cartridge filter maintenence

[waterbear]

EDIT: Did a little research on my own, and it looks like I'm talking about clarifiers. I'm going to have a cartrige filter, so may have need for something like this from time to time - any one better than the others?

IMHO, clarifiers are not worth the money. If you want to improve the filtration of a cart you can use a cellulose based DE substitute. This will provide finer filtration without clogging the Reemay polyester filter material. Also, cleaning a cart too often will decrease your filtration somewhat. A slightly dirty filter will filter out finer particle than a clean one, whether the filter is sand, cart or DE. This is what you are actually doing when you add DE to a sand filter or DE substitute to a cart. You are making the filter medium 'dirty' and allowing it to trap smaller paritcles than it could when it's clean.
If you have a problem with your filter not keeping the pool clear perhaps giving it a longer pump run time will help so you get a bigger water turnover through the filter. Also, if you pump is a bit oversized for your filter that will lead to decreased filter perfomance.

[derrikm]

IMHO, clarifiers are not worth the money. If you want to improve the filtration of a cart you can use a cellulose based DE substitute. This will provide finer filtration without clogging the Reemay polyester filter material. Also, cleaning a cart too often will decrease your filtration somewhat. A slightly dirty filter will filter out finer particle than a clean one, whether the filter is sand, cart or DE. This is what you are actually doing when you add DE to a sand filter or DE substitute to a cart. You are making the filter medium 'dirty' and allowing it to trap smaller paritcles than it could when it's clean.
If you have a problem with your filter not keeping the pool clear perhaps giving it a longer pump run time will help so you get a bigger water turnover through the filter. Also, if you pump is a bit oversized for your filter that will lead to decreased filter perfomance.

Is the DE substitute available at most pool stores? Also, is there a rule of thumb as to how much to use? I assume it is based on filter area, right? My filter is a 100 sq ft, any ideas?