Hello there! Again I will be a new pool owner and need some advice! I was told by a local pool store that as far as pumps were concerned, a 1hp was sufficient for a 11,000 to 13,000 gal pool. He also stated that a cartridge filter was a good choice as they ony need to be replaced every 3yrs or so. Is this true because I was searching this site and it appears that alot of owners went from a cartridge to a d.e. filter?. This is fine, but what is a d.e. filter?

Stacey

 

1 hp is fine. Might even be more than your need. I have 30,000 gal and 1 hp pump and have had no problems in the three years we've had the pool.

DE is diatamecious (sp?) earth, basicially fosil remains of tiny sea creatures (think of it as crushed up coral). You add it to the skimmer and it coats mesh grids inside the filter. You flush it away to clean the filter and then add more. It is not expensive and is the best filter medium. Do some googling and read up of particle size that the various filters can capture.

Cartridges are a pain to clean.

my .02

 

Is a d.e. filter the same as a sand filtration system?

Stacey8144

 

No DE is not a sand. like said I also like my DE filter have had all of them and Ill take the DE over any.

Might read up here http://virtualpoolandspa.com/

ED

 

Stacey,

The DE filter is a much better system. As the gentleman says, it is a pain to clean and be extremely careful in paying attention when you take that thing apart. It has several "fins" that only go one way. It is possible to clean them without disassembling but plan on taking your time to do a good job. Hard to spray into some tight spots. Otherwise they rinse off rather easy.

The 1HP pump is adequate but is still slightly low (not for YOUR pool, but for a larger pool). The larger pools from a reputable company are going with 1 3/4 HP. That's what they put in mine (22,500 gal). Again, your size pool I am sure is very good.

Eric