Possible sand filter problem.

[stanton]

Hey guy's

I added cya acid to my skimmer as directed....some of the granules came out of the returns to the pool. I double checked the valve and made sure it was on filter.

My pool has been a little cloudy. What do I need to look at in the filter? The pool is 6 year old. Thanks

 

[Denali]

If your valve is set to recirculate it is bypassing the filter, if I remember correctly. So you should see the CYA come back into the pool. You want the valve set on filter so the CYA enters the filter and dissolves from there.

Hey guy's

I added cya acid to my skimmer as directed....some of the granules came out of the returns to the pool. I double checked the valve and made sure it was on recirculate.

My pool has been a little cloudy. What do I need to look at in the filter? The pool is 6 year old. Thanks

 

[stanton]

That was my typing error.... It was set on filter. I edited the post for less confusion. Thanks

 

[launboy]

You might have channeling of your sand. That would explain the coudy water(it's not being filtered, just passing though) and the CYA coming back into the pool. Is your pressure lower now then it was when the water wasn't coudy?

There are two solutions to this... One is to GENTLY tap on the filter tank,(pump on) with a rubber mallet, or your fist. Gently, is the key with that one. The other option is to take the top off the filter(pump off) and push a running hose into the sand in many different places, this should colapse the channels.

HTH,
Adam

 

[stanton]

After reading alot last night I decided to just pull the valve assembly and take a look. I was suprised at the Crud that was piled up in the on top of the sand.

I'm hoping I found the problem. The sand around the edge was compacted and the sand around the center pipe was normal. I'm hoping that was the culprit. After about a hour of breakiing up the sand with a water hose and pvc pipe it is all loose now. The stuff that washed out was amazing.

How much sand should be in the filter itself? My best guess would be 60% full or just over half. I counldn't find a recommended lbs of sand on my filter. Thanks for all the provided info.

 

[launboy]

I really couldn't tell you how full it should be. Ours is about 3/4 full of sand as of this spring when we replaced it, If you post the model of your filter, someone might be able to tell you how many lbs of sand you need.

HTH,
Adam

 

[stanton]

I'll look on the filter housing again for stamped info. I know there wasn't a sticker on it. My pool is 6 years old and I have never looked at the filter. Would it be a good idea just to go ahead and replace the sand anyway? What kind of sand would I need? Thanks again.

 

[launboy]

I don't know how often you should replace your filter sand, I want to say every 4 years but I'm not sure. If you do go ahead and replace it, you wand Silica sand, also known as filter sand. Just go to the pool store and tell them you need (x amount) lbs. of sand, they will know what you mean.

HTH,
Adam