only up to 10,000 gallons of water. Other chlorinators are intended for much larger pools that have a capacity of up to 40,000 gallons. You’ll need roughly 0.00013 ounces of chlorine for every gallon of water in the pool.

Commercial pool chlorinators can either be inline or offline. Your choice will depend on how much room you have in your pool when it has all the equipment inside it. If you’re short on space, you can choose an offline chlorinator that connects through a bypass line to your plumbing. Otherwise, if you have the room in your commercial pool, you can use an inline chlorinator that attaches to the end of the filtration system. It will be one of the last pieces of equipment you add to your pool.

Commercial Pool Filtration Systems

Another essential piece of equipment used for commercial pools is a filtration system. It’s important to choose your filtration system and chlorinator in conjunction with each other since they will need to fit together. Choosing the size of filter that’s right for the job will decrease the amount of maintenance your pool needs to stay in top condition.

When you’re looking into options for filters, you’ll discover they are rated by gallons per minute (GPM). This is the number of gallons of water your filter cycles through every sixty seconds. The amount of time it takes for the filter to circulate all of the water in the pool is known as the turnover rate. The turnover rate your pool needs will depend on the pool’s location, provincial standards, and the type of pool. For example, it’s usually recommended that spa pools have a turnover rate of 30 minutes while a larger commercial pool should have a turnover rate of six hours.

To find the right filter for your pool, take the number of gallons in your pool and divide it by your target turnover rate. Then divide that number by 60. For example, if you have a 36,000-gallon pool and you want the water to turn over every six hours, you’d divide 36,000 by six to get 6000. Dividing 6000 by 60 would be 100, meaning you’d be looking for a filter that has an output of 100 GPM. However, it’s recommended that you opt for an oversized commercial pool filtration system to make your pool operate even more efficiently.

Types of Commercial Swimming Pool Filtration Systems

The main options for filtration systems are sand filters, perlite filters, and cartridge filters. As you’d probably expect, sand filters use sand as the filtering agent. They are the most popular option because they only require minimal maintenance. They are also long-lasting and cost-effective.

Perlite filters use perlite, which is a naturally occurring siliceous volcanic rock for the filtering media. Some filter can eliminate up to 99.9% of cryptosporidium parasites in just one pass while achieving filter cycles that are up to 30% longer! The chances of these filters getting clogged are also very low. Another advantage with this type of filter is low water consumption. You do not need backwash, which involves reversing the flow of water through your filter and redirects water flow to the sewer (normally it is 8 minutes of the filter flow rate).

Lastly, there are cartridge filters, which are replaceable, consume a low amount of water and do not require backwash. The SwimClear Single Element cartridge filter from Hayward is an example of a cartridge filter that is very energy-efficient but does require more maintenance.

Commercial Pool Pumps

The pool pump plays an important role in filtration because it keeps the water moving. When you’re looking at pool pump options, you’ll have to consider your filtration and backwash system. Some pools operate using a dual system with two pumps, each one operating at 50% capacity.

In most cases, your pool pump should have a GPM rating that’s about the same as your filter or slightly lower. If you were to opt for a pump with a higher GPM than your filter, the flow of your pool water won’t be as efficient and you’ll be overworking both the pump and the filter.

If you don’t get a pump that’s appropriately sized for your pool, you will be putting the health and safety of your patrons at risk. You could also have visible algae growth.

Commercial Pool Heating Systems

No one wants to swim in an ice-cold pool. That’s why having a reliable heating system is crucial! There are two different types of heating systems: a heat pump and a heat exchanger. Both options are environmentally-friendly, but they improve the water temperature of different types of pools. Heat pumps work by capturing heat (not generating it) and transferring it to the water. They are ideal for warmer climates and outdoor pools.

On the other hand, a heat exchanger turns up the temperature in your pool with hot water from a boiler or solar-heated water circuit. Heat is able to pass from one fluid to the pool water without coming into direct contact with it. This is the ideal heating system for interior pools. It works in conjunction with a ventilation system.

As you might have guessed, the bigger the difference between the temperature you want your pool to be and the atmosphere temperature, the more powerful you’ll need the heating system to be. When you’re thinking about the pool’s size, you should factor in both the surface area and the volume of the pool. The majority of heat is lost through the surface. Because of this, it will actually take a more powerful heater to warm up a shallow pool with a large surface area than a deep pool with a smaller surface area.

Stop the Guesswork with Commercial Swimming Pool Equipment and Supplies

If you’re still unsure of what commercial swimming pool equipment and supplies are ideal for your pool, Soucy Aquatik can help. We can find you the best pool equipment based on your specific pool needs. We’ll even supply and expertly install it to get your pool operating as efficiently as possible in no time. For more information, get in touch with Soucy Aquatik today!