Determining GPM on Pump.

I'm trying to establish how long I should effectively run my pump for. Last year I had the pump start up every 30 minutes then pause for 30 minutes but as time goes on I've determined that it was very ineffective and likely not doing much for me.

Currently I've set it to run from 6AM-9AM and then again from 6PM-7PM. Where I live there is a "Peak" energy consumption rate start at 8AM in the morning so I'm trying to offset the usage of the pump accordingly. That being said I do not want to compromise the quality of the pool.

http://imgur.com/cqKB7Jx

That is the details from the pump itself. I'm doing the BBB method so turnover of the pool is mostly just for skimming the top.

You probably want a total of about 8 or so hours per day. I'm not the pump expert on the forum, but I would think multiple starts and stops day after day would be less than ideal for the pump.

Even though you are using BBB, the turnover is for more than just skimming; it also mixes in your chemicals and keeps your pool from having dead spots which could make algae more likely in those areas.

GPM and turnover are basically irrelevant for pump run time.

Many pools can get by on 4 hours or less of run time but it depends on the pool and how much stuff falls into it. I run my own pool 4 hours per day and 3 of those hours are on low speed. But I would probably go shorter if my SWG could keep up.

There are 3 main reasons to run a pump.

Chlorine circulation and/or addition - For manual dosing, this can take place in 30 min/day.

Skimming - The pool surface can usually be cleared of debris in less than an hour. However, stuff keeps dropping in the pool 24/7 so it is up to you what is tolerable.

Vacuuming - If you have an automatic vac, you will need some run time but I found only about an hour per day is all I need for this.

So in reality, there isn't much to drive you to longer run times except for your own personal tolerance for debris in the pool.

Just remember that run time does not solve algae problems. Only chlorine can do that.