Dryden Activated Filter Media and What Model Filter Is This?

[gunthonungo]

I don't know if this is the correct thread area or not, but.... Does anyone have experience with Dryden's Activated Filter Media.... is it any good? Is it just a waste of money? Does it work better than sand? We have a commercial pool and for the last 3 or 4 years we've had to change the sand once a season. I was hoping this stuff would put an end to that whole changing out sand headache.


This entire season, we haven't been able to get rid of an algae problem and it's driving me nuts. The pool has almost been unusable since it has been cloudy and green no matter what we've tried... Every time I start getting the pool cleared up.. bam... within a few days it goes right back to green and cloudy. I have a feeling that the sand isn't doing a good job filtering again. Either that... or the entire filter finally needs to be replaced. Only thing is,, it doesn't seem to be defective in any way.... like no broken laterals, nothing worn out or anything.... It is really old though... probably more than 40 to 50 years old..... Is anyone familiar with these filters? And how do I know if it needs to be replaced? What signs should I look for?


It's either a swimquip or sta-rite HR30 or HRP30 I've never been able to figure out which one....

 

[mknauss]

Algae is not a filtering problem, it is a chemistry problem.

Sand rarely needs to be changed. Only if you have used certain pool store potions or after a Baquacil conversion. Sand is millions of years old, using it to filter pool water does not wear it out.

How are you testing? Can you post a complete set of test results?

Please fill out a signature -- see Pool School - Read This BEFORE You Post

Take care.

 

[gunthonungo]

I will get an updated test a post it tomorrow. I've updated my signature as well.

 

[mknauss]

From your signature it appears you do not have your own test kit. Realize that pool store tests are not recognized by this forum as they are inaccurate, not repeatable, and not reliable.

We suggest you get your own proper test kit. Two have all the tests you need, the TF100 from TFTestkits.net or the Taylor K2006C.

If you get a pool store test it can be used for an indicator, but we will not suggest any solid guidance or plan of action based on it. You need your own test kit.

Take care.

 

[thebombardier]

The idea with Dryden's Activate is that it's supposed to be ionized/negatively charged which disallows the buildup of "biofilm" inside the filter tank, which is why sand needs to be changed out eventually. At least that's what Maytronics says. In theory you should never have to change out the Dryden's. I've had a few of my customers change over to it with success. At worst they see no advantage over sand but mostly it's an improvement. The biggest success story was a 28' round, always in the sun, very high weekly bather load. They were always battling cloudy and green water, like you said, and the Activate helped a lot. No issues the first year they converted, and overall the pool is much more manageable since.

As mknauss said, green water is pretty much exclusively a chemistry issue, so make sure your sanitization is in order before blaming the filter.

 

[slickraft]

I had that exact same filter and brass backwash valve at my house but it was set up for DE instead of sand. How I hated all those nuts and bolts! The pool was built around 1980 so you certainly have an old one there. I still own the home but the filter was replaced after it was crushed by a neighbor's falling trees over 15 years ago.

I agree with the others on the algae. The filter is very unlikely to be your problem and plain old pool sand has worked for me in both my pools for many, many years.

 

[duraleigh]

Just repeating already good advice........fix your green cloudy water issues by fixing your chemistry.

A sand filter, properly managed, can go decades without changing sand. Simply keep it clean with about an hour's worth of annual maintenance.

 

[domct203]

The idea with Dryden's Activate is that it's supposed to be ionized/negatively charged which disallows the buildup of "biofilm" inside the filter tank, which is why sand needs to be changed out eventually. At least that's what Maytronics says. In theory you should never have to change out the Dryden's. I've had a few of my customers change over to it with success. At worst they see no advantage over sand but mostly it's an improvement. The biggest success story was a 28' round, always in the sun, very high weekly bather load. They were always battling cloudy and green water, like you said, and the Activate helped a lot. No issues the first year they converted, and overall the pool is much more manageable since.

As mknauss said, green water is pretty much exclusively a chemistry issue, so make sure your sanitization is in order before blaming the filter.

If your pool is kept sanitized and algae/bacteria free there is no biofilm to build up.

 

[DolphinRep]

If your pool is kept sanitized and algae/bacteria free there is no biofilm to build up.

I encourage anyone interested in the Dryden product to do some research on the reason it was invented. Pools that have chemistry fit for human exposure are never truly bacteria free and sand is an ideal environment for bacterial/biofilm growth.

