Stop Chasing Fine Dirt: Bottom Feeder Cartridge Filter Assembly 2.0

Dust lines, cloudy steps, and second passes with a manual vac eat time and profit. We tackled the root problem—fine debris slipping through bags—and put the Bottom Feeder Cartridge Assembly Kit 2.0 to the test. The result is a portable vacuum that captures down to about 20 microns without losing thrust, letting us collect leaves and silt in one run while keeping maneuverability in tight spaces like spas and benches.

We break down why micron bags hit a wall as they load with dust, forcing water to bypass and spit from the bottom, and how a pleated cartridge changes the physics. The kit’s reverse-flow, fully sealed canister uses a Unicel C9405 element to lock debris in the core, so nothing escapes when you lift it from the pool or move to a spa. Its compact size keeps the cleaner balanced and easy to handle, yet it still holds around a pound of dirt—enough to handle multiple dusty pools before a rinse. For heavy leaf jobs, the threaded halo lets you swap from cartridge to bag in seconds, so you can adapt on the fly.

Expect no noticeable power drop compared to a bag; the Bottom Feeder and Shrimp keep full pull, and the five-inch throat on the Shrimp pairs especially well with the cartridge on top. When you add up fewer repeat visits, no manual vac setups, and longer intervals between cleanings, the ROI is clear—and the water clarity your clients see is even clearer.

• fine dirt limitations of micron bags
• cartridge filtration down to ~20 microns
• Unicel C9405 compact specs and build
• reverse-flow sealed canister design
• capacity around one pound of dirt
• when to use bag versus cartridge
• maintenance tips and storage basins
• thrust, balance, and power retention
• price point, savings, and ROI
• how to buy and available discount

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Chapters

• 1:53 The Fine Dirt Problem With Bags
• 3:39 Cartridges vs Micron Ratings Explained
• 5:21 Introducing Bottom Feeder Cartridge Kit 2.0
• 7:08 Unicel C9405 Specs And Build
• 8:31 Reverse-Flow Design And Capacity
• 10:23 When To Use Bag Vs Cartridge
• 12:00 Maintenance, Swaps, And Storage Tips
• 14:06 Pricing, ROI, And Time Savings
• 16:19 Performance, Thrust, And Power Retention
• 17:43 Final Verdict And How To Buy

Transcript

SPEAKER_01: 1:02

Hi and welcome to the Pool Guy Podcast Show. In this episode, I'm going to talk to you about the bottom feeder cartridge assembly kit. And if you haven't seen the video yet, you're really going to like this new cartridge assembly. It's the 2.0, and it's definitely a great upgrade over their previous version.

