The sand above ground pool filter has been around for a long time and are relatively easy to maintain. The require to be back-washed several times a year during the season. They do not use regular sand like you find on a ocean front beach, but a extremely fine sand. They do a great job and are similarly priced against DE filters. The filter media, (sand) stays inside the housing and can last for several years before needing to be changed.

DE Filters have been around a long time also. This is the type of pool filter I have. They require more maintenance than sand filters, but do a better job of filtering your pool water. They use a filter media that is called diatomaceous earth and is made from tiny fossilized water plants. Each time you backwash your pool, you flush out the media and need to add DE (diatomaceous earth) back in. Its very easy to do, but just requires another step. Out of the 3 types of an above ground pool filter, this one does the best job of filtering.

Cartridge filters are the last type of above ground pool filter. Priced against the other two, these tend to be the most expensive. They do a better job of cleaning your pool water than sand and almost as good as DE, with regards to filtering. The trade off here is that, many times you can go a whole season without any maintenance on them. When its time to clean the filter, you remove it from the filter housing  and cleaning it by an ordinary garden hose. This can be done for a good number of cleaning sessions, but eventually you will need to replace it.

As I stated, all three versions of the above ground pool filter will do a good job. It is just up to personal preference. In my case, DE was the type that was installed with my swimming pool.

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