Your sand filter is doing a job it was never meant to do alone.
Every grain of grit your pump picks up goes straight into the filter, and the only way back out is a backwash. A MultiCyclone spins the heavy sediment out of the water before it gets there and drops it into a clear chamber you can see. Emptying that chamber takes about 15 litres. A backwash takes a great deal more.
What is a Speck MultiCyclone?
A Speck MultiCyclone is a centrifugal pool pre-filter. It is installed between the pump and the main filter and uses hydrocyclones — twelve, sixteen or seventy, depending on the model — to spin heavier dirt, grit and sediment out of the water before it reaches the filter. It uses no filter media and has no moving parts in the filtration body, and it is cleaned by opening a purge valve with the pump running, which discharges about 15 litres. The Plus and Ultra models add a cartridge element above the cyclones for finer material.
- 12 / 16 / 70
- hydrocyclones, by model
- None
- filter media to buy
- None
- moving parts in the body
- ~15 L
- to purge, pump running
From a twelve-cyclone domestic unit to seventy on commercial plant
MultiCyclone MC Base
Mounting
R2 599,99
See the detail →
MultiCyclone Stand Over Base
Mounting
R3 799,99
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MultiCyclone 12
12 cyclones
R8 999,99
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MultiCyclone 16
16 cyclones
R11 599,99
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MultiCyclone 16 Plus
16 cyclones
R13 999,99
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MultiCyclone 12 Ultra
12 cyclones
R14 999,99
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MultiCyclone 12 Plus
12 cyclones
R15 399,99
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MultiCyclone 16 Ultra
16 cyclones
R17 899,99
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MultiCyclone XL70
70 cyclones
R82 999,99
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MultiCyclone MC Base
Mounting
R2 599,99
See the detail →
MultiCyclone Stand Over Base
Mounting
R3 799,99
See the detail →
MultiCyclone 12
12 cyclones
R8 999,99
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MultiCyclone 16
16 cyclones
R11 599,99
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MultiCyclone 16 Plus
16 cyclones
R13 999,99
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MultiCyclone 12 Ultra
12 cyclones
R14 999,99
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MultiCyclone 12 Plus
12 cyclones
R15 399,99
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MultiCyclone 16 Ultra
16 cyclones
R17 899,99
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MultiCyclone XL70
70 cyclones
R82 999,99
See the detail →
One minute, and the whole idea is obvious
A cutaway of the unit running. Every step it shows is written out underneath, because not everybody wants to watch a video — and nor does a search engine.
Eight things, and none of them are a consumable
Speck’s own feature list for the range, in their order.
“The MultiCyclone is designed to filter sediment that is heavier than water, floating debris cannot be filtered out by centrifugal filtration.” Leaves and grass on the surface are a weir basket and a skimmer’s job, not this one. We would rather tell you that now.
Three ways it goes onto the pad
It fits between the pump and the filter on a system you already have. What changes between the models is how it stands.
The 12 and the 16 go straight into the pipework between pump and filter on 50 mm quick connect unions. Both the unions and the purge valve are supplied with the unit.
Speck’s point about the Plus and Ultra: the streamlined design means the whole filtration system can be installed vertically, which reduces the footprint of the equipment pad. Less pipework also means less overall head loss.
Or stand it next to the pump using the optional base. The Stand Over Base (795 × 440 × 350 mm) lifts it clear so the pipework runs underneath; the MC Base is the lower option.
The 70XL goes ahead of the main filters on commercial plant. Speck rate it to pre-filter up to 80% of the filter’s incoming dirt load, cutting filter maintenance frequency by up to 80% while the flow rate stays unchanged.
Mounting it properly is most of whether it gets maintained. The clear chamber has to be visible and the purge valve has to be reachable without lying on the paving.
The Ultra units are tall — 944 mm on the 12, 977 mm on the 16, before you add a stand. Check the headroom over your plinth, particularly under a deck or in a service cupboard.
Dual stage, in one housing
The Plus and Ultra put a cartridge element above the cyclones — 3.7 m² on the Plus, 6.9 m² on the Ultra. The cyclones take out the grit so the cartridge only has to catch what is fine, which is what keeps an element usable for a sensible length of time.
Which MultiCyclone is which
There is only one decision to make here. Every model spins the heavy grit out before it reaches your filter. The Plus and Ultra add a cartridge on top that also catches the fine material the cyclones are not designed to hold.
Takes the grit, sand and settled debris off your sand filter. Nothing inside to clean, nothing to replace, ever. Choose on flow — it has to sit inside your pump’s window.
