Changing filter sand

[tado921]

First, I know about the reasons filter sand should not need to be changed and I agree with them. However, that being said...

I inherited a 20X40 IG Vinyl when we bought the house. This being my first pool, I researched and by a stroke of luck found this site. I have used BBB from the beginning, and I could tell that the previous owners had been getting poolstored (is that becoming a verb now? kinda like screwed...anyway) from the leftover bottles of "stuff" laying around. Also, that first season was a bear getting the chemistry right after them putting all that junk in it.

Anyway, once I got the water lined up everything ran well, but I found that I was constantly battling algea, and I could see stuff blowing back in the pool when vacuuming sometimes, and opening was a month long ordeal every year. After further reading, I checked the sand level, removed the sand and checked the laterals and such, and put it back in. Nothing changed, but I still felt I was struggling too hard to keep the bad stuff away.

So, before opening this year I bought new sand and changed it out. Well, I can tell you that opening was done in a week, I used half the chlorine I normally use, and spend much less time cleaning and brushing. The only thing that changed was the sand.

My point here is that while filter sand NORMALLY would not ever need to be changed, if everything else has been tried and there are still problems, it may be worthwhile to give it a try. This was probably caused by the previous owners somehow, so I don't think the sand was "worn out", just that something they did caused the sand to be way less efficient that it normally would be.

I'm thinking it may be a mistake to tell someone the sand never needs to be changed. I would say it doesn't need to be changed unless all other avenues have been tried and failed. It cost me less than $50 and about an hour to do it, but it has made a big difference.

Tad

[waste]

Tad, thank you for the 'field report'!

You've brought up something that has been mentioned here and there but not as often as the 'sand never needs to be replaced' 'riff'.

I think that you were very astute to see the co-relation between the filthy sand you were left with and your problem - most probably (from years of neglect, or improper maintenance) you have saved yourself #s of headaches by doing this -- CONGRATS!

[CarlD]

Tad,

"Never" means under normal circumstances, maintained by an "educated consumer". Your predecessor was anything but.

You can rest assured that getting "Pool Stored" meant he dumped in a lot of junk without any idea of what it did or what it was good for. Clearly, one of those many additives gummed up the sand, a clear recipe for replacement. (Ask anyone having completed a Baq conversion).

These days 200# of sand is about $24.-- a cheap enough fix to try even if that was not your problem.

Let's understand the "mantra" of "never" changing your sand: It means that unless your sand is actually fouled, as yours was, replacement is not a necessary part of sand filter maintenance, so don't waste money on new sand every year or even every 5 years.

That's all it means: No more, no less. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. But if it is broke (as yours was) then, by all means, fix it.

[tado921]

Let's understand the "mantra" of "never" changing your sand: It means that unless your sand is actually fouled, as yours was, replacement is not a necessary part of sand filter maintenance, so don't waste money on new sand every year or even every 5 years. But if it is broke (as yours was) then, by all means, fix it.

Carl, this is exactly what I wanted to get across with this additional point: It took me a while to figure out that the sand might actually be the problem due to inexperience AND reading posts here that say the sand does not need to be changed. Many of these posts do not include an "unless" qualifier, so I'm hoping that the next person searching for help will run across this post and be aware of it just in case.

[CarlD]

Carl, this is exactly what I wanted to get across with this additional point: It took me a while to figure out that the sand might actually be the problem due to inexperience AND reading posts here that say the sand does not need to be changed. Many of these posts do not include an "unless" qualifier, so I'm hoping that the next person searching for help will run across this post and be aware of it just in case.

I suppose it can be confusing for a newbie. We'll have to keep that in mind because we ALWAYS want to make it clear and simple. That's the mission of this board: to disseminate the best information we have as clearly and simply as possible.

Funny, we never think about it, but we ALWAYS tell people doing a Baquacil conversion to discard and replace their sand when it's over.

[tado921]

I suppose it can be confusing for a newbie.

Or it could just be me being dense. LOL!

I can't begin to calculate the time and money I have saved by finding this site, so I'm trying to do my part to help others out as well.