Filter issue - sand bars in pool

[trevsand]

Hi all,
Thanks for your advice.

I have a 10 yo pool with a SWG. When I opened the pool in the spring - mid April i noticed some fliter sand at the bottom and vacuumed it up without issue.
Last week much more sand appeared in the bottom of the pool under each of the 3 jets.
I'm assuming based on google that my filter vertical is cracked.
It appears to be a massive exercise to remove the sand and less difficult to replace a vertical.
Does anyone have experience and tips on how best to accomplish this without spending too much $.
I'm located just outside of Toronto, Canada.

Thanks,
T

 

[Texas Splash]

I think you are referring to the filter "laterals". Those are the 8 or so slotted tubes connected to a center hub at the bottom of the filter. When a lateral gets damaged, or a connection is compromised, it call allow sand to pass through and back in to the pool. Unfortunately the only way to fix a bad lateral or connection is to remove the sand, lift it all out of the filter, replace the bad part(s), and reinstall and put the sand back in. There are tons of YouTube videos on such a repair for laterals. Take a peak and let us know if you have any questions before attempting the repair.

 

[trevsand]

Thanks, I'll work on it this weekend when I can get the parts.
I've turned the filter off for now and with the hotter temps am likely going to have an algae bloom before its fixed.
Is it better to run the filter with sand coming into the pool (on and off) or to just leave filter off and deal with the algae?

 

[LovelyGong]

Much better to leave the pump and filter on and deal with the sand. Worst case you vacuum it and it goes right back into the filter, no sand lost and no harm/foul to the water.

 

[ajw22]

If you have an MPV with a RECIRULATE setting the use that. It lets you run your pump without using the filter

Even if you turn off your pump for repairs add 5ppm of liquid chlorine into the pool daily, mix it in with your pool brush, and you should not have an algae problem.