Sand filter or cartridge filter

[rolo918]

what does everybody like .my I'm thinking about going to a cartridge filter I've always used the sand I'm tired of dumping all the water out every time I have to backwash

 

[Z7What]

How often are you back washing?

Wayne

 

[pooldv]

The great debate! I have a big cartridge filter and lots, I mean LOTS, of trees that dump stuff in my pool. So, in a bad year I have to clean my filter 3 times in spring and 3 in fall, it takes about an hour and you're gonna get wet. Also, if you get algae you will have to clean it every other day or so. Many people here without lots of trees clean their cartridge filter once or twice per year. Get the biggest one you can.

Here is a page from Pool School that discusses various filters, Pool School - Maintenance and Cleaning of Pool Filters

 

[rolo918]

About every week and a half to two weeks

 

[JoyfulNoise]

DE and cartridge filters are great for fine filtration BUT if you get a lot of leaf litter that makes it through the skimmer basket, then you're going to be cleaning it a lot. You can mitigate that by using skimmer socks to catch the heavier debris but it really depends on your local environment.

 

[pooldv]

Be careful with skimmer socks. I tried skimmer socks one year and they would clog up completely and stop all water flow in less than 5 minutes when the trees are extra busy. I have to leave my skimmer/drain 3 way valve at 20% main drain to allow water flow when the skimmer baskets clog up. During spring and fall I can empty my skimmer baskets (no socks) every 15-30 minutes. I am probably an extreme case, you can see my tree situation in my build thread, link in sig.

 

[duraleigh]

About every week and a half to two weeks

If you choose a cartridge filter for that reason alone, you may find it clogging just as frequently or more so.

What is causing you to backwash so often......that's too much. When do you decide to backwash?

 

[rolo918]

after going to a variable pump I find that my pressure is not building as fast as it normally would before but I just had the variable pump put on last year so I will wait this year and see how it plays out I'm just tired of backwashing all the time there's no really reason why I backwash it just when I have time or convenient that's why I backwash


I do not have that many trees in my backyard as well so leave wouldn't be a problem

 

[gwegan]

So I like cartridge filters. But if you are backwashing frequently get a larger filter. We tend to recommend much larger filters than the pool industry recommends. I clean my 460 inch cartridge filter twice per year.

However, as stated above if you have a problem with lots of debris a sand filter handles it better.

 

[pooldv]

Check your pressure periodically at a higher RPM, like 3000. When the pressure rises 25% at the higher RPM then it is time to backwash.

 

[Chncdafied]

Sand filters are great due to ease of cleaning via back washing. But you are wasting water with chemicals you paid for in it. Cartridge filters are great filters as far as filtering efficiency, if I remember correctly 4 times more efficient then sand. I love my cartridge filter over my old sand. At night with my sand filter I could see particles floating in the water, with my pentair 420 not one speck. Check with your local Water system for rebates on changing sand filter to cartridge for water conservation.

Sent from my SM-N900T using Tapatalk

 

[crabboy]

Cartridge all the way! I only clean ours once a year and the pressure barely rises 2-4 psi over that time. My pool backs up to woods and a ton of junk falls in year round. The pollen in the spring in North GA is also quite bad. We don't cover the pool in the winter, so it is also filtering year round.

I'm also using the same 4 filter media elements that came with the filter coming up on 9 years now. So other than 2 hours of labor every year, I have not spent a penny maintaining it.

I also don't use skimmer socks. Not worth the effort of cleaning them every few days.