SPEAKER_00: 1:22

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SPEAKER_01: 1:42

So one of the biggest drawbacks with the vacuum system is that yes, it's great with leaf debris, but the really fine dirt passes through even the smallest micron bag available today. And the small micron bags do have capacity to pick up some dirt, but there is a limit to how much dirt it actually can pick up versus what a cartridge will pick up. So the main drawback with the vacuum system is that it just doesn't get the fine dirt out of the pool, and so you're actually vacuuming the pool twice. Once with the vacuum system to get some of the the less fine dirt and leaf debris out, and then you'll have to vacuum it again to get all of the finer dust out of the pool. And they speed up your route for sure, but they've always had trouble with the finer dirt in the pool until now. If you use robotic pool cleaners, you would know that the dolphin cleaners have a cartridge canister, or it actually has panels that are made out of the same material or similar material to a cartridge filter, and these dolphin cleaners will pick up dirt down to 20 microns, making the dolphin robotic pool cleaners slightly superior to Polaris, because Polaris will only go down to about 60 microns with their fine filter. I think it's more like 40 microns, but nonetheless, you still won't be able to pick up the fine dirt unless you're using a dolphin cleaner with the cartridge filter canister. Now imagine a vacuum system with a similar setup with a cartridge that will capture dirt down to 20 microns or actually even less. Most cartridge filters are rated for 10 to 20 microns, and in the industry we just say 20 microns because it's a little bit easier to say one number. And you don't want to under or oversell the cartridge filters, so everyone just says 20 microns, but in reality, I believe they do get dirt down to about 10 microns in most cases. They'll certainly get most of the algae dust out of a pool. And if you have a pool with a cartridge filter, you know that your water looks crystal clear and you have no problems with water clarity. So the cartridge filter, of course, has been proven to be a very effective way to filter a swimming pool. So just imagine, of course, this on a vacuum system and how effective it would be. Let me transition a bit and talk about the new bottom feeder, cartridge filter assembly kit 2.0, and this works by the way on the bottom feeder as well as the shrimp. The key element with this, and by the way, it's patent pending. So the key element with this patent pending device is the way the cartridge threads on to the halo of the bottom feeder. So you have to replace the existing halo, which takes about five minutes or four minutes to put on. You just take out the hex nuts and put on the adapter that goes with the cartridge filter kit, and that's threaded on top. And so there's a cartridge filter assembly, and currently they're using a 50 square foot CC50 unicell cartridge filter. And this filter, of course, is made out of remake material. And I do like unicell, and I do like the remade material also. I think it's a superior cartridge material than you would find on some of the kind of generic knockoff filters. The unicell cartridge is also made in the United States. This, of course, raises the price of the kit because you're getting a really robust cartridge filter with a system made here in the USA. So don't think that the kit is expensive for no reason. You're getting a high-quality cartridge filter that should actually outlast any generic cartridge filter that you purchase for this later. So the Unicell cartridge filter comes on with the kit. So you get the kit, you get a top with the bottom feeder logo that says patent pending on there. You also get the bottom of the cartridge adapter, you get two rods that go in to hold it on, and then you get the new threaded halo that you put on the bottom feeder. Now, what makes the threaded halo unique is that you can actually use the cartridge filter, adapter, or assembly, and then you can take it off and put a bag on top without having to remove the threaded halo putting on the regular halo. It has a lip on there, just like the old halo. And so you go from bag to cartridge in about 15 seconds. And this is a great time saver, and really something that makes this the easiest thing to use because the cartridge assembly is almost like a bag now. It works like a bag. Now, the fact that it has a smaller cartridge actually makes it much more effective. So the Unicell C9405, that's the model number. Again, it's a unicell C9405 50 square foot cartridge filter, and what's nice about it is that the length is only a little under 9 inches, and the outside diameter is 10 inches. This is a very compact cartridge, which makes it really easy to use, of course, and I'll talk about using it in the pool spa in a minute. But the compact size is super handy in the fact that it's not unweldy, making the cleaner kind of lopsided or unbalanced, and it's really easy to pull out of the pool as well because it's smaller and it's lighter. Now, how much dirt can it pick up? Well, it's a 50 square foot cartridge filter, but we're actually using the inside core of the cartridge, not the outside. So I think it brings it down to about 20 or 25 square feet, about half, because you're using the pleats in the core to pick up the dirt and not the outside. The way a cartridge filter works is that the clean water goes inside, and then the dirt sticks on the outside of the cartridge filter. And