Why have a pool filter?

[EddieWalker]

I have a small 1,700 gallon pool that I fill up in summer and drain in the fall. It takes about 3 hours to fill it up, so I sometimes fill it and drain it several times during summer.

I've decided to use Bromine to keep it clear and stop algae. I'm also going to add a Nature2 system to it.

I currently have a 1/2 HP Hayward pump and a large filter system that a friend gave me. New filters are very expensive, so in the last two years, I haven't bought any. I was planning on it, but never seem to get around to it. Why do I need filters?

I have to baskets that catch pine needs, grass clippings, dog hair, crickets and whatever else falls into the pool. What does a filter accomplish?

My main reason to ask is that I haven't used it in two years, and it's so big that if I didn't have it, my view would be a lot nicer. I also don't want to buy filters. It's 3 feet tall and they seem like a huge waste of money. They also restrict the amount of water that my pump pushes. I had them the first year, and the got dirty, so I know they do something, but I didn't use chemicals then, and I am using them now.

What is the worse that could happen if I just took it out?

 

[MossRoad]

Well, if you haven't used it in two years, and things are fine, then what's the point, right?

Our pool is 12,500gallons - 24' round. We have a sand filter. Sand is cheap. I replace the sand every 4-5 years maybe. There's a pressure gauge on the side of the filter. I remember the setting in spring at start-up, when everything is clean. As the weeks go by, the pressure builds, and the outflow is noticeably less. When the pressure about doubles, I backwash the sand filter for 2 minutes, then rinse it for 2 minutes, then back to filter. I have to add about an inch of water when I do that, and makeup the salt back to 3500ppm. Usually about 10-15 pounds, so a buck and a half or so.

As the chemicals in the pool break down organic matter, the filter grabs it and holds onto it. Otherwise, it would just keep recirculating and settle to the bottom and make little piles of matter, and also the water would gradually get cloudy. The longer you go between filtration, or in your case, water changes, the better chance of some nasty organism building up in the water, and the less likely you'll have clear, clean, neutral tasting, non-smelling water.

So in a nutshell, the chemicals kill bacteria and organisms and the filter traps them so they don't recirculate and build up.

 

[bunyip]

We had a sand filter on the pool at our last place and the colour of the water when we backwashed it was disgusting, lot of body fats, hair and other nasties that you don't want to think about, the skimmer basket got a lot but not everything and certainly not soluble matter.

 

[EddieWalker]

Thank you, that makes sense.

 

[dodge man]

You will want a filter. It catches the fine contaminates that get in the pool. It keeps the water from getting cloudy. A sand filter is very common and does a good job. You just backwash it every few days and like already said, it’s amazing how dirty it is.

 

[riptides]

...It keeps the water from getting cloudy...

Fine contaminants.

I have a cartridge filter system, I backwash maybe, once a month.

 

[oosik]

You folks need to have a lake. No filters, no backwashing, lots of "natural things" swimming around. My little lake has 185 million gallons of water. Mother Nature handles it well. I tried it a couple days ago. Toe in the water - off the dock. Still too cold. It will be OK in August.

 

[gsganzer]

Eddie,
Maybe the filter you have is just overkill and something smaller would be better. They also don't need to run constantly. I just have a 6' stock tank (about 400 gallons) redneck pool with an Intex cartridge filter. I only run the filter for about 2 hours a day. I buy the cartridges in bulk at the start of the season and I probably go through a cartridge every other week.

 

[MossRoad]

We had a sand filter on the pool at our last place and the colour of the water when we backwashed it was disgusting, lot of body fats, hair and other nasties that you don't want to think about, the skimmer basket got a lot but not everything and certainly not soluble matter.

Yep. When I backwash it, I watch the color of the water. It's grey and nasty for about 20 seconds, then turns clear quickly. I generally only have to backwash just a few times a summer. Maybe 3-4 at the most. Then I drain the pool down in fall by backwashing and it's clean for next year.

We've had the pool for about 20 years. I've only changed sand twice now, and only because I figured I should, not any scientific reason.

 

[MossRoad]

You folks need to have a lake. No filters, no backwashing, lots of "natural things" swimming around. My little lake has 185 million gallons of water. Mother Nature handles it well. I tried it a couple days ago. Toe in the water - off the dock. Still too cold. It will be OK in August.

He's down there where it's hot, and has show dogs. There's been quit a few reports of dogs dying from ingesting algae in ponds that last couple years. I can see why he wouldn't want to take the chances.