MultiCyclone 12 · 16 · XL70The same cyclones, with a pleated element above them for what is too fine to spin out. You rinse the element rather than replace media. Choose on pool volume — Speck publish one per model.
MultiCyclone 12 Plus · 16 Plus · 12 Ultra · 16 UltraCyclones only — no cartridge, nothing to replace
| Model | Cyclones | Port | Flow window | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| MultiCyclone 12 | 12 | 50 mm | 2.4 – 18 m³/h | R8 999,99 |
| MultiCyclone 16 | 16 | 50 mm | 3 – 30 m³/h | R11 599,99 |
| MultiCyclone XL70 | 70 | 100 mm | 36 – 90 m³/h | R82 999,99 |
Cyclones and a cartridge — also catches the fine material
| Model | Cyclones | Cartridge | Port | Pool up to | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MultiCyclone 12 Plus | 12 | 3.7 m² | 50 mm | 55 000 L | R15 399,99 |
| MultiCyclone 16 Plus | 16 | 3.7 m² | 63 mm | 80 000 L | R13 999,99 |
| MultiCyclone 12 Ultra | 12 | 6.9 m² | 50 mm | 100 000 L | R14 999,99 |
| MultiCyclone 16 Ultra | 16 | 6.9 m² | 63 mm | 100 000 L | R17 899,99 |
Cartridge area and pool volume are Speck’s own published figures. Flow windows are published for the cyclone-only models; on the Plus and Ultra, Speck publish a maximum pool size instead, so that is the figure shown rather than one we worked out.
Neither includes a pre-filter, a pump or pipework. They are there if your plant room needs the unit lifted or stood over an existing pump.
Which pump goes with which unit
The MultiCyclone sits on the pressure side, so the one number that has to match is the pump’s outlet. Find your pump below and the last column tells you which units it takes. Every outlet figure is from Speck’s own table.
| Pump | Motor | Outlet | Takes these MultiCyclones | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BADU Porpoise — fixed speed, self-priming, 36 month ex-factory warranty | ||||
| BADU Porpoise 10 | 0.45 kW | 40 mm | 12, 16, 12 Plus and 12 Ultra | R3 599,99 |
| BADU Porpoise 16 | 0.75 kW | 40 mm | 12, 16, 12 Plus and 12 Ultra | R3 699,99 |
| BADU Porpoise 22 | 1.10 kW | 50 mm | 12, 16, 12 Plus and 12 Ultra | R4 799,99 |
| BADU Eco VSD Pro — variable speed, 2830 / 2430 / 2000 rpm by default and adjustable either way | ||||
| BADU Eco VSD Pro 18 | 0.45 kW | 50 mm | 12, 16, 12 Plus and 12 Ultra | R8 749,99 |
| BADU Eco VSD Pro 20 | 0.75 kW | 50 mm | 12, 16, 12 Plus and 12 Ultra | R11 999,99 |
| BADU Eco VSD Pro 23 | 1.50 kW | 63 mm | 16 Plus and 16 Ultra | R17 999,99 |
The Porpoise 10 and 16 leave the pump at 40 mm, so they step up to the 50 mm union at the MultiCyclone. Every other pump above meets its unit on the same size.
Aquagem rate their pumps on pool volume rather than port size, so these cannot sit in the table above without the last column meaning something else. Pick on your volume, then send us your pipework and we will confirm the outlet before anything ships.
| Pump | Motor | Pool volume | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| InverEco | |||
| InverEco DE-18 | 0.75 kW | 30 000 – 50 000 L | R9 995,99 |
| InverEco DE-22 | 1.00 kW | up to 75 000 L | R13 559,99 |
| InverEco DE-27 | 1.35 kW | 60 000 – 90 000 L | R15 559,99 |
| InverCaptain | |||
| InverCaptain DCP08 | 0.80 kW | 20 000 – 50 000 L | R14 899,99 |
| InverCaptain DCP12 | 1.20 kW | 40 000 – 70 000 L | R16 899,99 |
| InverCaptain DCP15 | 1.50 kW | 50 000 – 80 000 L | R18 899,99 |
| InverCaptain DCP18 | 1.80 kW | 70 000 – 100 000 L | R21 899,99 |
Volumes are as listed on our own product pages, converted to litres throughout so the range reads in one unit.
Speck do not publish a flow figure per pump on their product pages, and we are not going to estimate one to fill a table. Port size and power output are what they publish, so that is what is here. If you want the flow matched properly, send us the pump you have and we will do it against the curve rather than against a guess.
