hi i am new to this site and new owner of indoor inground pool we bought the house a year ago and ran the pool without any problems, then a couple months ago we noticed the heater wasnt heating , we had a pool guy come out and he replaced the capacitor the pressure switch and the thermostat. the heater would kick on for awhile but then shut off, someone said to turn the filter to the recirc position if it stays running the sand needs replaced, so i did that and it did stay running so i back flushed it and so far it is running but i think the sand needs replaced also so my question is how do i do it, i have the triton TR-60 i know it says to use 50 lbs of pea gravel and 275lbs of sand. i know to shut filter off open drain plug , take off octagon ring on top then what thanks for your help.
changing sand in filter
- Thread starter tasper
- Start date
It is very rare that you need to change the sand. It is possible you just need to open it up and reshift the sand. Be careful not to go so far down that you damage the laterals.
Pea gravel is optional in most filters. I have the bigger brother to your filter, and we filled it with no pea gravel, it works great.
Hang here for a bit, get some more suggestions on what to do with the sand before you replace anything.
Pea gravel is optional in most filters. I have the bigger brother to your filter, and we filled it with no pea gravel, it works great.
Hang here for a bit, get some more suggestions on what to do with the sand before you replace anything.
the sand is prob 8 yrs old the previous owner never changed it i find out. also i think it needs changed if its making enough pressure for heater to kick on.
The sand I just took out of mine was from 1989. The only reason I replaced it is because the filter laterals were broken and I didn't feel like trying to rebuild a 20+ year old filter. So 8 years isn't all that bad. 
Welcome to TFP!
I don't know about the Triton, but I found a few posts helpful for my Hayward. Here is a link to one, explaining that sand does not wear out: sand-filter-expert-help-t30049.html#p247326
You can use the google search at the bottom left for more. Somewhere there is a post about cleaning the sand (not backwashing) which is a lot simpler than changing the sand but about as effective.
I don't know about the Triton, but I found a few posts helpful for my Hayward. Here is a link to one, explaining that sand does not wear out: sand-filter-expert-help-t30049.html#p247326
You can use the google search at the bottom left for more. Somewhere there is a post about cleaning the sand (not backwashing) which is a lot simpler than changing the sand but about as effective.
thanks i will try to find it, so if its not the sand then what can cause my heater to shut off and not stay on the temp is 56% so i know its not at the temp i want, after i backflushed it it is still on as of now but dnt know how long it will saty on.
Here is part of a post addressing an similar problem:
"faithfulfrank
Post subject: Re: My sand is "channeled" how to fix it?
PostPosted: May 29th, 2011, 6:50 pm
New User
Joined: October 5th, 2007, 10:21 pm
Posts: 11
Location: western NY
Wow......I had the same problem this year.....took me a few days to get the pool from green to clear enough to see the bottom. Saw a good amount of dirt, etc down there, so I started the automatic vacuum. It was sucking up fine, but when I went to backwash it the water seemed not that dirty. After rinsing I'd start the filter again to vacuum and dirt was coming out of the return. Never had that happen before.
My sand wasn't "channeled" I don't think, just clogged up with dead algae....and backwashing didn't help.
I took the head off the sand filter and did the "hose overflow" thing for about 15 minutes. A lot of junk overflowed. Put it all together, and now everything is working fine."
"faithfulfrank
Post subject: Re: My sand is "channeled" how to fix it?
PostPosted: May 29th, 2011, 6:50 pm
New User
Joined: October 5th, 2007, 10:21 pm
Posts: 11
Location: western NY
Wow......I had the same problem this year.....took me a few days to get the pool from green to clear enough to see the bottom. Saw a good amount of dirt, etc down there, so I started the automatic vacuum. It was sucking up fine, but when I went to backwash it the water seemed not that dirty. After rinsing I'd start the filter again to vacuum and dirt was coming out of the return. Never had that happen before.
My sand wasn't "channeled" I don't think, just clogged up with dead algae....and backwashing didn't help.
I took the head off the sand filter and did the "hose overflow" thing for about 15 minutes. A lot of junk overflowed. Put it all together, and now everything is working fine."
what is the hose over flow and how do you do it, sorry im new to all this and dont know much bout it
Hopefully, you will get some other responses, but how I do it is:
1. remove the top of the filter
2. put the end of the water/garden hose into the opening
3. turn on the water full blast.
4. move the hose end around to change the water direction
5. after about ten minutes the gunk stopped floating out so I quit and reassembled the top of the filter. Use a lube on the rubber seals and orings (get it online or at pool store)
6. I set my multiport to rinse and ran it there for a couple of minutes then started filtering.
Water was all over the floor of the pool house, as basically, all you are doing is floating the debris out of the sand.
I might be leaving something out, hopefully someone will chime in with suggestions.
1. remove the top of the filter
2. put the end of the water/garden hose into the opening
3. turn on the water full blast.
4. move the hose end around to change the water direction
5. after about ten minutes the gunk stopped floating out so I quit and reassembled the top of the filter. Use a lube on the rubber seals and orings (get it online or at pool store)
6. I set my multiport to rinse and ran it there for a couple of minutes then started filtering.
Water was all over the floor of the pool house, as basically, all you are doing is floating the debris out of the sand.
I might be leaving something out, hopefully someone will chime in with suggestions.
how do i do this (move the hose end around to change the water direction) i dnt hve to close any valves or anything god i so so dumb lol but i never had a inground pool sorry im just trying to learn so i know
tasper said:
I'm not familiar with your set up, but it will not hurt to close your valves.
I don't understand your question about the hose, but will make a guess you are unclear as to what would be going on. Please forgive me if I am wrong. All you do is connect a regular hose to your household water supply, stick the hose in the open filter and turn the water on. Allow the filter to overflow until the water is clean, it will take about ten to fifteen minutes (it did in my case). I wiggled or moved the hose to change where the water flow hit the sand, I don't think this matters, but it is something to do until the sand is clean and keeps the hose in the filter.
Since you are new to an in ground, I suggest you get a good test kit and read the pool school. I use a TF kit (got it from Duraleigh) with an automatic stirrer. Don't expect to learn it all at once, I must have read the pool school a dozen times. Most of all I learned from my mistakes, which in my case were already addressed in the pool school. Oh, keep asking questions, there are a lot knowledgeable people who are willing to help.
ok thank you, i understand now, the way this is set up is they have the filter in the garage where the pipes all come underground from the pool room which is next door the filter sits on the floor with white pipes coming out of it to the ceiling and the floor to the motor and basket thing the pipes have a white valve n a red one which i know the red one is for if i want the heat to go to pool i leave it closed if not i open it, so didnt know if i had to mess with them or not when i cleaned it out. thanks.
tasper said:
Good. Make sure you get anything you do not want wet off the floor and turn off the power to the pool and garage while you are doing this.
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