The Dryden product was created to create safer swimming environments with greatly reduced harmful disinfectant byproducts. The filtration properties and permanent nature of the media are features of the product but were not the main impetus to create it.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I encourage anyone interested in the Dryden product to do some research on the reason it was invented. Pools that have chemistry fit for human exposure are never truly bacteria free and sand is an ideal environment for bacterial/biofilm growth.

The Dryden product was created to create safer swimming environments with greatly reduced harmful disinfectant byproducts. The filtration properties and permanent nature of the media are features of the product but were not the main impetus to create it.

A pool properly sanitized with chlorine at the correct level based on the cya level is as clean as you'll ever get it, no matter which filter medium you use.

Maddie

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greatly reduced harmful disinfectant byproducts.

Which harmful byproducts are those ?

Maddie

 

[domct203]

Pools that have chemistry fit for human exposure are never truly bacteria free and sand is an ideal environment for bacterial/biofilm growth..........

If the pool is ‘safe for human exposure’, what’s the point here? We (humans) are exposed to bacteria every minute of our life, not just in a swimming pool.

Are there any independent studies showing the media’’s effectiveness on bacteria that is actually relevant to person to person disease and other water borne pathogens that are not addressed with the proper levels of residual sanitizer (eg. chlorine)?

 

[DolphinRep]

A pool properly sanitized with chlorine at the correct level based on the cya level is as clean as you'll ever get it, no matter which filter medium you use.

Maddie

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Which harmful byproducts are those ?

Maddie

Trihalomethanes, Cyanogens, Nitrosamines, and Trichloramine to name the worst of the bunch.

The Dryden system was originally invented to prevent lung disease and shortened life expectancy in captive marine mammals. Similar to what is now being called "lifeguard lung" in humans. Captive marine mammals are also kept in chlorinated vessels.

Chlorine is great for killing things. It and it's disinfection byproducts aren't the greatest for human exposure. Germany for example has extremely strict guidelines on chlorine levels in public pools due to heightened concerns on DBPs (disinfectant byproducts):

Germany - DIN 19643-1: 1997-04 Standard
Free chlorine: the limit values 0.3 and 0.6 PPM, (hot tubs 0.7 and 1.0 PPM)
Combined chlorine: the limit value of 0.2 PPM

Versus

USA - National Spa and Pool Institute, recommendation
Free chlorine: 1.0 to 4.0 PPM
Combined chlorine: none

I'm not here to start debates by any means. Just hoping to shed some light on Howard Dryden's work. If this is seen as a promotional post in any way I am completely fine with it being edited or removed.

 

[DolphinRep]

If the pool is ‘safe for human exposure’, what’s the point here? We (humans) are exposed to bacteria every minute of our life, not just in a swimming pool.

Are there any independent studies showing the media’’s effectiveness on bacteria that is actually relevant to person to person disease and other water borne pathogens that are not addressed with the proper levels of residual sanitizer (eg. chlorine)?

The point was to reply to your comment that "If your pool is kept sanitized and algae/bacteria free there is no biofilm to build up." While humans can tolerate the levels of bacteria in the water the bacteria still exists and can propagate in the excellent environment that sand provides. The biofilm that the bacteria in the sand filter produces will increase the production of harmful DBPs and that biofilm can cause clumping and tunneling in the filter bed.

I have experienced a consumer's extreme chlorine demand problem being solved by changing the old sand to fresh sand. Biofilm can be a serious issue even in a "clean" pool.

 

[Swampwoman]

With all due respect, while lifeguard lung is attributable to chloramines such as the thrhalomethanes and trichloramines you mention, in a TFP pool kept according to the [fc/cya][/FC/cya] you will generally not get a chloramine build up in the first place

We advocate testing regularly for cc, and maintaining an elevated FC until eradicated if same exist above .5 ppm.

In a commercial indoor setting with high bather load, your comments may be more germane, but not for a typical outdoor residential pool that maintains FC at a 7.5% ratio of cya.

 

[DolphinRep]

I completely agree with you. I’m only stating that bacteria exists in pools and readily collects on the surface of sand.

With all due respect, while lifeguard lung is attributable to chloramines such as the thrhalomethanes and trichloramines you mention, in a TFP pool kept according to the [fc/cya][/FC/cya] you will generally not get a chloramine build up in the first place

We advocate testing regularly for cc, and maintaining an elevated FC until eradicated if same exist above .5 ppm.

