HARSCO METALS & MINERALS Filter Glass - 40 Lbs. Bag

Works great does a good job of filtering. Does not require a lot of frequent backwashing.

My inground 26,000 pool was installed in 2000. Installed with a vinyl liner (we are on our 2nd liner), NG Millivolt Heater 250 lbs Sand Filter & in 2001, a solar panel heating system was installed. Since then, I do most of my own repairs and all maintenance, only the liner and pump & motor assembly have been replaced once over the last 18 years. The company that installed the pool talked me out of replacing the sand until this year, I went through an entire seasons worth of shock, chlorine, clarifier - after 3 weeks after spring opening (I am in NJ), pool was still very cloudy *was green/brown cloudy, then after 3 major shocks in a row, a milky white cloudy". It was so bad that I couldn't see the bottom so I couldn't do my spring bottom cleanup. I knew that 18 year old filter sand was probably contributing to the problem because over the last 3 seasons, the pool took longer to clear after opening. So many articles say completely opposite opinions on how often you should change your sand filter media - some say every year which is completely insane, others - every 3 to 5, my pool company says never. There are ways to "recondition" your sand by opening top, using a garden hose to stir and remove channeling and embedded dirt. Truth is, only the first 6 inches or less - of your filter sand does any real work in cleaning your pool water - the rest of the sand is there to hold the active layer in place as a structural support and to prevent channeling (bypass of water around active layer) - anyone who owned aquariums or have worked on drinking water filtration systems would understand this concept. ANYWAY - 18 years is a long time so I decided to replace the sand - debated whether to try one of the newer proven media - narrowed down (after hours of research) to either zeolite or recycled crushed glass. Cost for sand, zeolite & glass were very close - due to amounts needed vs $$ per lb.. I wanted 3 things - 1) Effective proven cleaning & compatibility with 18 year old system, 2) Long lasting / low maintenance media 3) Good for environment / non toxic / inert - again cost would have been a criteria if there was a major cost difference and there wasn't (initial cost). I ruled out zeolite because of the maintenance / recharging, complexity with grain sizes & layering, questionable/conflicting longevity Glass won out because if I got 18 years from sand, glass being a heat hardened form of sand - I expect 20 years at least from glass, its recycled beer/soda/etc.. garbage that would have wound up in landfills/oceans - better to reuse & its inert & clean, so if & when I replace it, waste product can be used for landscaping ground cover - safely, finally it has the least amount of maintenance, less than sand, and much less than zeolite.How easy was it to replace sand & how is filter working after almost a month?I was concerned taking apart a filter that hasn't been taken apart for 18 years (broken gaskets/O-Rings, stuck parts/frozen/rusted bolts, fragile plastic parts, etc..) - fortunately, I replaced the pump a few years ago, replumbed intake / output main lines, installed unions & new O-rings, lubed everything up - so everything came apart without breaking. Next - how to remove 250lbs of old sand from a 10 inch round hole with sharp fiberglass edges - note - use decent flexible rubber gloves and long sleeve "throw-away" shirt - otherwise expect lots of cuts and scratches, 3rd - gotta love YouTube - use a Wet/Dry Shop Vac to remove sand - saves hours of work - just remove drain plug on sand filter, after water drains start sucking up the sand - depending on size of Vac - may require emptying 4 or 5 times - Sand is heavy be careful - once most sand is out - use garden hose to clean interior and suck the rest of the water/sand using Vac - I used Simple Green to spray and wash inside of filter. CAREFULLY remove Lateral Assembly - this is a fragile item.. Over the years I noticed a drop in pool jet pressure - I attributed it to install of solar panels (added headroom), then replaced tired old pump/motor when it failed - some improvement noted but not like when system was new. WELL - Clogged laterals will drastically reduce your output pressure - funny thing is your pressure gauge really doesn't indicate this problem. Cleaning the laterals took the longest amount of time and was the most tedious part of the install. You need a fine steel pick (can get sets of these on Amazon, Ebay - look a bit like dental picks but shafts are thicker for wider grooves - slowly/carefully slide pick through each slot, on each side of each lateral - mine had approx. 