The same unit, doing a job koi keepers already had a name for
A koi pond has always needed somewhere for solid waste to drop out of the water before it reaches the biological filter — a settlement chamber, a vortex, a sieve. That is the same job a MultiCyclone does on a pool, in a pressurised housing that takes up a fraction of the floor area.
This is not us repurposing a pool product. Speck list aquaculture as an application on every MultiCyclone page, they build a BADU Koi filter range alongside it, and all nine units are already stocked here under koi filters.
| Speck BADU Koi filter | Max flow | 4 hour turnover | 6 hour | 8 hour |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BADU Koi 1 | 6 m³/h | 23 350 L | 35 000 L | 46 670 L |
| BADU Koi 2 | 9.5 m³/h | 38 000 L | 57 000 L | 76 000 L |
| BADU Koi 3 | 12.5 m³/h | 50 000 L | 75 000 L | 100 000 L |
| BADU Koi 4 | 14.5 m³/h | 58 000 L | 87 000 L | 116 000 L |
Every one of them fits a MultiCyclone 12. Speck's published maximum flow for the whole BADU Koi range runs from 6 to 14.5 m³/h, and the MultiCyclone 12 covers 2.4 to 18 m³/h. The 16 is the one to take if you want headroom above that, or if the pond is run harder than an eight hour turnover.
On the South African koi forum, keepers running one on a pond describe solids settling visibly in the clear chamber, water clearing, and the sand filter needing attention less often — and one raises the fair question of whether the cyclone openings clog over time, which is what the routine purge is for. Those are keepers' own accounts, not measured specifications, and we are reporting them as such. The figures we will stand behind are the ones Speck publish: flow window, port size, the roughly 15 litres to purge, and the 24 month warranty.
Questions people ask about the MultiCyclone
What does a pool pre-filter actually do?
It is installed between the pump and the main filter and removes heavier dirt, grit and sediment from the water before that water reaches the filter. The filter then has less to deal with and needs backwashing less often.
Does a MultiCyclone replace my sand filter?
No. It is a pre-filter, not a filter. It reduces the sediment load reaching your existing filter. You keep the sand filter you have.
How do I clean it?
With the pump running, open the sediment purge valve until the sediment has flushed out. Speck state that only about 15 litres of water is discharged to cleanse the MultiCyclone. There is no filter medium to rinse or replace.
Will it catch leaves?
No, and Speck say so directly: the MultiCyclone is designed to filter sediment that is heavier than water, and floating debris cannot be filtered out by centrifugal filtration. Leaves on the surface are a weir and skimmer job.
How do I choose between the 12 and the 16?
Match it to your pump and pipework, not to the size of your pool. The MultiCyclone 12 covers 2.4 to 18 m³/h and the 16 covers 3 to 30 m³/h, both on 50 mm.
What is the difference between the Plus and the Ultra?
The size of the cartridge. The Plus models carry 3.7 m² of filter area and the Ultra models carry 6.9 m². The cyclone count and the port size are what separate a 12 from a 16.
Can it be installed vertically?
The Plus and Ultra can. Speck note that the streamlined design lets the whole filtration system be installed vertically, which reduces the footprint of the equipment pad and the head loss from pipework. Otherwise it stands beside the pump on the optional base.
What warranty does it carry?
Speck list a 24 month ex-factory product warranty under normal operating conditions from date of purchase. On the Plus and Ultra that covers the unit without the cartridge filter.
Is it only for swimming pools?
No. Speck list swimming pool, water treatment and aquaculture applications on every MultiCyclone page, and all nine units are stocked here under koi filters as well as pool filters.
Can I use a MultiCyclone on a koi pond?
Yes, as mechanical pre-filtration. It does the job a settlement chamber or vortex does — dropping solid waste out of the water before it reaches the filter — in a pressurised housing that takes far less floor area. It is fitted after the pump, on the delivery side.
Which MultiCyclone suits a koi pond?
Match it to flow. Speck’s BADU Koi filter range runs from 6 to 14.5 m³/h at maximum, and all four sit inside the MultiCyclone 12’s 2.4 to 18 m³/h window. Take the 16 if you want headroom above that or the pond is run harder than an eight hour turnover.
Does a MultiCyclone replace my pond’s biological filter?
No, and this matters. It is mechanical only — it removes settleable solids. Ammonia and nitrite are still processed by your biological filter, and nothing about fitting a pre-filter changes that. It will not catch floating leaves either.
Not sure which one fits your system?
The right unit is the one that matches your pump’s outlet and the flow it actually moves, not the one with the most cyclones. Send us the pump and filter you already have and we will tell you which of these suits it — including when that is a cheaper one.