Anyone used "Zeosand" in place of regular sand?

[dbursch]

I'm told that it takes half as much as regular sand in a filter and filters as well as diatomaceous earth filters. Any down sides?

[KurtV]

I have it and it's OK.

It only uses half the amount as filter sand (by weight) because it's half as dense.

The theory is that an individual piece of zeolite has very, very small passages through it that the water passes through and that catch very, very small particles (just like DE). The problem with that theory is that the individual pieces of zeolite are relatively large (huge compared to DE)and much of the water goes between the pieces of zeolite rather than through those tiny passages. The smaller particles of course can go between the particles with the water.

Overall, I'm fairly pleased with it. I have the ease of use of a sand filter and I think that it filters better than sand. At the same time, I'm pretty sure it does not filter as well as DE.

Some folks here use a sand filter filled with sand or zeolite and add a small amount of DE in the hopes of getting the best of all worlds. I do that as well and do see a marginal improvement over the zeolite alone.

[Waterworks]

We began selling the stuff last summer. Everyone seemed to like it and I had a few comments from people with lights that the water looked much better at night. The most important thing if you do get it is to backwash upon startup. If not, the pool will go cloudy and become very difficult to clear up.

Brad

[GreenLight]

We began selling the stuff last summer. Everyone seemed to like it and I had a few comments from people with lights that the water looked much better at night. The most important thing if you do get it is to backwash upon startup. If not, the pool will go cloudy and become very difficult to clear up.

Brad

Do you mean that one should backwash everytime they start up the pump / filter? Is that true only if one is using zeolite?

[KurtV]

I'm not sure exactly what Brad was saying, but you definitely don't need to backwash a sand filter, whether filled with sand or zeo, each time you start the pump; just when filter pressure rises by 8 or 10 PSI from normal.

[bdavis]

I'm sure Brad was talking about initial startup. As in, loading it for the first time. You need to backwash and rinse, wait, then do it again several times. When backwash and rinse water is clear, your good to go.
http://www.zeobrite.com/PDF/InstallationGuide.pdf

Cheers

[beary]

I saw this on an Internet site advertising Zeosand.

>>Can the chloramine control be renewed? Yes. Like any water softening resin, the ZeoSand ammonium trapping can be renewed with a saltwater rinse. Drain the filter, fill with a 10% salt solution, and let stand for at least two hours. Then, backwash to waste.<<

So, does this mean that Zeosand performs differently with a Salt Generator system than a clorine system? Salt would be run through the system at every backwash. I know it is not 10% salt, but it seems like frequent backwashes would have the same effect.

Beary

[simsjim]

Quick question. Do you think that its okay to mix Zeosand and regular pool filter sand?

[CarlD]

Quick question. Do you think that its okay to mix Zeosand and regular pool filter sand?

I wouldn't. You'll probably gain the disadvantages of both.

[jtnaylor]

Been using it for over a year now and the pool is clearer than ever. I would recommend it.