Aqualoon media

[TheRealJRogers]

Does anyone have any experience with Aqualoon sand filter media? As near as I can tell, these are polymer fiber balls that were, perhaps, originally marketed as water retaining media for flower pots, etc. So, is this another of those Zeo-good-ideas? (Boy, was that a bad good-idea.) My sand needs to be rejuvinated this spring and I'm thinking about using a combination of a sand bed with these on top. (So what's wrong with just sand? Nothing, of course. But who can stop futzing with their pool, anyway.)
TheRealJRogers

[hydrofool]

Aqualoon is working for me so far.. Last month my 25yr old sand filter ruptured. I almost went with a $3000 proposal from a pool company to install a fancy DE filter. I instead decided to take a chance with a DIY project using Aqualoon. I ordered a 24" Hayward canister, a hose kit, and six boxes of Aqualoon from Doheny all for less than $600. The total weight of the six boxes was less than 10lbs, replacing 300lbs of sand! I never would have considered DYI if I had to handle all that. Installation went smoothly, and I was up and running in less than half a day. The next day cloudiness had improved modestly. I applied some clarifier, and the next morning the pool was crystal clear. Surprisingly, the pump pressure has barely risen and remains steady (several days now), I have yet to do a backwash. This suggests that Aqualoon has much more capacity than sand, and I could have gone with a smaller filter canister. Anyway, time will tell, but Aqualoon looks like it could be a real game changer.