Quote Originally Posted by CarlD
Have you TRIED the DE-in-the-Sand method? I have no experience with Zeolite but I gather it's primarily an ammonia remover (I could be wrong).

Or maybe it puts ammonia IN your water--something that I think is VERY bad to mix with chlorine. Remember: I know little about Zeolite.

Surely there is NO way that Zeolite is cheaper than sand and DE--is there?

Backwashing every 2 weeks (about my average) is not what I consider an arduous task. If I ever run a hard pipe into the storm sewer it will be even easier--I won't even have to roll out and roll up the B/W hose--just flip a lever and watch the sight glass....

Still, do you have DIRECT experience that Zeolite works better than DE in Sand? Or are you just guessing because Zeolite has done well for you?

My water is sparkling clear too--even at night with the lights on--and it wasn't before I started using Poconos's DE trick. It was clear, but not sparkling.
I recommend it because it has worked so well for us. We had no water available to us other than from a very hard water iron rich well. We wanted the maximum filtration we could get from the filter with the least amount of maintanance. We got that with the sand filter and Zeolite.

We knew the pool was going to get it's share of air borne debris from the various trees in the area. We also wanted to put as little effort as possible into pool maint. We got that from the SWG, Poolskim, Pool Rover, sand filter with Zeolite. I've had to backwash the filter one time since the pool was installed in early March.

I don't know that you can justify the cost over DE in sand. However here are some things to consider.
1. You only use have as much Zeolite as you would sand.
2. You backwash much less frequently which conserves water and chemicals and is easier on the enviornment.
3. Zeolite is a natural bio-degradable medium so can be disposed of safely which includes using it in your garden.
4. The reduced labor and maint. hours should add up to some value.
5. Zeolite is renewable. When the filtration qualities diminish you recharge the medium with a salt solution. It is "supposed" to outlast sand many times over. Our neighbor has a never ending sand pile as he replaces it every year (softswim user).
6. I don't think a cost of $40.00 for a 50lb bag is all that expensive comparied to the per ounce per pound cost of other pool chemical products. We needed 175 lbs for a total cost of $160.00 with some left over.

Just some things to consider.