Replacing Sand Filter - need advice

I have an old Hayward sand filter that somehow has a huge crack all the way down one side. The split is quite large (tenant sent me over a picture to my phone) I suspect it is result of the freezing weather we had here in SW Georgia this winter.
So I would like some advice on how do I determine what size filter to replace with, do I have to replace with another Hayward, and will the multivalve port have to be replaced or do the new ones come with a multiport valve?
This is the filter for the pool at my old house so the type of filter is not the one in my signature. I deleted the old type when I moved to reflect the one at the new house. I won't be going over there till the weekend .
Looking for some advice on the best way to replace.
Thank you

Photographs, photographs!

Models, piping layout & sizes, etc. matter when making a selection. If the equipment you have is still current, you can probably do a direct swap out, which is usually the easiest and possibly the cheapest option.

Send pics to poolforum@gmail.com. I'm going to try to turn on attachments for subscribers, so you can try to directly attach the photos. (Though I will migrate them to Picasa, since the forum software tends to 'lose' all the pictures each time I have to upgrade.)

Thanks for the swift response. I won't be able to get over there till the weekend so I will take photos and post then.

Forget about the forum attachment process - it's still broken. Maybe when I upgrade in a few weeks it will work better -- dunno.

You can also use Google Drive, Picasa, Flickr, Photobucket, etc. Please avoid the porn-friendly picture hosts, which turn out to include tinypic.com, owned by Photobucket.

will Snapfish or Shutterfly be ok?

Yes, they are fine, I think. I just don't want links to albums that may link to thumbnails of "Popular Photos", etc that include porn. That's what tinypic was doing.