Sand Filter w/ Glass Media

Jump to latest Follow Reply
Flying Tivo said:
Probably im the only one with an alternate Sand Media. I have been using Zeo sand for the life of my pool(almost 4 yrs). While i will agree on all of the previous comments, i do have to say that Zeo in particular has better filtering capabilities. Dont want to debate if its 5,10,15 or 20 micron size capabilities, but i will say that zeo is not for everyone, much less new pool owners who are just getting the hang of it. Zeo has particular set of rules that need to be followed for best results. Not to brag but my pool appearance has been praised. Have a look.

A4FE4AC3-72D3-4993-A218-B81F5358A1EE.jpeg

A4FE4AC3-72D3-4993-A218-B81F5358A1EE.jpeg

Click to expand...
I’m using the activated glass media and it works fine. The issue is that it cost 800% more than regular sand and doesn’t provide much (if any) benefit. I’d rather have my $$$ back.
 
FWIW, we have a sand filter that originally contained glass media, upon recommendation from our pool seller/installer. He said that's what he used, and he really liked it. He also recommended Baquacil. That's a whole 'nuther story, though! :(

Being the first permanent pool for us, all things went fine... for a couple years. Then the Baqua-Blues set in. We did the conversion to TFP upon opening the following spring. The final step of the process was a media replacement for the filter. As we got to that point, I was suddenly, "Holy Crud! That thing's full of glass shards!"

I started out with a metal scoop, safety goggles, and heavy-duty elbow-high rubber gloves. And, of course, my wife with camera and unfunny comments...
Upon opening the filter, the glass was much finer that what I had envisioned. My "HazMat" gear was way too cumbersome to use inside that small hole in the top of the filter. I took off the gloves and very, very carefully, gently rolled some of the just-removed glass in my fingers. NO CUTS! Felt just like sand! Voila! After that, it only took about 15 minutes of bare hand work with the scoop to get it all out. (It definitely helped that my "videographer" departed when no blood flowed, BTW.)

We are now on year four of sand, with perfect water and no problems. If I recall, the glass back in 2016 was around $45 to fill the filter. The sand a few years later was like $25. So, there's that. I can't personally tell any difference in filtering efficiency between the two. I also can't tell you that one will slice & dice up your swimmers any faster than the others, should they decide to occupy the same space. :oops:

Best of luck to you as you make your own personal choice on a filter and/or media. The good thing is nobody on here wants to make a nickel off you, no matter what you go with. You've gotten some great insights from most of the posts above, for free!

Enjoy the day, and Support TFP!
 
ghall6292 said:
FWIW, we have a sand filter that originally contained glass media, upon recommendation from our pool seller/installer. He said that's what he used, and he really liked it. He also recommended Baquacil. That's a whole 'nuther story, though! :(

Being the first permanent pool for us, all things went fine... for a couple years. Then the Baqua-Blues set in. We did the conversion to TFP upon opening the following spring. The final step of the process was a media replacement for the filter. As we got to that point, I was suddenly, "Holy Crud! That thing's full of glass shards!"

I started out with a metal scoop, safety goggles, and heavy-duty elbow-high rubber gloves. And, of course, my wife with camera and unfunny comments...
Upon opening the filter, the glass was much finer that what I had envisioned. My "HazMat" gear was way too cumbersome to use inside that small hole in the top of the filter. I took off the gloves and very, very carefully, gently rolled some of the just-removed glass in my fingers. NO CUTS! Felt just like sand! Voila! After that, it only took about 15 minutes of bare hand work with the scoop to get it all out. (It definitely helped that my "videographer" departed when no blood flowed, BTW.)

We are now on year four of sand, with perfect water and no problems. If I recall, the glass back in 2016 was around $45 to fill the filter. The sand a few years later was like $25. So, there's that. I can't personally tell any difference in filtering efficiency between the two. I also can't tell you that one will slice & dice up your swimmers any faster than the others, should they decide to occupy the same space. :oops:

Best of luck to you as you make your own personal choice on a filter and/or media. The good thing is nobody on here wants to make a nickel off you, no matter what you go with. You've gotten some great insights from most of the posts above, for free!

