Alternatives to DE

[Bassottina]

Split by moderator from HERE. Please start a new thread for your own questions. Thanks, jblizzle

Hi Richard320!

I've just taken over care of our pool after having a service--never had a pool before. I've read a lot of your posts and have gotten much excellent info from them--thanks!

Could you comment, time permitting, on substitutes for DE such as the product called FiberClear mentioned above? Is this what you switched to that you're happy with? Why did you switch and are you still happy with the change?

I'm trying to figure out if I have one of these alternative products in my filter as I think I may need to backwash soon and I need to purchase the correct product to coat the grids. When I happened to see the pool service doing the breakdown cleaning of my filter last fall, the guy was hosing off the grids in the grass (much as you mention above) and the gunk that was caked on them was slightly bluish white. It did not look like the dirt colored stuff on many of the pictures I've seen of filters before being cleaned.

Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[Richard320]

Re: DE filter, no backwashing required?

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I'm still using it. Bluish tint might be from metals. I don't have that. And if the stuff is white still, maybe they clean too often.

 

[chiefwej]

Re: DE filter, no backwashing required?

I've also switched over to cellulose fiber. I've used three different brands so far, and they are all the same. Not much different from DE. It does seem to filter a bit finer, cost more, is biodegradable, and not as much of an inhalation hazard.

The white, blue tinged powder you saw the pool service washing off was probably DE tinged with a bit of copper algaecide. You can use DE and cellulose fiber interchangeably. I wouldn't mix the two, so you need to do a breakdown cleaning to switch.

 

[Bassottina]

Re: DE filter, no backwashing required?

Great info, thanks Richard320 & chiefwej!

I'm on good terms with the pool service I cancelled last week (got too expensive, and I would like to try BBB), so I'll ask them what they were using. After your explanation of higher cost of cellulose fiber, I'm betting it was DE since it's cheaper.

 

[techguy]

I have used the two interchangeable for the past two seasons or so. I am currently using DE as I found a bag in my garage. I think I can use a little less cellulose than DE per charge and I don't see a huge cost difference or performance/clarity difference. If there is, I don't care enough $$ wise and can't see enough performance wise.

When I keep the pool clear, both DE and cellulose last for several weeks and cost differential is less than $20 for a season, so what. The DE is harder to deal with when it's dirty. The cellulose is glorified saw dust and can be flushed to my wood chip side yard or lawn.