pool filter not very good, what to do?

[stevehaigh]

i don't want to put this in the pool forum because i want local advice.

my sand filter doesn't seem to be doing anything, i can run it all night and the water looks identical in the morning. at the moment i clean my pool once every couple of weeks with aluminum sulphate (san som) which is cheap but takes time.

so, i don't want to replace my filter, mechanically i think its fine, but wonder about the media. does anyone use zeobrite or similar products, do you think its works well and where's the best place to buy?

i've also heard of people adding a few spoons of DE to a sand filter, anyone try that?

or maybe even an inline cartridge filter after the sand filter.

i know the ultimate answer is probably to replace the sand filter with a DE filter but as always, i'm trying to do this on the cheap.

thx steve

[steelepulse]

Pm member Valentine for some options.

[LivinginKata]

we installed a sand filter when we built our pool. Worked great for a couple of years, then just seemed not to clean the pool at all. We called in our pool equipment supplier to solve the problem, tried removing/replacing the sand, complete inspection of all parts. But nothing worked. In the end I replaced with a DE filter, yes it was expensive fix, but well worth it. Plus we use much less water cleaning the filter compared with much water required for back wash a sand filter.

[nedkellylives]

Sand filters are a waste of time and money, we replaced ours with a new one because a pool expert said the old filter was faulty

15K baht later we still had the same problem, pool water not cleaned properly

There was supposed to be new filter sand with the new filter but they mixed some of the old sand in and tried to take 2 bags of the

new sand away, which we still have

We do the same as Steve use aluminimum salphate to get the water clean

Had a DE filter in Australia, never any problems and easy to clean when required

Edited March 28, 2014 by nedkellylives

[stevehaigh]

its hard to know what to do. for some people the zeolite zeobrite option is great, but this thread http://x.havuz.org/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=8415 says it is rubbish and that forum is for pool pros, but mostly cold climate pool pros.

the shop close (opposite fishermans village rawai) to me sells zeolite 25kg for 750 baht which is pretty cheap i think

[nedkellylives]

its hard to know what to do. for some people the zeolite zeobrite option is great, but this thread http://x.havuz.org/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=8415 says it is rubbish and that forum is for pool pros, but mostly cold climate pool pros.

the shop close (opposite fishermans village rawai) to me sells zeolite 25kg for 750 baht which is pretty cheap i think

Thats the shop i went to arrange the changing of my filter sand

Their maintanance man said the filter was faulty, which was B/S

Using alum as a filter aid

i have a article written by a pool company on the Internet that says pool water 7.0 to 7.2, 1 pound of alum to each square foot of filter

added dry or as a slurry through skimmer box, i do not know my square footage so will guess

South Shore Gunite Pools, www.southshoregunitepools.com A new Zealand company

Edited March 28, 2014 by nedkellylives

[JesseFrank]

Sand as filtermedia lasts only 3-5 years before it has to be replaced. Zeolite filters much better and lasts at least 3 times that long.

Take a closer look at the Zeolite at the shop, you will find that it is only 15 Kg bag, and price is ok.

[nedkellylives]

Sand as filtermedia lasts only 3-5 years before it has to be replaced. Zeolite filters much better and lasts at least 3 times that long.

Take a closer look at the Zeolite at the shop, you will find that it is only 15 Kg bag, and price is ok.

Does it filter the very fine dust that comes from a building site??

[JesseFrank]

Sand as filtermedia lasts only 3-5 years before it has to be replaced. Zeolite filters much better and lasts at least 3 times that long.

Take a closer look at the Zeolite at the shop, you will find that it is only 15 Kg bag, and price is ok.

Does it filter the very fine dust that comes from a building site??

Zeolite filters particles to 5µ, where sand filters up to 20µ. If you can get hold of some dust and measure it, you will have your answer.

[nedkellylives]

Sand as filtermedia lasts only 3-5 years before it has to be replaced. Zeolite filters much better and lasts at least 3 times that long.

Take a closer look at the Zeolite at the shop, you will find that it is only 15 Kg bag, and price is ok.

Does it filter the very fine dust that comes from a building site??

Zeolite filters particles to 5µ, where sand filters up to 20µ. If you can get hold of some dust and measure it, you will have your answer.

You do not know, fair enough, you measure it if its possible

Waist of money if it does not remove the very fine dust particles, which it probably does not

[nedkellylives]

its hard to know what to do. for some people the zeolite zeobrite option is great, but this thread http://x.havuz.org/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=8415 says it is rubbish and that forum is for pool pros, but mostly cold climate pool pros.

the shop close (opposite fishermans village rawai) to me sells zeolite 25kg for 750 baht which is pretty cheap i think

If you do try it let us know the result

Lots of different opinions on the Internet about maintaining pools, businesses promoting Chemicals

and long filtering times and private posters with different opinions

We run our filter 4 hours a day, 2 in the morning and 2 in the evening, put chlorine in twice a week

and check PH once a week, when raining have to add acid and when topping up from govt water

have to add soda ash on accasions

[stevehaigh]

after reading more about zeolite i decided to stick with sand. to fill my filter with zeolite would be about 7000 baht vs. 1500 for sand and i don't want to spend that kind of money and find i have more problems than i started with.

but i'm going to try adding a bit of DE into the skimmer, i'm read that can be quite effective, and cost almost nothing

[stevehaigh]

on a related pool cleaning note, at the same shop i bought the sand, the place across from makro / fisherman village, i also picked up some aluminum sulphate (san som) flocculant for a big clean before running the filter.

usually i get the crushed crystalline stuff but this time, i got some fine power, 150b a bag. i'm not sure if its chemically the same as what i normally use but wow, did it work great. it cleaned all the dirt to the bottom in 2 hours. i left if overnight anyhow and them vacuumed to waste as usual. it normally take 3-4 days of vacuuming every day for all the dirt to settle out and vacuum away but with this stuff i think 2 times will be enough. i've only done one vacuum so far and it looks great now, just a very fine layer or dust on the bottom, mostly by the walls.

and the water feels so nice and fresh after cleaning like this

[gamba]

I have a large pool, 9x20 m. with 240 m3. water. the last 4 year I use two D.E filter. Clean really good and cheap to run. I think this is the way to go with this system.