Replace sand or not?

[BigBrownLog]

the sand that is in my filter now has been in there for 3 years and it it has had 3 algae cleanups through it. i was thinking that i would need to change out the sand this year so i bought some sand over the winter.

i just got the water sparkling and was about to change out the sand but i've been thinking that since the filter cleared up what looked like a pond in about three days that maybe it is just fine. i only bakckwashed one time and dont think it was anywhere near 8psi. it's a doughboy filter.

 

[JasonLion]

There are two schools of thought on replacing sand filter sand. Some people replace their sand every five to seven years, and others never replace their sand. Sand doesn't filter as well when it gets old, but it still filters acceptably for many people. In either case you should clean out and resettle the sand every two or three years.

 

[BigBrownLog]

lol i almost asked how to do that then i realized that you made it a link. Thanks jason much appreciated.

 

[BigBrownLog]

ok so i started to clean the sand and this is what i pulled out. Any thoughts?

click on the thumbnail to see bigger pic

 

[PoolGuyNJ]

Change it. You won't be able to get that green out. The green is dead algae particles that will provide nutrients for another bloom.

It's a great example of why vacuuming to waste is a good idea when cleaning up an algae bloom.

Scott

 

[BigBrownLog]

roger that thanks pool guy.

 

[BigBrownLog]

ok i got all the nasty sand out of the filter sprayed it out and wiped it down. i was just wondering if there was anything special i need to do when adding the new sand eg..add some water then add the sand? do i need to do anything in the first week after i put the sand in?

 

[TimS]

Adding water might help lessen the impact of the sand falling on the laterals. That's what I did when I replaced my sand. I don't know if it helped at all, but it sure didn't hurt.

Also, be sure you don't get sand in the pipe. Your filter should have come with a funny-looking thing that is solid in the center, and has slots along the sides to hold the pipe in position and keep the sand flowing down and around the pipe. I had one but didn't know what it was at the time (I finally figured it out later, after I didn't need it.) Instead, I just put one of my rubber line-plugs into the pipe and held the pipe by hand until there was enough sand to hold it upright.

 

[BigBrownLog]

awesome thank you. mine is a lil different. there is a piece of pvc in the center that is connected to the fins and the fins are bolted to the bottom of the filter so it is pretty sturdy. Yhanks for letting me know not to get sand in the pipe.

 

[JasonLion]

Yes, add water before adding sand. The water protects the laterals and helps the sand settle in properly.

 

[X-PertPool]

If you do change your sand I've used Mystic White brand for years ( One of the reasons I like mystic white is because of the white color you won't confuse sand shooting back to your pool with dead algae or mustard algae)

Recently I've switched from mystic white to zeo best which they say filters down to a smaller micron.

 

[BigBrownLog]

thanks i had already bought sand. and that was my thoughts that the sand would distribute properly.