Current filter is a Hayward DE60nn, and is shot I am taking it. Pool store want $800 to basically replace all the guts (60 sq. ft DE grids, DE Manifold, and some other minor charges like gasket and sealer.
So I always wished I had cartridge filter instead (smaller mostly).
So with a 30K gallon IG plaster with a 2 HP northstar pump, what size cartridge filter would I require to replace my DE filter?

Bigger is better! I'd look at the Pentair Clean and Clear Plus 420 or the StaRite Mod Media (System3) 450 square foot cartridges. I'm not a Hayward fan, so I can't recommend one of theirs!

simicrintz, Any reason you are not a Hayward fan, just wondering.

Man the price of the replacement filters on the system 3 is dang near the cost of a new filter. They must be proud of them filters.

I read something about cartridge filters needing cleaning (every other day in one of them I read) very frequently when there are a lot of trees present, as in my yard. I do get a lot of "stuff" in my pool, but large stuff is usually caught by the leaf basket (on my suction cleaner hose) and or strainer basket (Hayward northstar pump). But i do get a lot of small stuff (dust and dirt from a variety of places), not to mention pollen time in spring. I found with my DE I would have to backwash two or three times in the spring (mostly due to tree pollen) and a couple times more during the year. How would a cartridge filter change this?

You'll probably have to clean a cart filter no more often than you backwash your current DE filter; possibly even less. The system 3 cartridges are cutting edge (and still covered under their patent), so they're very expensive. I would get a Clean and Clear or Hayward Swimclear (sorry Bruce! ) with at least 400 square feet of filtering area. Neither the Pentair nor Hayward cartridge filters have many problems.

Which is easier to get to the filters for cleaning swimclear or clean & clear? i mean if both are about the same, might as well look for the easiest to get into if you know what I mean.

Hayward is kind of a "low end" product here. Leslie's carries it since there is no competition from anyone else, so it gets pushed by them pretty hard. 9 times out of ten the line is chosen based on price alone, and I have no real support for them, so I tend to shy away for that reason as much as any.

My System3 cartridges are almost 9 years old, and they look like new still. I've seen 15 year old cartridges look great still as well. In fact, I do not know anyone who has ever bought replacement cartridges for a Mod Media, and the old pool company I worked for has literally sold 1,000's of them! Maybe that's why they price them like they do!



No worries I love quality, if it is pool equipment, vehicles, stereos, motorcycles; whatever! If I can buy the best, even if it takes a little more saving to get there, I will. The "best" is often discretionary, so my opinion of the best may be different to yours (does not apply to flex pipe ). I just happen to be a big fan of the StaRite and Pentair brands, and not so much Hayward. Like you said though, MITS, cartridge filters are pretty trouble free!

I had a cartridge filter when my pool was installed. I hated cleaning them, should get two so you can swap them out. I have a sand filter and it is SO much easier just to backwash. Only down side is losing some chemically treated water when backwashing, but to me it was worth it.

Just my 2 cents.

Backwashing is pretty easy, however I hate filling my pool up 3 inches every time i want to backwash (unless a big rain shower matches when it needs backwashing, very infrequently). So $25 in water to throw it out on the grass.
My neighbor has a sand filter, and his water just is not as clear as mine typically is. Don't know if a cartridge will change that all that much from the DE, because others I know with cartridges seem to be Ok. If it were not for the fill cost, I would be tempted to leave it a DE.