Some advice please?

[Watermom]

Do you folks prefer sand, cartridge, or DE filtration?

Thanks,
Ray

You'll get a lot of different opinions in regards to this question. But, for me, sand is my preference. There is nothing easier to maintain than a sand filter and it does a perfectly adequate job of keeping my pool clear. It may not filter down to quite as tiny of a particle as a DE filter will, but, in most cases, you probably won't be able to notice it. Besides, many of us sand filter owners have discovered that by adding a little DE powder to our sand filters, it does filter out the smaller particles. Just my .02.

[waterbear]

Asking what kind of filter is best is like asking who you think will win on American Idol!
For me it's a cartridge filter because I find it delivers the best compromise between filtration and ease of maintenance AND since I have a SWG it means my water balance stays more stable since there is no backwashing and dilution of the pool water. (My salt, CYA, and brorates, and CH stay stable and don't really decrease with time.) To me that is a MAJOR plus to a cartridge filter since it reduces my chem costs even more!

Edit: and if us Cart owners need even better filtration we can use either a chitosan based (natural) clarifier or a bit of cellulose filter aid (DE substitue) and get even better filtration! I have never needed either but it's nice to know the options are there.