Should I go with a 24" or 30" Sand filter?

[geocacher]

Hello!
So I have a 25,000 inground SWG pool with a Hayward VS 500 pump. Replacing filter. The current filter is DE but we have made the decision to switch to sand. Thinking Zeolite or whatever you all may recommend as the medium. Question is: Should I go 30" for less frequent cleaning or is 24" sufficient and 30" is overkill? Probably going with side mount Hayward.

Thank you for your guidance!

 

[1poolman1]

First, stick with pool sand, it will last for many, many years, is less expensive.
You would be happy with either of those filters, especially with a VSP. If the 30" fits, get it.
Remember that with any sand filter you will probably need to add a 50# bag at the end of 5 years, so a side mount valve makes that easier.
A bit of sand is lost at every backwash and when the filter is first installed don't be surprised if you see a lot in the backwash area. That's the fine stuff that gets through the filtering process where the sand is bagged.

 

[mas985]

With filters, bigger is almost always better.

General rule of thumb is that you should not exceed 20 GPM/sq-ft in a sand filter. A 24" will usually have a maximum rated flow rate of around 63 GPM, a 30" around 78 GPM and a 36" around 94 GPM.

The VS500 would have a flow rate of around 66 GPM at full speed on decent plumbing so you would want at least the 30" but given the size of the pool and your location, I would consider an even larger filter (36") to minimize cleaning.

 

[geocacher]

Thank you both for your advice! I will go with 30" or 36" if it fits. and rethink the whole zeolite thing.

 

[mShark]

I've had zeolite in my old filter twice and I regretted it both times. Good pool sand filtered better and didn't tend to channel. Both zeolite attempts ultimately ended with me having to break up the sand so I could remove it. I have HTH pool sand in my current filter.

 

[geocacher]

Oh man thanks for sharing your experience. Another vote for good quality sand

 

[PoolStored]

Zeo comes from 4 mines. The size can vary. Zeo can break down. When you buy it, you don't know what you are getting. The result is zeo that is too small and will fill your pool with it. Zeo often needs a good ten minutes to half an hour of backwashing when it is new to avoid this exact problem. There are situations where even that doesn't take care of it. Occasionally you get a bad batch of zeo, which is softer than usual, and it is constantly getting crushed and thus continues to put dust into the pool until it is replaced.

I'm lucky, when I bought the house and was "pool stored" the guy said this is what to put in...what did I know, he at least knew to backwash, and apparently I got the big particle stuff. Since then, I've helped dozens of pools with Zeo problems.

I would recommend avoiding the zeo. I don't think there is a huge improvement with the Zeo over sand.

 

[geocacher]

Thank you for the explanation/information. I am not sure I would have even considered zeo but my next door neighbor has use it for 4-5 years now and thinks of it as an improvement over sand. The more I hear about zeo though, the more I lean towards sand.

 

[wireform]

Keep leaning so you land on sand

 

[Lake Placid]

Another lean for sand…….nudge.

 

[PoolStored]

 

[Newdude]

Fine. I'll push them over the edge.




May i ask why cartridges weren't an option ?

 

[PoolStored]

May i ask why cartridges weren't an option ?

The current filter is DE but we have made the decision to switch to sand.

I agree with @Newdude I'd go cartridge, as big as you can afford. The original argument was Zeo vs. Sand. I'd choose sand. The real argument is why not cartridge?

 

[Newdude]

FWIW, the forum has been leaning cartridge for a while now. You can't please all of the people all of the time, but most convertees were upset they didn't switch sooner.