in this case, the dirty water with the dirt goes inside, and the clean side is on the outside, if that makes sense. It's kind of reversed engineering because it sits on top of the vacuum system outlet, and so again, you're utilizing the interior of the cartridge filter to pick up the dirt and debris. And by the way, it picks up leaf debris no problem because it goes inside to the core, and you have this big opening in the core, so you don't have much problem with a pool that has a lot of dirt and some leaf debris. You wouldn't want to use it, of course, to just clean a pool that's full of leaf debris. You would use a bag in that case, and you wouldn't use a cartridge. It's made mainly for dirt and lighter leaf debris. So, how much dirt can it actually hold? It could probably hold a pound of dirt or 16 ounces, no problem. If you do the math on a 25 square foot cartridge filter, it can hold about a pound or pound and a half of dirt. Now I vacuumed up about half a pound of dirt, no problem with the system, and there's been no blowback or any kind of issues with back pressure. So it does a great job vacuuming a pool with even heavy, a heavy amount of dirt in it. And you can push it to the limit if you want out on your route and see how much dirt it can actually pick up. But I'm gonna go out on a limb and say at least a pound or a pound and a half of dirt, no problem, which is more than enough capacity for a pool that has dirt on the bottom. And you know, if you wanted to go a route where you have an extra cartridge, you can do that as well. Swap out the cartridges and then clean them at the end of the day. That may be a smart way of doing it instead of cleaning the cartridge, you know, after a few stops. And you don't have to clean the cartridge after every usage either, which is the beauty of the system, because the way the cartridge filter assembly is designed is that it's a fully enclosed cartridge filter, a lot like what you would find on your pool filtration system in your equipment pad. There is no way for dirt to escape the cartridge, even when you take it off the bottom feeder or shrimp, the dirt stays in the core because the top is completely sealed and the bottom cartridge adapter is completely sealed on the bottom. So all the dirt stays in the core. So you can actually vacuum a pool, go to the spa without any dirt coming out of the top or the bottom of it, and then you can put it in your truck, go to another stop, put it in another pool and vacuum it, put it back in your truck, go to another stop, vacuum another pool, and then maybe by the fourth or fifth stop, you want to hose off the core of it and clean it out. So what makes it very versatile and useful is that you don't have to clean it after every time you use it because the dirt stays on the cartridge pleats, just like a cartridge filter that you have on your equipment pad. Now, currently the kit sells for$289. This includes the Unicell cartridge, which is an expensive cartridge filter that they include with it. It comes with the kit, everything you need to actually put it on the bottom feeder andor shrimp cleaner. And the kit, of course, is very durable and long-lasting, so you don't have to buy a new kit every you know few months. The kit should last outlast many cartridges with no problems, and it's something that is an investment. Because if you think about it, if you're buying the 57 micron bag, it's like 45 or 50 dollars, and you buy two of these every few months, you're actually going through these bags pretty rapidly, and it's not picking up nearly as much dirt as the cartridge would. So the price point is justified by the fact you don't need to get the you know 57 micron bag or the small micron bags or 60 micron bag, whatever you're using on it. And it also eliminates you vacuuming twice, and so you don't need to go back over with the manual vacuum. So the time saving is also built into the cost of the cartridge assembly, which really isn't that expensive if you think about what you're getting for your money. Not having the vacuum pool twice in itself will pay for itself, you know, using the vacuum system with a bag and then letting everything settle back down, or going back the following week and using your manual vacuum to get the dirt out. All this is totally unnecessary now because with the cartridge filter assembly 2.0, you just use the bottom feeder or shrimp, get all the leaf debris and dirt out at the same time, and then you're on your way again. It's something that's going to save you a huge amount of time. And again, it's a very balanced system, so it's not like you have this unweldy cartridge on top that you're trying to vacuum a pool with. It's really sleek, it's designed specifically to work on the bottom feeder and shrimp, and so you're able to vacuum the pool at the same speed you would go with the bag on top in most cases, and it's not something that's going to tip over, or you're not gonna have ways, or you're not gonna have an easy way to vacuum steps or the spa, and moving it from again pool to spa, no dirt comes out of the top of it, it's completely sealed, and so this makes this device extremely useful, and it makes it something that you can use in water features, fountains, spas, pools, of course, and it doesn't impede the bottom feeder of shrimp in any way as it's operating in the pool. One of my group members that purchased this ordered extra cartridges to go with it because it's a good idea if you're using it as your primary vacuum. You can use the cartridge, let it get dirty after