80 slots x 3 sides x 8 laterals, I used magnifying glasses with LED lights to look into each slot and remove the hardened cement like remnants of 18 year old sand dust, dirt & mineral deposits, caked into a cement like material. This is a tedious job, must be very careful not to crack or break the thin plastic lateral separators and plastic support structure, especially on older filters. Unscrewing laterals from main riser is also a delicate job, if they stick turn slightly clockwise (tighten) then counter clockwise as sand gets into the screw threads, use plenty of clean water and mild cleaning product like simple green - I also used white vinegar and soaked the lateral assembly in a bucket of 3 to 1 ratio water/vinegar - it helps to dissolve/soften minerals makes disassembly and cleaning easier. If you break a lateral depending on where it breaks and how bad, you may be able to glue it - try different products to see what works - otherwise you will have to order the part - some filters require taking laterals off before u can remove from filter housing, other brands have a knuckle which allows u to fold laterals up or down so u can remove riser/lateral assembly as one piece then take apart. Once you thoroughly clean each lateral, u can blow with compressed air or just air dry, I use a little silicon or teflon grease on the threads and re-install lateral/riser assembly in bottom of filter ready for new media (follow your filter manufacturer instructions or google your brand/model for steps).Installing Glass media:Again, lots of "opinions & Must Do's" - I wanted to do this right so I called sand filter manufacture - for my Puron Triton Meteor round sand filter - 1) Do I need to put down a layer of Pea Gravel & if so, why? - Answer - only if you want to - why would I want to? To save money of glass filter media - but Pea gravel is more expensive and I have to find out where to buy it in the size bag I need- FORGET IT - it offers no protection as the old sand has finer particles than the glass - so clogging would have occurred with the sand - yes had to clean laterals because over time sand ground down to dust, pea gravel would NOT have prevented that dust from entering laterals - NOT NEEDED. 2) Replace Drain Plug, set laterals & Riser in correct Position (FORGOT TO SAY Earlier - TAKE PICTURES as you take apart filter - take picture of lateral/riser position before you remove it from sand filter, take picture of filter control handle position before you take top off filter - so you could reassemble same way you disassembled. Some filters come with an alignment plate for the riser, which also has a cover on top of riser tube to prevent media from entering riser as you pour in media, use it if u have it, OTHERWISE - test riser position by fitting cover on top, making sure everything lines up (riser is centered) and is at correct height) - COVER RISER PIPE HOLE - u dont want to get media in riser pipe - u will clog everything up and filter will not work correctly - can be done with PVC cap (can buy anywhere that sells pvc plumbing parts) - this is best way - next is using strong tape like duct tape - remember it has to be removed so don't go crazy with strong glues or anything - some thick clear plastic - like the bag the media comes shipped in, can be wrapped around riser and either taped or ty-wrapped in place. Close Drain, and manufacturer instructs - cover laterals with fresh water - 2" over top over laterals before adding media - water helps media spread evenly over/under/around laterals and protects laterals from media weight/damage while pouring in. My filter held 225 lbs of sand x 80% recommended glass media = 180 lbs?? Comes in 40 lb bags - went with 5 x 40lbs= 200 lbs glass media - nothing else (no pea gravel, no need to buy "larger Grain Glass" from more expensive manufacturer / source - another "scheme" IMHO - just pour it in - not "rocket science" remember - there was just sand in there - same design over the last 80 years - so separating / grading & layering particle sizes in such a low tech filter device is a bit over the top & remember, only the first 6 inches does anything to begin with. To me and what I learned through research, talking to Filter manufacturer, reading etc.. the most important steps - carefully disassemble, clean, reassemble filter (especially those laterals), use correct amount - better a little under than over (weight/volume of media), Don't overtighten anything especially laterals but also unions, top gasket, etc.. and LUBE EVERYTHING = I use pool grade red gasket grease for all gaskets & O-Rings, and a good quality teflon grease for all threaded parts - I use Plumbers tape only where required and/or to stop a drip, if u have a worn o-ring - u may be able to save it or at least stem the leak until u order/replace it by flipping the O-Ring over, cleaning it real good (should be done anyway) sometimes if it has flat spots - heating fresh water to boiling, letting it cool down some and soaking worn O-Rings for 20 minutes may help "reconstitute" them