What Size Pentair Clean & Clear Plus Filter Do You Need? (160340 vs 160301 vs 160332)
People call us about this every week. They know they want a Clean & Clear Plus, but the model numbers all look alike and nobody wants to spend a thousand dollars on the wrong tank. The three sizes most homeowners are choosing between are the Pentair 160340 (320 sq ft), the 160301 (420 sq ft), and the 160332 (520 sq ft).
Here is how we help customers pick.
What size Clean & Clear Plus do I actually need?
Match the filter to your pump's flow rate first, then to your pool's gallons. A cartridge filter has to be big enough that your pump is not pushing water through it faster than the media can handle. For most residential pools running a variable speed pump, the 420 sq ft Pentair 160301 is the size that fits, and it is the one we sell the most of by a wide margin.
Rough guide we use at the counter:
- Pentair 160340 (320 sq ft): smaller pools, roughly under 15,000 gallons, with a 1 to 1.5 HP pump.
- Pentair 160301 (420 sq ft): the middle of the road pick. Works for most 15,000 to 25,000 gallon pools and pairs well with a 1.5 to 3 HP variable speed pump.
- Pentair 160332 (520 sq ft): larger pools, heavy bather load, spa combos, or anywhere you want the longest stretch between cleanings.
If your pool sits right on the line between two sizes, go up. Nobody has ever called us complaining their filter was too big.
Does a bigger filter clean the water better?
Not exactly. All three of these use the same style of cartridge media, so a 520 does not filter out finer particles than a 320. What a bigger filter buys you is surface area, and surface area buys you time.
More square footage means dirt spreads across more pleats before pressure climbs. That translates into fewer cleanings per season, less strain on the pump, and cartridges that last longer because you are not scrubbing them every six weeks. If you hate pulling the tank apart, the Pentair 160332 is worth the extra money on its own.
How your pump changes the answer
Your filter has a maximum design flow rate. Push more gallons per minute through it than that and you get short filter cycles, high pressure, and cloudy water that never quite clears up. This is the most common sizing mistake we see, and it usually happens when somebody upgrades to a bigger pump and keeps the old filter.
So if you just put in a 3 HP variable speed pump and your filter is a small older tank, that is your problem. A variable speed pump helps here because you can slow it down, but you are throwing away flow you paid for. Sizing up to the 160301 or the 160332 lets you run the pump where it is actually efficient.
What about the tank size and plumbing?
All three of these are the same family, so the plumbing connections and the general layout are the same. The difference is tank height and diameter. The 520 is the tallest of the three, so if your equipment pad sits under a deck, a low overhang, or inside a tight equipment enclosure, measure your vertical clearance before you order.
You need room above the tank to lift the lid and pull the cartridge assembly straight up. Check that first, not after the truck shows up.
Replacement cartridges and running cost
Each of these takes a set of four cartridges. Bigger filters take bigger cartridges, so a 520 element set costs more than a 420 set. But you replace them less often because each cartridge is doing less work, so over a few seasons the cost difference is smaller than it looks on paper.
Whichever size you land on, clean the cartridges when pressure rises about 8 to 10 PSI above your clean starting pressure. Rinse them with a hose, let them dry, and soak them in a cartridge cleaner once a season to pull out oils and scale. Cartridges that get rinsed but never soaked die early.
Quick recap
Pick the Pentair 160340 for a small pool with a small pump. Pick the Pentair 160301 if you want the safe middle choice that fits most backyards. Pick the Pentair 160332 if your pool is large, your pump is strong, or you want to open the filter as rarely as possible. When you are stuck between two, take the bigger one.
Not sure this is the right part for your problem? Reach out and we will help you figure out exactly what you need before you spend money on the wrong thing.