New guy question Waterway vs Hayward

[mstng]

Wow... I appreciate that insight. Didn't realize that the sand shouldn't be an issue. I do indeed know the spring pollen and it does build up thick. Never heard of a skimmer sock. Pardon my ignorance but what is DE?

I still have to invest another 300 plus for a pump. and with pump and filter at 500 it sounds tempting. But I am now thinking about another hayward, DE and a sock

Thanks again

[Watermom]

DE is diatomaceous earth which is the ground up fossilized remains of diatoms, tiny aquatic organisms. It is used as the filter media in DE filters among other uses. You can get it at a pool store and maybe at Lowe's or Home Depot, etc.

This thread may be helpful. (Until your registration is complete, you'll probably need to do a cut and paste and paste it in the URL of your browser window AFTER you log out to be able to get to it.)

http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthr...to-sand-filter

[CarlD]

A Skimmer Sock is just that: A stretchy "sock" that goes in your skimmer. "Skimmer Sock" is a brand, like "Band-Aid" but there are several brands. They are cheap and effective.

[PoolDoc]

Mstng,

You hurt yourself, by not giving your location. I just processed your registration, and if the geo-location IP info is correct, you are in the Pensacola area.

I don't like cartridge filters generally; I've seen them used on commercial pools and I have NEVER seen that work out well. Mark (mas985) has one on his home pool in California, and does like them.

But we both agree that they work much better on the west coast and in arid areas then they do in south-east with leaves, debris and thunderstorms. Unless your pool is screened or in the middle of a 500' x 500' parking lot, if you are in Florida, you probably do NOT want a cartridge filter.

DE filters can work well, but . . . they don't do algae! Live algae stops them up almost instantly. Sand filters are much more forgiving.