enough to curb the drip to almost nill by also packing it with a good grease before assembly, may get u through the season.. OBVIOUSLY, when disassembling, have a place to hold your nuts, gaskets, O-Rings, don't leave the rings installed in their slots and expect them to still be there when you reassemble, they will dry out and fall out while you are working in some other area, take them out and let them soak in some mild cleaner cut with water.As you slowly fill canister, occasionally stick your arm inside and smooth / even out the glass media so it is relatively even all around - always careful not to touch / damage laterals or accidentally bump the riser pipe and move it out of position (BTW - this is not are tedious as I am making it seem, but I emphasize caution to avoid having an alignment problem held in by >200 lbs of glass). The glass is kind of polished and is not sharp - no cuts from stirring it around with bare hands - FYI.I marked the "high media" line inside filter before I emptied it so I know how much is too much, again having slightly too little is better than having too much cause it may overflow into pump or wind up in pool. - Water in filter was very dirty from trapped dirt in glass I guess - so after putting everything back together - checking everything out, I turned off valve to solar panels (bypass) and backwashed new media for a good 5 minutes - making sure I turned pump on/off several times in middle of BW cycle to really shake up the new media and to settle it properly inside filter ball. When BW water was clear for 60 seconds - moved filter handle to "Rinse" Cycle - did the same as BW except let Rinse run for about 2 minutes.Remember Pool was EXTREMELY Cloudy, was not holding Chlorine levels and hasn't had its Spring Major Bottom cleaning (vacuum to waste - dead worms, leaves, dirt that accumulated over the winter through the 2 draining vent panels on winter cover) - so I know I had tons of organic junk on bottom that I couldn't remove because I couldn't see the bottom. Pool has been running 2 weeks, 24x7, prior to media change. I left 24x7 pump cycle on, let media break in for 24 hours, double shocked pool (after getting PH to a low 7.2, most effective range for Chlorine shocking).Within 3 days (72 continuous filtering) Chlorine held, pool cleared up enough to see bottom for major spring vacuum to waste, vacuumed 2x over 2 days, refilled pool water (lots of water used vacuuming to waste) - adjusted water balance (alkalinity inched up to 100-110 max), CH to 200, PH to 7.35 - During Spring opening I am careful NOT to raise PH/Alkalinity & Chlorine shock levels too high at the same time to AVOID Copper Staining of white plastic pool parts (Jets, Steps, Ladder steps etc.. that ugly brown staining from copper leaching from pool heater) Once I am balanced enough to properly clean and sanitize on a regular cycle - and chlorine starts to drop towards Normal/High (6.0 - 8.0 PPM) - then I add 2 liters of Metal Sequestering agent, and my metal absorbing "ball packet" placed in skimmer - 48 hours later I will slowly get PH and Alk along with Chlorine into normal permanent ranges (Alk 110, PH 7.4 - 7.5, CH-200-225, CYA 30-40, Chlorine - 3.5 to 5PPM, Temp 84 - 90 F, Borax - 30-40, Copper from Heater - <0.6 PPM or as low as possible, Iron = 0 ppm. Unfortunately, having metals in pool water causes unexpected problems when shocking pool or when drastically changing PH, metals even if sequestered, can release into water column and attach to plastic pool surfaces in a matter of <30 minutes under certain conditions - if this happens u need to follow the complicated process of lowering PH to 7.1, reducing chlorine to 1PPM, then using absorbic or less expensive citric acid powder to treat stained areas (absorbic acid works faster but is more expensive than the slower working citric acid). These products will remove stains without scrubbing, but also further lower PH. Once stains are gone, add enough metal out liquid - let that run 24-48 hours, then start to bring PH / alkalinity back to normal - slowly - and low normal - like 7.2, then raise chlorine to normal 3-4PPM - the acids also eat away chlorine so getting levels back up can be very difficult, shocking is a bad idea at this point, try some non-chlorine oxidizer to help get rid of any organics and to help burn up excess citric/absorbic acids that may be left in pool. Use the acids sparingly, just enough to get rid of the staining. I bring this up here because there are claims that crushed glass filter media helps to get rid of metals - I don't know how that works, since glass is inert, it's not absorbing anything, they mention negative / positive charges, the glass having one charge and the metal and other contaminants having the opposite charge - I'll monitor copper levels to see if the glass catches these ions and holds them for backwash cycle.So Far I am