Quote Originally Posted by tbird2340 View Post
RE: Sand vs Cartridge.. My friend at work had a cart and he switched it for a sand.. The guy at the pool store tonight sorta had me leaning towards a cart filter because he made it sound like the sand ones were a major PITA.. He said you have to (or should) change the sand yearly and that it's a bear to get all the wet sand out etc..

So yea.. LOL.. It depends on who you ask..
Yes, but not in the way you're thinking: the cartridge advocating pool guy is lying! You do NOT have to change the sand annually, or anything like that. I've worked on old commercial pools that had 40+ year old sand that still worked just fine! Replacing sand *IS* a pain, but if you maintain your pool chemistry and don't use Baquacil, odds are it's a job you'll never have to do!

Sand filters may have to be cleaned more frequently than cartridge filters, but it's MUCH easier. You can backwash a sand filter (or some DE filters) wearing a suit. Try cleaning a cartridge filter in a suit . . . and you'll need a new suit!

There *are* a number of people here who have cartridge filters and like them -- but many of them have pools in arid regions, where there are water use restrictions, and where they don't have thunderstorms filling their skimmers (and filters) with leaf bits and bugs.

One key point that applies regardless of filter type: get a BIG filter and a LITTLE pump, and your pool life will be much easier.