Filter balls - Filterballs

Comparison of the most important filter ball types

Filter balls are the heart of our innovative hot tub and Swim Spa filter method.

Filter balls are not all the same - there are very large and significant differences! Only Ego3 filter balls are exactly optimized for use in hot tubs and Swim Spas in terms of size, weight, density, fiber strength, fiber structure, and fiber surface. We have specially developed these because the products available on the market (white cotton balls, blue fiber balls) did not meet our price-performance criteria. Our customers should get the perfect performance at the best price.

We do not have the cheapest filter balls, but the most affordable filter balls with the best price-performance ratio.

Why this is the case, you can read in the table below. We have tested and tried all extensively to be able to offer our Filterballs customers the perfect filter balls.

Fiber filter balls

Original EGo3 hot tub filter balls (included with every Ego3 set!)

Filter balls from Fibalon 3D

blue fiber balls for swimming pools

Filter balls Steinbach or others

white cotton balls

How often to clean?

every 8-10 weeks

every 1-2 weeks

every 2-4 days

Self-disinfecting?

YES through elemental silver not soluble from the fiber

YES but for swimming pools with less silver

NO absolute germ spreader

Flow resistance?

very low and not increasing

very low, slowly increasing with whirlpools

very high, rapid clumping

Durability of a filling?

1 year

3 months

2-4 days

Price for 300 grams?

approx. 60 euros

approx. 35 euros

approx. 10 euros

300 grams are enough for?

8-10 years

2 years

6 months

Cost per year?

approximately 6 to 7 euros

approximately 17 euros per year

approximately 40 euros per year

Filter performance accuracy?

1 Micron

5 Micron

10 Micron

simple and quick cleaning by hand?

YES

YES

NO

Can damage the hot tub (filter)?

NO

NO

YES

Can clog (hot tub stops)?

NO

PARTIALLY

YES

CONCLUSION - FILTER BALLS TEST RESULT

OPTIMIZED AND TIME-TESTED, IDEAL SOLUTION FOR HOT TUB FILTRATION - THE RIGHT FILTER BALLS FOR HOT TUBS

CONDITIONALLY USABLE, SERVICE LIFE AND CLEANING INTERVAL TOO SHORT, IF YOU HAVE REMAINS OF IT, YOU CAN USE THEM UP

ABSOLUTELY UNSUITABLE FOR AMERICAN WHIRLPOOLS, PERMANENTLY CLOGGED, RISK OF DAMAGE TO POOL OR PUMP

Ego3 hot tub filter

RESULT FILTERBALL TESTS

In summary, it can be said: Filter balls made of fiber material are the right and best solution for water filtration and hot tub water care. Cotton filter balls are a cheap and poor copy of fiber filter balls, which, although cheap, are expensive overall and require much more effort or can even damage the hot tub.

TO THE HOMEPAGE EGO3 HOT TUB FILTER

There are various filter balls on the market. Basically, they can be divided into 2 main categories:

Fiber balls

These are filter balls made from recycled PET continuous fibers, such as the Ego3 filter balls. There are also various versions depending on the application. Among the fiber balls, there are different variants (e.g., in blue, gray, green without bacterial protection for koi ponds, green with bacterial protection=Original Ego3 filter ball). Ego3 filter balls for Ego3 hot tub filters are, for example, specially optimized in terms of fiber (length, thickness, surface) and composition (silver content, size, winding) for use in hot tubs to offer our customers the best price-performance ratio.

These variants of filter balls are optimized for the application purpose in terms of diameter, fiber thickness; fiber structure, fiber surface, and composition. Therefore, you should only use original Ego3 filter balls for your hot tub. These are exactly the right size/fiber stiffness for the pressure conditions in hot tubs.

We guarantee that this is the cheapest and best solution for you. Just because fiber balls (such as blue Fibalon pool filter balls) are cheaper, this is not really an advantage, as the lifespan is significantly shorter due to the thinner fiber. These blue fiber balls are optimized for sand filter systems (with backwash) for swimming pools with 10 times less suction.

The best combination of price and lifespan is the original Ego3 filter balls. Otherwise, we would use and sell other filter balls!

Their advantages are:

  1. hardly any flow resistance due to the open structure
  2. very high dirt absorption due to the open structure
  3. very easy to clean also due to the fiber structure
  4. filters every particle from 1 micron

Cotton balls (mostly white)

A very inexpensive variant of round filter material. However, these "filter balls" are completely unsuitable for our application in hot tubs and Spas.

They are much too compact/dense in structure and far too soft in firmness for our hot tub pressure conditions.

These balls clog the Ego3 filter system within a very short time and therefore have to be replaced again within days, which unfortunately eliminates the cost advantage.

Furthermore, there is a risk that if these clump together, such high pressure builds up in the Ego3 container that the bottom or the entire container breaks. The pumps are immediately affected if these cotton balls compact, and in the worst case, your pump burns out or the container breaks, and parts of it destroy the pump or clog pipes.

Their disadvantages are:

  1. expensive, although they cost very little, because you need much more due to the short lifespan and difficult cleaning
  2. clumping: the filter balls are far too dense, causing clumping and flow problems in pools and hot tubs very quickly (they are also not backwashable in pools)
  3. difficult to clean, as dirt is hardly removable from the dense filter ball structure

They are basically just copies of the shape or material without regard to the necessary properties.

We have tested all variants of filter balls extensively and continuously test new filter balls products. So far, only the green filter balls with disinfectant effect are 100% suitable. All other variants are unfortunately not even close to suitable.

Unfortunately, the manufacturers completely lack the know-how about what a filter ball for a hot tub must be able to do. Just being round or made of fiber is unfortunately not enough.

Therefore, use only original Ego3 filter balls!

No other offered filter material is even remotely suitable for the intended use and other filter material will cost you more work and money combined with the risk of damage to the Ego3 filter container or your hot tub.

Have fun with your hot tub with filter balls wishes - your hot tub guru :-)