real happy with the glass media - pool water is SPARKLING Clear - output jet pressure has increased dramatically - not sure if that is the media itself or the extra time spent cleaning the laterals or both - enough so, that I was able to set gas heater pressure switch DOWN because even with both solar (panels on a 2 story roof - water pumped up there by regular pool pump) and gas on together - outlet water pressure is good enough NOT to constantly trip the gas heater low pressure protection sensor - which was a problem in the past, especially if solar panels were turned on with NG heater (not enough water pressure / flow - now there is - should have taken before/after pressure measurements, oh well. Finally - pool was really cloudy, now crystal clear and no change in filter pressure gauge (still running 10 lbs panels off, 20 lbs, panels on) in other words all that dirt that I know is in the glass media has not caused a rise in pressure indicating a need for a backwash. I think I will back-wash in the next couple of days (been 2 weeks) just to see what comes out, dirt-wise, and how long in seconds does backwash take to "clear".. I'll upload a few photos later showing water clarity - I'll try to take around some bottom debris areas on the deep end..

I was new to pool ownership in 2018. I thought I might have had a leak in a lateral inside of my sand filter so I started doing research and I came across using crushed glass as a medium in the sand filter. I started researching it and could not find an abundance of information about it but everything I did find, mostly commercial use, had nothing but positive things to say about using glass in place of sand. I live in the south and have a typical 30,000 gallon rectangle pool. In my first year of managing it (with sand in the filter), once I understood everything and had it all figured out I would say the water looked really good but I still thought I needed to change my filter medium. After much debate with myself I decided to go with the crushed glass and I followed the instructions using about 20% less than the sand requirements. And literally overnight my pool water was clearer than it ever had been before. I mean amazingly crystal clear where I could now read the words on the cap of the main drain at the bottom of the pool in the deep end. Before, I had no idea there were even words on it! The other things I read about the crushed glass I have found to be true as well. I have used way less chemicals than I did last year, I run the pump less and I do not have to backwash is long. All of those things are true. Given how superior of a product this is I began to wonder why this is not mainstream with pool installations but it quickly occurred to me because that would mean less money in product and chemical sales for the pool industry. If you need to replace your pool filter media I highly suggest switching to this product.

Good glass media delivered fast and cheap. Has worked extremely well for about a year now.

Seems to be far better than sand. pump runs quieter and it filters stronger. water clears a bit faster as well.

Well, what can I say, I decided to take a chance on "Filter Glass" instead of sand for my pool... It is an interesting product, in the bag I received it was nicely crushed glass but one thing I noticed is that the glass shards were not uniform in size, some were micro grains others were the size of rice. Now I'm not saying this is a con, not at all as most pool companies recommend a mix of large and fine grained filter glass, My concern is that nowhere on this listing or package does it specify that it is both coarse and fine in a single bag. This may seem nit picky, but if someone was following instructions and bought this thinking either coarse or fine then they probably would end up spending more $$ on another bag... I think more clarification would be helpful. Also for about half the price you can buy this or similar filter glass at your local pool store...But enough of that, does it work? Yes, at least as good as sand does... I can't say it's a miracle product but I will say that it does pretty good and I've never had glass in the pool or visible contaminants coming back into the pool out of the filter.. If you need to change sand every 2 years and this glass every 4 then the price difference is worth it.A couple other things I noticed, when back-washing the water seems much dirtier at first (Done weekly same as sand) but clears up in about half the time. For my pool the water savings isn't much to speak about, maybe 5 bucks all summer, but if you have a large pool that could be a consideration....All in all, I would recommend this brand of Filter Glass, Price and unclear description of the mixed coarseness lost a star but I would still say, if you're interested in filtering your pool with glass media, this brand is one to consider...Just my thoughts,AK