I have a 33 foot above ground pool and I am possibly looking to replace it. The reason for replacing my filter is I have a cartridge filter right now and it doesn’t have good suction. So when I hook my vacuum up, it doesn’t vacuum nothing off the bottom of the pool. I don’t know if it is the filter or what. The cartridge filter was new last year as well as a new 1.5 hp hayward pump. I was told by stores around me that I would have to look at a filter that holds 250lbs of sand which would be 25 inch tank. This would be very costly which I don’t have the money for that size. Is this the correct size they are telling me or is this to big and I can look at smaller/cheaper ones? I want to go swimming in my pool but without being able to vacuum the bottom I can’t due to the crap that is on the bottom. I hope you can help me.
Thank You!
Hi Robyn2015,
Your current 1.5 HP pump should have enough suction to vacuum the pool, so it sounds like something is going on with your equipment that is causing low suction. The very first thing I would do is clean the cartridge as a dirty cartridge will affect your suction. Another common item for low suction is a clogged skimmer basket so make sure to clean your skimmer basket, or the water is below the skimmer. One other item to check is for an air leak on the suction side of the pump, here is an Article on How to Find and Correct Air Leaks.
If you do go with a new filter then the 25" sand filter would be the size I would suggest.
Thank You
Patrick
www.inyopools.com
I have cleaned the cardridge multiple times, the water is above the skimmer and there are no leaks and the skimmer basket isn’t clogged. I was told from another site that a 22-23 inch sand filter would be big enough. I was currently looking at a 24 inch sand filter, would that still be to small for my 33 ft above ground round pool? I am beginning to get frustrated becuase I am told different things as far as what would be the correct size.
Thank You
Hi Robyn,
Sorry for the all the confusion, I will try to clear things up. First off the pump is what creates the suction and not the filter, however an undersized filter can adversely affect your pump meaning that a properly sized pump could not be pumping water to its true potential if your filter is undersized. We always suggest going bigger on the filter as you put less stress on your pump meaning your pump will last longer and you have longer time between cleaning the filter because the filter has a larger cleaning capacity.
Can you give us the exact specifications on your Hayward 1.5 HP pump? There should be a model name on it (i.e. Hayward Matrix, Hayward Super Pump, etc…) Also how far away is the pump from the pool? This information will help us determine the output of your pump (i.e. gallons per minute). Once we know the gallons per minute (GPM) of water your pump is outputting then we will know the proper filter to pair with your pump. For example, if your pump is outputting 100 GPM then we would not want to pair the pump with a filter that can only handle 50 GPM. I hope all this makes sense. I will wait to hear back on your pump details and then will make the proper suggestion for your filter.
Thank You
Patrick