sand in the pool

[thredhd]

i had to change my sand in the filter this year. ever since then i've been having all sorts of problems. the biggest one is sand in the pool. i thought since we have a lot of sand in the yard that it just needed a good vacuuming but i did that yesterday and today there is more sand in there. so its got to be coming from the filter. plus i've been having to backwash a lot since then. my filter pressure is usually around 20, its been getting over 30 almost every other day. i can look outside and tell by the movement of the water that it needs to backwash again. i've never had these problems before but this is the first time i changed my sand. so what did i screw up?

p.s. i also added some DE to it a few weeks ago to clear up some cloudy water but i was told that would only last until i backwash and i've done that a number of times since then. if that backwashes out, then it cant be the reason the pressure is going up.

 

[257WbyMag]

If it's sand and not algae that looks like sand (common), then the likely culprit is a broken lateral inside the sand filter.

 

[JasonLion]

Pool filter sand is very fine very uniform sand. It is fairly easy to tell apart from the kind of sand you are likely to have in the yard. If you are getting filter sand in the pool you most likely have a broken lateral. To investigate this you will need to open up the filter and take the sand out and examine the laterals very closely. Even a small crack is often enough to let sand through.

When you changed the sane, did you put a foot of water in the filter before adding the new sand? If you failed to do that you probably cracked a lateral while adding sand. The laterals are very delicate.

 

[RobbieH]

Could you put a sock over a return when the pump starts up? If you get sand in the sock when the pump starts, you'll know the sand is coming from your filter.

Why did you have to replace your sand? Just curious.

 

[thredhd]

i replaced it because it was 6 years old and i couldnt get rid of my algae. the sand was nice and green. the problem was i only cleaned out down to the laterals. i didnt actually take all the sand out and all the water. its a long story but i didnt have the proper tools or ability to totally clean it out. i was just praying that i could clean out enough to get rid of the algae problem. it holds 6 bags and i managed to clean out 5 worth.

so yes there was water in it when i poured the new in and i never actually uncovered them fully. i scooped out until i felt them. i could have still hit one.

is it a major issue right now? can i just check the filter once a month and make sure theres enough sand still in it or maybe add some. because i've done a lot and spent a lot on this pool so far this season and its only just begun. i dont know that i can handle replacing something else.