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Sand filter or cartridge filter

Updated: 16.10.2026

The frame pool arrived with a cartridge pump, and you are tired of rinsing the pleats. Choosing a sand filter or cartridge filter is a real fork. Sand is cleaned by sending pool water to waste. A cartridge is hosed off and does not backwash. This page, from the Products Compared editorial team on 16 October 2026, uses the eight amazon.co.uk listings in this capture and the reviews on them. It does not rank those pumps. The [sand filter comparison](/hub/pool-care/sand-filter) is the table if you already want sand. There is no lab test. A qualifying amazon.co.uk purchase can earn us a commission at no extra cost to you.

The frame pool arrived with a cartridge pump, and you are tired of rinsing the pleats. Choosing a sand filter or cartridge filter is a real fork. Sand is cleaned by sending pool water to waste.

Our top picks

Intex Intex 26648BS

Best overall

Intex Intex 26648BS
9.2/10about £194.49
View offer
AQUASTRONG AQUASTRONG SFPV120T

Alternative

AQUASTRONG AQUASTRONG SFPV120T
8.8/10about £231.63
View offer
Intex Intex SX925 26642BS

Preis-Tipp

Intex Intex SX925 26642BS
8.2/10about £109.99
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On this page
  1. 1.What each filter removes
  2. 2.Water you throw away
  3. 3.What these reviews actually say
  4. 4.When to stay with the cartridge

What each filter removes

A sand filter here is a tank of silica, or of filter balls where the listing allows them. Debris stays until you reverse the flow. A cartridge is the pleated element many frame pools include. You remove it and hose it. None of these listings states a micron rating, and this page will not invent one. PWTAG notes that faster flow through media captures less, so a larger headline is not automatically finer than your cartridge. Filter balls are not a third category. The SPSG100, the AQUASTRONG, and the SPSG130T name a ball weight beside sand, and you still backwash that bed. Weights sit on the sand filter pump buying guide. A cartridge never asks you to dump pool water.

Water you throw away

Backwash runs pool water to waste until it clears, and you refill. That loss is the cost of not rinsing pleats. Intex puts a sand change at about four to five years, or two to three if you backwash often, so you do buy media again. A cartridge does not drop the pool the way a waste line does. On a small frame pool with a metered hose, that can matter more than the stars. One US review of Bestway B0DGMHBGZF calls the sand pump a downgrade after algae and the cost of refilling. That is one person, not a UK rate. Sand does not prevent algae.
Intex Intex 26648BS

Testsieger

Intex Intex 26648BS
9.2/10about £194.49
View offer

What these reviews actually say

On the about £109.99 Intex 26642BS, UK reviews prefer sand to the included cartridge and describe clearer water. The same set reports weak suction, sand in the pool, and pumps that died. Clearer water is not a vacuum guarantee. The 120 V SX925 reviews are about the plug, not about cartridges. Bestway, AQUASTRONG, and the generic tanks have no UK review text here. If brushing the floor is the job, weak suction is a reason to keep the cartridge. If you do choose sand, the order that keeps grains out of the pool is how to backwash a sand filter: pump off before every move of the handle.

When to stay with the cartridge

Stay with the cartridge if you will not send pool water to waste. If you will not backwash, you own a tank you cannot rinse in the sink. A very small pool, where one backwash is a large share of the water, is the same choice. Choose sand if you will backwash and you accept a sand buy plus a refill. The UK comments on that upgrade are about the about £109.99 Intex, failures included, not the about £305.07 Bestway. An unstated voltage, or a printed 120 V, can still make the pump unusable on a UK socket. For one name and one skip, use the best sand filter pump page.

Common questions

Should I bin the pump that came with the pool?
Not on a star rating. Keep the cartridge if you will not backwash, or if waste water dominates on a small pool. Move to sand if you will run the valve. UK reviews on the about £109.99 Intex describe clearer water after that swap, and also weak suction and dead pumps. Keep the old pump until the new one has run.
Does a sand filter waste water?
Backwash sends pool water to waste, and you refill. A cartridge is hosed off and does not drop the pool the same way. One US review of a Bestway listing objected to that refill. It is one review, not a loss measured for every tank. You still use tap water on a cartridge. The pool volume is what sand gives up.
Does sand filter finer than a cartridge?
These listings state no micron rating, so this page will not claim one. Faster flow captures less, in PWTAG’s note, so a larger pump is not automatically finer. The live difference is valve cleaning against water you throw away. Filter balls are not a finer third option in this capture either.
How often is the sand changed compared with a cartridge?
Intex says about four to five years in normal use, or two to three if you backwash often. Frame-pool cartridges are rinsed through the season and replaced sooner. Sand is not a one-time buy. The first bag is extra where the listing says so, and a later bag follows the manual rather than the stars.
Will a sand filter run a vacuum?
Do not assume it. UK reviews on the small Intex report weak suction as well as clearer water. A waste setting is not a vacuum hose. If you are upgrading to brush the floor, those comments are a reason to keep the cartridge, even if you dislike rinsing the pleats.
I got algae after I swapped. Is that the filter?
Not by itself. One US review of Bestway B0DGMHBGZF reported algae and refill cost after leaving the original pump. That is one account, and sand does not prevent algae. Do not take a chemical dose from this page. If you will not backwash at all, the cartridge remains the better match, balls included.

Related pages

Green pool water: what to do

Sand filter

Best sand filter pump: a UK top pick and best value

Sand filter pump buying guide: flow, sand and volts

How to backwash a sand filter on an above-ground pool

Pool sand filter UK plug: is it 220–240 V or 120 V

Sources

Public UK sources and the Intex manual, checked on 16 October 2026. Shelf prices, stars and review counts are the amazon.co.uk figures for these eight listings.

  1. HSE: swimming pool safety (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  2. HSG179: managing health and safety in swimming pools (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  3. PWTAG: filtration rate calculator (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  4. PWTAG TN50: swimming pool filter specification (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  5. BS EN 16713-1:2016 domestic swimming pool filtration (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  6. Electrical Equipment (Safety) Regulations 2016, regulation 35 (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  7. Intex Krystal Clear sand filter pump manual (retrieved 16 October 2026)
  8. Electrical Safety First: plugs and fuses (retrieved 16 October 2026)