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Filter balls vs sand for a pool

Updated: 16.10.2026

You have a sand filter and a listing that says a few hundred grams of fibre balls replace a sack of sand. Filter balls vs sand comes down to the job you will actually do. Stay with 16/30 if you will backwash and lift the bags. Move to balls only if you will take them out to wash and you know the grams your pump wants. The six packs, £3.99 to £13.99, are on the [filter sand comparison](/hub/pool-care/filter-sand). The Products Compared editorial team lined those amazon.co.uk files up with Poolpro’s Intex chart and UK shop pages on 15 October 2026. A qualifying purchase through our links can earn a commission at no extra cost to you.

You have a sand filter and a listing that says a few hundred grams of fibre balls replace a sack of sand. Filter balls vs sand comes down to the job you will actually do.

Our top picks

Windspeed Windspeed 1,400 g pool filter balls

Best overall

Windspeed Windspeed 1,400 g pool filter balls
6.5/10about £11.99
View offer
Intex Intex 29045 fibre balls, 500 g

Rank 2

Intex Intex 29045 fibre balls, 500 g
7.4/10about £10.99
View offer
Rakiuty Rakiuty 200 g pool filter balls

Best value

Rakiuty Rakiuty 200 g pool filter balls
5.5/10about £3.99
View offer
On this page
  1. 1.What you are comparing
  2. 2.What the listings promise
  3. 3.How you clean each one
  4. 4.When sand, when balls

What you are comparing

A sand bed is dried silica, grade 16/30, in 25 kg bags. It stays in the tank and you backwash it. PWTAG Technical Note 50 specifies that grade to BS EN 12904 for the sand filters the note covers. The Intex SX925 listing asks for 6.5 kg of silica, not included. Fibre balls are a light pack for the same style of tank, and you take them out to wash. This set contains no 16/30 sack. Glass, still backwashed, is on the glass filter media versus sand page. Intex 29045 is a 500 g bag whose bullets claim it stands in for 18 kg of silica. The six claims should stay unaveraged.

What the listings promise

Rakiuty at £3.99 states 200 g on the title, a bullet and the dimensions line, and claims that replaces 4 kg of sand. yunwailc at £8.99 claims 200 g replaces 5 kg, while the dimensions line says 190 g. Bomxmon at £9.99 claims 1.54 lb replaces 75 lb, and the dimensions line says 720 g. Intex 29045 at £10.99 claims 500 g replaces 18 kg of silica, with an item weight of 510 g. The material field says Glass and the title says fibre balls. Windspeed at £11.99 claims 1,400 g replaces 50 kg, while the dimensions line says 700 g. STEEIRO at £13.99 claims 1,800 g replaces 65 kg and, in the same bullet, 150 lb. Poolpro’s page for Intex 29045 lists 200 g for an SX925 and up to 1,500 g for larger Intex pumps. That chart is not in the Amazon file. Use a chart for your model if you switch.
Windspeed Windspeed 1,400 g pool filter balls

Testsieger

Windspeed Windspeed 1,400 g pool filter balls
6.5/10about £11.99
View offer

How you clean each one

Sand stays in the tank. Bestway’s sequence is pump off, backwash, rinse, then filter, with the sand between the level marks and the valve left alone while the pump runs. The full empty-and-refill is on the how to change pool filter sand page. Balls come out. Poolpro says to wash Intex balls with no detergent and not to backwash them. An Intex review describes a 30 degree wash that left them white. A Windspeed review says to skip fabric conditioner and the backwash setting, and to keep a second pack so the filter is not empty during the wash. A Rakiuty review describes a mesh bag and a wash after about a week. STEEIRO’s bullet says a laundry bag. One UK review says a larger filter needs washing more often.

When sand, when balls

Choose sand when you will buy the kilograms of 16/30 on the label and backwash on the valve. Grade detail is on the pool filter sand buying guide. Choose balls when you know the grams for your pump and you will remove them to wash. The Amazon slogans do not replace a pump chart. If you switch, read the Intex row first. It is 4.5 from 1,004 ratings, the only deep sample here, and the reviews include both a wash that worked and a larger-pool complaint. Windspeed prints both 1,400 g and 700 g. STEEIRO’s 5.0 from five ratings rests on one paddling-pool review. Listings that ask about salt water do not answer, so none of these packs is cleared here for a salt pool. Keep the tank on one media.

Common questions

Are filter balls better than sand?
They are lighter, and the UK reviews that discuss cleaning describe a wash rather than a backwash. They suit you when you will do that wash and you know the grams your pump wants. Sand suits you when you will buy 16/30 to the label and use the valve. The six “replaces” lines disagree, so none of them proves that balls outperform a correct sand bed. Intex’s 1,004 ratings are a reason to read that row. They are not a filtration result.
How many grams replace a 25 kg bag?
No gram weight here replaces 25 kg as a measured fact. The listings claim 4 kg, 5 kg, 75 lb, 18 kg, 50 kg and 65 kg, and several disagree with their own weight lines. Poolpro lists 200 g of Intex balls for an SX925, which asks for 6.5 kg of silica, and up to 1,500 g for larger Intex pumps. The ball dose comes from a chart for your pump.
Will one bag near £11 fill my filter?
A small filter might, and these files do not make it a rule. Windspeed at £11.99 claims 1,400 g replaces 50 kg, while the dimensions line says 700 g. Intex at £10.99 is 500 g claiming 18 kg. One UK review found a single bag enough, and another buyer needed more. Poolpro’s range, 200 g to 1,500 g of Intex balls, means some pumps need more than one 500 g bag.
Can I mix balls with sand already in the tank?
Keep the tank on one media. Sand is backwashed in place. Balls are removed and washed, and both Poolpro and a Windspeed review warn against backwash. A mixed bed is neither a stable sand level nor a pack you can lift out for the machine. Empty the old media before you switch. Any ball quantity still has to match a chart for your pump.
Are the balls cleared for salt water?
The listings that ask about salt water do not answer. That includes Intex, Bomxmon, Windspeed and STEEIRO in the files we checked. A non-toxic bullet is not a saltwater specification, and a pond or aquarium mention is a reviewer’s use. This page does not extend the six packs to a saltwater pool. You need a source that actually states saltwater compatibility. These files do not give you one.

Related pages

Best pool filter sand

Filter sand

Pool filter sand: the 16/30 grade and the 25 kg bags

How to change pool filter sand: empty, pour, rinse

Glass filter media versus sand: which bed to backwash

Sources

Public UK sources and amazon.co.uk listings used for this comparison, checked on 15 October 2026.

  1. PWTAG Technical Note 50: swimming pool filter specification (retrieved 15.10.2026)
  2. PWTAG filtration rate calculator (retrieved 15.10.2026)
  3. Holcim UK swimming pool filter sand (retrieved 15.10.2026)
  4. PoolStore filter sand 16/30, 25 kg bag (retrieved 15.10.2026)
  5. h2ofun swimming pool sand filter media, 25 kg (retrieved 15.10.2026)
  6. Intex: play sand and beach sand in a sand-filter pump (retrieved 15.10.2026)
  7. HSE INDG463: control of exposure to silica dust (retrieved 15.10.2026)
  8. Poolpro fibre-ball media for Intex sand-filter pumps, 500 g (retrieved 15.10.2026)