Swimming Pool & Spa Help Guide & Tips -Pools Etc Inc 800-464-9898

There are three types of swimming pool filters, sand, cartridge and Diatomaceous Earth also known as DE.

The De filter filters the best out of the three filters with getting down to the smallest particle. The DE filters get down to 1-3 microns. The cartridge filters do not filter out as well as a DE filter but they do filter better than a sand filter. When a DE filter gets dirty, it can be cleaned by either backwashing the filter or regenerating and draining the filter. When you backwash the filter you do have to replace the DE powder. DE filters should be bumped or regenerated every 10-18 days unless the pressure gauge indicates otherwise.

The Cartridge filters get down between 10-20 microns but they are really easy to work with. When your filter starts to run sluggishly, you can hose down the cartridge or let it soak in a citric acid solution that can be found in our chemical section under filter cleaner. Typically a filter cartridge needs to be replaced every year to get maximum filtration. Cartridge filters tend to be the easiest to maintain out of any filter. Cartridges should be washed once a week for maximum performance.

Sand filters get down between 20-40 microns but they are relatively easy to take care of. The sand in the filter needs to be replaced every 3-5 years. When the sand filter gets dirty, they tend to work better. The reason for this is the pores close up with the addition of debris into the filter. Sand filters have to be backwashed every 10-15 days unless your pressure guage indicates otherwise. There is now a new media to put in the sand filters that replaces sand called Zeobrite. Zeobrite will filter down to three microns and it cut down backwashing up to 50%. Zeobrite can be found under the chemical section of our website.

Sand filter Sizing Guide:

17" System for up to 17,000 gallons.

19" System for up to 21,000 gallons.

24" System for up to 30,000 gallons.

30" System for up to 40,000 gallon

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