What type of pool filtration do you use? (houses, school)

[Pink Jazz]

There are three types of pool filtration systems - sand, cartridge, and diatomaceous earth. I would like to know, of those who have pools, what type of filtration system do you use?

We have a cartridge filtration system.

[maverick974]

I have an old pool built in the 80's with an old school sand filter.
Works great. No problems, it does the job and very user friendly.

[PNWGuy]

mine came with a big ball looking thing which im guessing is sand.

[maverick974]

Originally Posted by PNWGuy

mine came with a big ball looking thing which im guessing is sand.

Not necessarily. Most sand filters look like that but also, many DE filters look like that. They have a grid of filters inside that hold the DE which, of course, filters your water. Very effectively I might add.
One way to tell is a sand filter will have a hole in the top (about a foot in diameter +/-) that has some kind of screw in top but a DE filter will have no hole in the top. The entire top of the filter comes off. In other words, the "ball" will split in half to gain access to the grids.

[Burning Madolf]

I have one Cartridge and one DE (separate pools). I just cleaned the DE and it really made a difference (then today happened). The cartridge is newer (first cleaning is this or next week) but has also worked very well.

Just keep them clean and the pool chemed right and you'll probably be ok. A Swimming Pool and Spa Care Forum • Trouble Free Pool has a lot of very good info from some very earnest posters.

[Ponderosa]

I have had all three. I currently have a cartridge that replaced a DE. The worst: DE. The best: sand.

[maverick974]

Originally Posted by Ponderosa

I have had all three. I currently have a cartridge that replaced a DE. The worst: DE. The best: sand.

Hey Ponderosa,
I'm very curious as to why you like the sand filter the best and what you don't like about the others.
I'm not trying to make an argument, I just don't have any experience with a DE or cartridge filters.

[Ponderosa]

Originally Posted by maverick974

Hey Ponderosa,
I'm very curious as to why you like the sand filter the best and what you don't like about the others

The DE did the best job of filtering but was messy. When you backwash the DE comes out along with the water. Mine drained into a part of the yard. Over the years the DE built up and the ground there is white. Then you have to replace the DE that gets flushed out each time so there is the ongoing hassle and expense of that. When the grids fail (get a hole in them), it pumps DE into the pool as well. In summary, just messy to deal with.

The cartridge I have now does a good enough job, but requires taking it out and hosing it down occasionally. They also seem to have a rather limited life (especially if you neglect them). In summer the cleaning get pretty frequent with all the dust. In summary, lots of work to deal with.

Cleaning the sand I had on my old pool consisted of turning a valve and watching until the water ran clean. There was nothing to take apart and no messy DE to deal with. It was simple and did a great job of filtering as well.

EDIT: The reason I have cartridge now is that when my DE died I went to a salt water pool. Since I drain into my yard, I did not like the idea of pumping salty water into the landscape. A cartridge doesn't back wash of course, so it does not require a "drain field". It is illegal in my city to backwash into the street or a sewer.

[tiger08]

We have sand on ours. All newer houses in Vegas come with cartridge and are a complete pain to clean. The sand is nice, when it's dirty I just backwash for a few minutes and done.

[maverick974]

Thanks for clarifying that. I have a sand filter and I was considering going to a DE filter because a friend of mine has one and it keeps the water much clearer than my sand filter. The sand filter works fine but it just can't quite catch the finer particles so when I turn my pool light on at night, the water looks just a little "hazy". So if those other filters are that much of a pain, I might as well just keep what I have.....
Any thoughts???