sand in pool

[heatherc]

I have removed all of the sand from my filter, (as noted in previous post, was getting sand in pool at end of year last year). We have checked all of the laterals and none seem to be cracked. What else could cause the sand in pool? I was wondering if because the sand was more than 15yrs old....could it have become so fine and smooth over the years that it was falling through the laterals?

[Poconos]

I just went back and read your prior post and you said the stuff looks finer than what's in a kids sandbox. That points to the wrong kind of sand. Only suggestion left is to replace the sand. Filter sand is cheap and Carl had some cost numbers somewhere but at this point I'd bite the bullet and just replace. Not sure if it was mentioned but when you replace sand you should fill the filter with water above the laterals, then add sand. This assists in evenly distributing the new stuff and prevents stressing the laterals. Would be nice if you had access to a microscope to investigate this further.
Al

[heatherc]

I figure the sand is so old ( over 15 yrs in the filter) that is smoothed down so much, it is sifting through. A couple of the laterals were loose, so that could have been the problem as well. Off to buy new sand, glad there were no cracked laterals!