Switch to DE?

[chrisexv6]

After a week long battle with suspended stuff not getting filtered out, I had an "ah ha!" moment and added a bit of DE to my sand filter. Sure enough, overnight filtering and the water is almost crystal clear.

Which leads me to ask.....should I switch to DE?

Ive never had a pool with a DE filter, so I have some questions:

1. Which DE filters are good (subjective, I know, but not EVERYTHING has to be Hayward, right? )?
2. What size (I know they are in sq ft of grid)....I have a vinyl liner 22K gallon inground pool
3. Does the pump need to be changed? Im running a 0.5HP NorthStar that works perfectly for my S244T sand filter.....would that need to be changed for a DE filter?
4. Is it even worth it? Ive never had a problem with clarity of the water from the sand filter (no light in the pool to see all the leftover particles), but it does irk me a little when it takes a week to open the pool while the sand filter takes it time....filtering

Thanks in advance.

-Chris

 

[JohnT]

DE is not without it's problems. Sometimes, for example with an algae bloom or heavy pollen, a DE filter does its job too well, meaning you have to backwash very frequently. As often as hourly. You also have to disassemble the filter periodically to clean the grids. The sand filter with an occasional DE addition is a pretty good compromise.

 

[257WbyMag]

DE tends to be more high maintenance than a sand filter. If your water is clearing well after you have added DE to the sand filter, then why not stick with that?

Now DE does give the best water clarity since it filters the smallest particles. This is truly evident at night with the pool light on. Just depends on what you want to achieve really.

 

[chrisexv6]

Yeah, I think it was just a knee-jerk reaction.

Im known as "the pool God" in my family, but my reputation was slipping! Just took way too long to clear the pool up this year, no idea why (last year I had it open and cleared up within 24 hours!!)

The DE definitely worked....pressure rise overnight was 5 psi as it cleared up the water. Backwashed this morning so Ill add some more DE when I get home tonight.