New pump & filter advice

[Flame]

At the end of last season the pump finally went out. I am considering a 2 speed version since I like the idea of being able to circulate the chemicals on the lower speed when needed. I am considering changing the filter at the same time, I have been thinking of changing to DE. I don't mind the extra maintenance if I get better clarity. Not sure how I feel about cartridges. Advice/ideas/recommendations?

 

[Flame]

BUMP

 

[Richard320]

Pool School - Pool Filter Comparison goes into deatils and the link saves me a lot of typing.

I have a DE filter. I also don't get much stuff blown in my pool. How much crud do you get blown in? Is water obscenely expensive or are you on a well?

If I had to replace my filter right now, I'd go with sand. If I wanted better filtration I could always add a little DE to the sand filter. My CH level builds up pretty fast, so I have to replace some water anyway from time to time, and backwashing is a quick way to do it.

Any filter will strain out microscopic particles. Water chemistry will do more to keep the water clear than what type of filter.

 

[Flame]

Fruit, pine and ornamental trees surround our property, in addition to our own trees. Last season we had lots of leaves, pine needles and flowers, along with pollen dust and bugs...we even had a bat (flying not baseball)!!!! I had to backwash the filter more times than I can remember and I still wasn't satisfied with it. Even when the chemistry was balanced and everything was right on, it just didn't look good to me, I even added a bit of DE to the sand. It helped a little but not enough for me to be happy with it.

That's why I was considering replacing the filter, since I HAVE to replace the pump (the main thing I need advice on).

Water cost is so-so, electricity cost is ridiculous.

 

[Richard320]

If you load up a sand filter that fast, you'll hate the DE filter, because it will clog up three times faster.

Have you considered using skimmer socks? Around here we go cheap and use hairnets or knee-high nylons stretched across the skimmer basket. It catches a huge amount of stuff before it gets to the filter to clog it.

With all that backwashing, you might be low on sand now, which will decrease the filtering ability. Perhaps do a deep cleaning and ensure the filter has enough sand while you're messing around with everything?

 

[Flame]

Yah, I did a deep clean last season, that's when I added the DE. I use skimmer socks too. Not sure that I loaded it up that fast, was just trying to make it look better.