Lay My Hat

Hi
I need to purchase 36 Sq. Ft. Grid Pack 18" for my outdoor pool. It has a DE filter. Model American Titan 582090. I cannot seem to find anyone in Malta that supply, nor any online stores to dispatch to Malta(Europe). does anyone know of an online store within Europe who ships to Malta in Europe.
I have found some US companies that can ship to me but the postage is 4 times as much as the cost of the grids plus then would need to pay vat plus customs tax over and above.
Any help is appreciated. thanks

https://www.ownersdirect.co.uk/accommodation/p6107888

That's quite an old filter. There isn't a lot to be gained using DE, it's expensive and messy, contains a lot of free silica (bad for health). Have you considered changing to a sand filter?

Hi

We ve seen pools with sand filter and we think it is never as clear as with a D E filter that is the reason why we never changed the filter, but thank you for your idea.

That is true, to get close to DE filtration levels you need AFM glass from Dryden Aqua and not sand. Advantage with AFM is not only fine filtration but it never needs replacing, so none of this headache again.

Can you clean out & switch from sand to AFM glass teapot? Or does the filter itself have to be changed as well?
Having recently changed our sand it is not something one would relish doing on a regular basis. Lasted 5 years or so but all the same it's time consuming & fairly arduous in an underground plant room.

Yes, It's a straight swap, vacuum out as much sand as you can, make sure no slimy patches are left in the filter and away you go.

Cheers!

I mention Dryden Aqua AFM as the filter media because of it's pedigree, It is used in 1000's of pools, water treatment plants and huge aquariums. There are knock off looky like products out there in various forms but they do not behave in the same way and some are unsafe.

I have cut my fingers on several occasions with these knock off versions, the glass in some is thin shards, by comparison, AFM is like granular sugar and has been part of a rigorous testing and certifying process.

I am just off out but I will pop back and try to post some pictures of what I mean from one of my most recent jobs.
This is the nasty glass from another job the other day and given to me by the customer, 3 guys sitting around picking out glass shards from their fingers.


This is AFM grade1, the same guys, dubious of fitting glass reported no problems with this one.


What you can’t see on the photo is how thin the shards of the nasty one are, like flat splinters. AFM is like granulated sugar by comparison. Also note the varying sizes of the knock off, especially the tiny particles which made their way into the pool.

Resurrecting this thread as I am just about to change the sand in my filter and was wondering about glass instead.

I understand glass lasts for ever (however long that is ) but at least lasts longer than sand, are there any other advantages?

Who told you sand "wears out" ? Not a French pool supply company I suppose.
Follow Teapots advice on glass medium if you really want to change.

Dryden Aqua's AFM has advantages. The surface is treated by a two stage process to activate it. That makes the surface self sterilising so it won't be colonised by bacteria.

The activation puts an electrical charge onto the surface which attracts the opposite charged bacteria to the surface where it is held until the increased force of the backwash dislodges it.

The shape of the AFM particles means the filter media can filter down to 4 microns so it removes more dirt, oocysts etc, that means there is less for the chlorine to do. The water will be clearer, adding some flocculent means the AFM can remove even smaller particle than DE can remove.

To make maximum use of the AFM glass the water filtration rates should be observed, that will save some electricity which in turn would pay for the AFM glass and produce more saving long term.
Hope that helps.

bornintheuk wrote:Who told you sand "wears out" ? Not a French pool supply company I suppose.

No-one has told me sand "wears out" and I don't think I said that it does, They do recommend that you change it every 3 - 5 years though and I am hoping that glass would last longer, is this not the case?

Thanks for the advise teapot, do you need to put larger size glass particles in the bottom of the filter as with sand?

Dusty wrote: Thanks for the advise teapot, do you need to put larger size glass particles in the bottom of the filter as with sand?

Yes you would normally use Grade 2 over the laterals and the rest grade 1

Dusty wrote: No-one has told me sand "wears out" and I don't think I said that it does, They do recommend that you change it every 3 - 5 years

Exactly - change every 3-5 yrs by inference means that "they" say it wears out and stops performing its job of filtering the water.
Decrease in efficiency of the media, sand, in the filter can be brought about by several parameters.
Channeling- where channels are formed through the bed of the sand which can allow particles to get to the spider laterals easier. This can be avoided by lengthening the backwashing and rinsing cycles or increasing their frequency.
Gunk - build up of debris mixed with oils etc ( suntan liquids) that produce relatively solid areas within the filter bed. Once again regular backwashing etc and good chemical balance will help here.
Using the wrong type of sand in the first place can also be a false economy.
Whether glass will last longer than sand under identical circumstances I cannot comment on having only used sand in my pools and whose sand is still performing well after 10 yrs.
Correct maintenance of your pool chemicals, filters etc is the most important aspect of having a clean healthy pool.

Thanks for your reply bornintheuk, I suppose the question I was formulating is why do 'they' recommend channging sand every 3-5 years? Ours has been in the filter for at least 5 years, possibly 10 and still appears to be performing well, the pool is still bright and clear and easily maintained and I only want to change it as a preventative measure.
The glass I am looking at (AFM) claims that it will never need replacing. The problems you outline appear to be equally possibly using glass media so I was wondering why they claim that glass will last indefinately yet sand needs changing?