Running the sand filter longer vs adding a second skimmer

Started by Sam Whitaker · · 2 replies
Back to the forum
Reply
#1
Weighing something dumb for how small it is. My sand filter keeps up fine but I've got one skimmer on a 24ft and with three kids using it all day the surface debris builds up between robot runs, leaves, bugs, the usual. Option one is just run the pump a couple more hours a day and let the skimmer work harder. Option two is add a second skimmer, which means cutting into a wall I already know is level and not wanting to mess with that.

Part of me says just run it longer, electric bill be damned, kids already cost me more in snacks than that would run. But curious if anyone's done the second skimmer thing on a resin frame and whether it actually made a real difference or if I'm just gonna have two intakes doing the same mediocre job.

2 Replies

#2
Run it longer first, it's free to try and you already have the hardware. One skimmer just not catching stuff fast enough with three kids churning the water is usually a flow/timing problem, not a count problem, unless your skimmer is genuinely undersized for 24ft which is rare.

Cutting a second skimmer into a wall you know is level, for debris that a robot and a few extra pump hours probably fixes, feels like solving it the expensive way. I'd try the schedule change for a couple weeks before touching the wall at all.
#3
Robotvic's right, don't cut that wall. Had a customer last week on a resin above ground, same setup basically, one skimmer wasn't keeping up with the grandkids all summer, we just bumped his run time from 6 to 9 hours and threw a weir flap on the skimmer door and it was night and day, no wall surgery needed.

Second skimmer on a 24ft round is overkill for a debris problem, that's a dilution problem fix not a surface skimming fix. Run it longer first, see where you land after two weeks before you touch anything structural.