Enjoy the day, and Support TFP!
Click to expand...
Yes. The glass media looks identical to sand, except for the color. It’s not like broken beer bottles.

My glass media was close to $800 to fill the filter, but they say it has a lifetime warranty. If I had known before I bought it that normal sand also didn’t wear out, I wouldn’t have spent the extra cash.
 
Last edited:
Flying Tivo said:
There is Nothing Activated about glass media, just ground up glass.
Click to expand...
Maybe it was ionized? Something about it being used at seaworld. I’ll have to look up what it actually was.

Edit: my receipt just says “permanent glass filter media”. Ha. Looking at some of the options they claim it can filter finer particles down into the 5-10 micron range and have more surface area than standard pool sand. I wonder how accurate that is?
 
Last edited:
*paging @JoyfulNoise*

So to make glass we take pool filter sand (silica) and add washing soda to lower its melting point to save energy. Then we add lime to make it waterproof, yet the 2 additions only make up 25% to 30% of the mix.

So we melt it and sculpt it into a glass zebra and it sits on Aunt Enda's shelf until she ends up on the roof of a car and we recycle it while cleaning her place out.

They crush it into 'glass media' for pool filters, but isn't it our same exact pool sand that we started with in the end ? Possibly with some color additive and better stories to tell from its journey ?
 
You have to be careful when using the term "sand" because "sand" is not a well-defined material. There are a bazillion types of "sand" and where it comes from determines its composition.

The construction material that we think of as "sand" that is used in cement forming as well as in pool filters, is actually not a sustainable material. It's taken mostly from beaches. Its a aggregate material that is mostly composed of silica (SiO2) at about 60 wt% or higher. The rest of the material is made up of amphiboles, or "rock-forming" minerals such as aluminosilicates and feldspars. There's a smaller percentage of light weight materials like zirconia and other ceramic forming minerals. What you don't want in "sand" are carbonate or alkali minerals like calcium/magneisum carbonates. Those materials are typically of biological origins (shell forming and coral forming organisms). Alkali carbonate minerals have pH dependent solubilities that make them poor sand components.

Glass is nothing more than refined silica (SiO2) that has had alkali elements (sodium, calcium, potassium, boron, etc) added to it to modify its mechanical, optical, and rheological properties. It can have colorants added to it as well, typically from transition metals that produce distinct color centers. Very high purity silica is called quartz and it's a crystalline material that is very chemically inert with very unique optical properties. So, one can use "glass" in their filter but it's just going to be 10X more expensive than "sand" and not really offer any benefit.

Zeolites are a completely different class of minerals that are microporous materials consisting mainly of aluminosilicates. They are extremely light weight materials will huge surface to volume ratios. They are typically used in advanced filtration process for their abilities to absorb various kinds of organic and inorganic compounds on to their surfaces.

"Activated" glasses are just silica glass materials that have had their surfaces chemically modified to present "active" elements (iron, titanium, manganese, zirconium, etc) to their surroundings in the hope of catalyzing certain chemical reactions.

Is any of this relevant to pool water chemistry ... I think it's easy to be fooled into believing that these materials will perform inside a pool filter the same way they do in a lab setting. While the zeolites might offer greater filtration performance, it's easy for them to become overwhelmed with "crud" and then have those huge surface areas fouled up and useless. Zeolites are typically restored to their original performance by baking them at high temperatures to essentially burn off the crud. Activated glasses are similar - pool water likely presents enough "junk" to them to completely foul and INACTIVATE the material. Reactivation is also heat driven.

Anyone emptying their sand filter materials into a kiln when they do deep cleanings?? If so, I'd love to see some pictures.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Newdude and Flying Tivo

Enjoying this content?

Support TFP with a donation.

Give Support
You must log in or register to reply here.
Thread Status
Hello , This thread has been inactive for over 60 days. New postings here are unlikely to be seen or responded to by other members. For better visibility, consider Starting A New Thread.
Top Bottom
Back
Jump to latest Follow Reply