three or four pools, put it in your truck. And by the way, I found these containers on Amazon that actually hold the cartridge perfectly. Let me get them actually for you here so you can order some. They're actually really good. So maybe write this down. They're called the Beagle 3-pack 16-quart plastic wash basin. That's B-E-G-A-L-E 3-pack 16-quart plastic wash basin. They're$18 for three of them. And actually, the cartridge fits in there perfectly. And the cartridge with the assembly fits in there perfectly, also, because once you start using this in pools, of course, it's going to start to pick up dirt, and when it dries out, the dirt stays in there, and it can be really messy in the back seat of your truck. So, don't get me wrong, I don't want people to have dirt all over their trucks and that are using this. And so, this is actually the perfect dimension to hold the cartridge without the kit if you have extra cartridges, and it's actually the perfect size to hold the cartridge assembly as well with the cartridge on there. And I definitely would order this. It comes with three of them, and it's a square container, it's 13.5 by 13.5 by 6.5, so it has plenty of height, and again, it's just the perfect size for the cartridge and for the cartridge assembly if you wanted to carry that and store it as well. Because again, it can get a little dirty over time using it. And of course, the Unicell cartridge is going to hold up no problem. In my testing, it actually held up better than similar generic cartridges, and the pleats aren't going to separate and spread out inside. The nice thing about the bottom feeder and shrimp is that the thrust seems to be actually perfect for the cartridge filter size to where it's not pushing too much pressure, you're not getting any back pressure out the bottom, and you're not kind of separating or spreading out the pleats with any kind of pressure. So, again, another great thing about it just seemed to work out perfectly with the cartridge size with the kit. And you would want to use the thrust ring, by the way, in the bottom of the bottom feeder. So make sure the thrust ring is in there and that it's close to the propeller to create more thrust for the cartridge. The shrimp actually works incredibly well with this cartridge on top because if you have the shrimp or have seen it, it's got a five-inch throat, and the propeller actually is right up against the side of the throat, which means that with the cartridge on top, you're getting plenty of thrust. And I should mention that as far as power goes, you're not seeing any drop-off at all in power with the cartridge on top. It picks up dirt. If you watch the video, you'll see it suck up the dirt just as if there was a bag on top. So, as far as any loss of power when you're vacuuming with the cartridge, that's not a problem at all. The power is still there. You're getting the full power of the bottom feeder and shrimp, but you're getting the added benefit of having a device on top that picks up dirt. Just to summarize it quickly here, the cartridge filter assembly kit 2.0 really eliminates the one fault or problem with the vacuum system, and that's the inability to pick up dirt finer than the smallest micron bag available, which for the bottom feeder is 57, for the riptide is 60 microns. They do have a 25 micron bag, but it fills up with air so quickly that it's kind of useless in most applications, and that's the problem with the bag. There's really no way for a bag to be coated with fine dirt and let the water pass through effectively without causing back pressure. If you ever use a 60 micron bag to vacuum an entire pool, by the time you're getting near the end of it, you start to get water coming out the bottom of the vacuum system. That's because the water can't go through the bag anymore, and water will go to the least resistance, which is at the bottom. So, in effect, this cartridge assembly really fixes the vacuum system, it makes it a tool that is going to be utilized for both leaf debris as well as dirt, an all-in-one tool that you should definitely consider. And the bottom feeder and shrimp are exclusively designed, or this actually is exclusively designed for the bottom feeder and shrimp cleaner. And of course, if you use my code to get the bottom feeder shrimp DVB100, you'll save$100 on both of those. I believe they're going to have on their site a pack with the cartridge filter assembly with the bottom feeder and shrimp. If you buy it new, they're working on that right now, and it may even be up there now at this point. But that would be great also to buy a whole kit with everything. And definitely it's just something that's going to change the way you use a vacuum system. And it does fix one thing that is not a defect of the vacuum system, but it's something that will enhance the vacuum system to the point where you're just using this for everything on your service route, and you're not needing to ever really bring out the manual vacuum with the vacuum head and connect it to the customer's pool any longer. And so to order it, just go to the bottomfeeder.com, their website. If you go to my website, Someepoolearning.com, there's a link there. The discount code is on my website as well. You can write that down and click on that link and then use that code to save$100 on the bottom feeder or shrimp cleaner. And if you're interested in the coaching program that I offer, you can learn more at bullguycoaching.com. Thanks for listening to this podcast. Have a great rest of your week and God bless.