In a commercial indoor setting with high bather load, your comments may be more germane, but not for a typical outdoor residential pool that maintains FC at a 7.5% ratio of cya.

 

[YippeeSkippy]

I completely agree with you. I’m only stating that bacteria exists in pools and readily collects on the surface of sand.

....and chlorinated water washes over the sand...

 

[kadavis]

It's the HRP30, really the only things that go bad are the laterals or diffuser. Both are still replaceable, but if you never opened up before could be a nightmare. The only other possible problem would be channeling through the filter. I've also seen the sand actually calcified because poor water balance and the fact that most don't want to open

 

[needsajet]

Welcome to TFP! Good to have you here

The sand is fine in your filter and since you've replaced it recently, and perhaps no deep clean is needed. In future years, that can be done.

When you get your kit, let us know your numbers in a list like this:

FC X.X (to the nearest 0.5)
CC X.X (same)
pH X.X
TA XXX
CH XXX
CYA XXX

What does your water look like?

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This article was really helpful to me when I started out with TFPC:
TFPC for Beginners

 

[CJadamec]

Not for nothing but the drydens activate isn't made from sand its another pulverized glass filter media product. Saying its ionic charge repels or resists bio film is quackery. Bio film will be deposited on any surface that algae and bacteria grow on. This include every single surface in your pool the water touches. Proper chemical sanitation and maintenance of the pool easily keep the any layer of bio film in check. Simply brushing the pool with a pool brush and backwashing or cleaning the filter is more than enough to remove any bio film that might form. Bio film is very durable and yet somewhat fragile. Once the surface of the film is scratched and the chemical sanitizers can get under the film, the film is destroyed. Bio-film is a catchy buzzword but it's nothing new and we have been getting rid of it without any fuss before any of us knew it was there.

The filter is full of the same water as the pool. If the pool water is chemically maintained and bacteria/algae can't grow in the pool then they also cant grow in the filter. The filter gets full of bacterial and algae because it's designed to remove them from the water after the sanitized water kills them. A filter that gets clogged up is a filter that is working perfectly.

If there is any reason drydens filters better it's most likely because it has a finer micron retention rating because the media is ground to finer pieces than regular pool sand. Its also supposed to be added in multiple different layers to your filter again so that the course layer on bottom traps the fine layer in the middle and prevents it from getting past the laterals and back out into the pool. To bad every time you back wash those layers get mixed up and you will end up will microscopic pieces of glass in your pool water.

Simply adding DE to a sand filter gets you all the benefits of this fancy proprietary media at a very small fraction of the cost and you don't have to fill your filter full of recycled glass.

 

[DolphinRep]

I encourage you to do more research on the product and Howard Dryden’s work.

Not for nothing but the drydens activate isn't made from sand its another pulverized glass filter media product. Saying its ionic charge repels or resists bio film is quackery. Bio film will be deposited on any surface that algae and bacteria grow on. This include every single surface in your pool the water touches. Proper chemical sanitation and maintenance of the pool easily keep the any layer of bio film in check. Simply brushing the pool with a pool brush and backwashing or cleaning the filter is more than enough to remove any bio film that might form. Bio film is very durable and yet somewhat fragile. Once the surface of the film is scratched and the chemical sanitizers can get under the film, the film is destroyed. Bio-film is a catchy buzzword but it's nothing new and we have been getting rid of it without any fuss before any of us knew it was there.

The filter is full of the same water as the pool. If the pool water is chemically maintained and bacteria/algae can't grow in the pool then they also cant grow in the filter. The filter gets full of bacterial and algae because it's designed to remove them from the water after the sanitized water kills them. A filter that gets clogged up is a filter that is working perfectly.

If there is any reason drydens filters better it's most likely because it has a finer micron retention rating because the media is ground to finer pieces than regular pool sand. Its also supposed to be added in multiple different layers to your filter again so that the course layer on bottom traps the fine layer in the middle and prevents it from getting past the laterals and back out into the pool. To bad every time you back wash those layers get mixed up and you will end up will microscopic pieces of glass in your pool water.

Simply adding DE to a sand filter gets you all the benefits of this fancy proprietary media at a very small fraction of the cost and you don't have to fill your filter full of recycled glass.