You need chemicals with a sand filter because they require sanitization, phosphate removal, pH adjustments, and alkalinity alterations.
If you're not using chlorine, you should do it more often, about every three to five years. Chemical cleaning of the sand should take place about once a year usually or twice a year if you use a biguanide sanitizer./
Cyanuric Acid: Dry or liquid chlorine stabilizer to protect chlorine from the sun. Oxidizers/ Calcium Hypochlorite/ Chlorine-Fee Shock: These are also sanitizers used to kill bacteria and algae. PH Increaser/Soda Ash: this increases the PH level. PH Reducer/Dry Acid: This will reduce the PH level.
Changing the pool filter sand is a bit of a pain, especially in the back region, but a bag of pool filter sand costs around R90 at your local Builders Warehouse, and you should only need two bags for most pool filters.
Silica pool filter sand is the most commonly used type. It's inexpensive, easy to find, and can filter particles down to 20 microns, which is approximately 0.0008 inches. Silica sand is made with ground quartz, and it has rough edges to help trap particulates.
A sand filter is essentially a tank full of sand that's connected to your pool's filtration network. As pool water passes through the sand tank, the sand catches debris and particles and prevents them from returning to the pool. This results in cleaner, clearer water.
To clean your above ground pool, you'll need pool cleaning tools, like a tele-pole, skim-net or leaf rake, pool brush, and a vacuum hose and vacuum head for vinyl pools. Brushing is important to remove films and dust particles from surfaces, where they can be filtered out of the water.
A pool should have a chlorine level between two and four parts per million (ppm). Make sure your above ground pool has enough by testing your water about every other day with chlorine test strips, such as these Aqua Chek Test Strips. Learn more about maintaining your pool's chemicals.
Slow sand filtration is a rentable biological water disinfection method that is capable of reducing the amount of algae, fungi, bacteria and some viruses (e.g. TMV not) in the water. When combined with aeration, the filter can also remove calcium and iron from the water.
On average, sand should be replaced every 3-5 years. This may be longer if the pool stays clear, or shorter, if the filter runs all the time. The jagged edges of the sand wear down and become smooth as the sand ages.
So if you've ever wondered if it's OK to put chlorine tablets in the skimmer, the answer is yes. As your pool pump runs, water floats in through your skimmer line, past the pump, into the filter, through the heater, and back into the pool.
You still need the sand filter. The saltwater setup turns the salt to chloride (sodium chloride) and the ozonator kills germs etc... the sand filter filters out the algae and all the other particles before the water goes through the saltwater system.
Generally, pool water needs to be replaced once every five to seven years. This should be done during mild weather so that your pool surface is not at risk from strong sunlight and heat. Your pool maintenance company can recommend when it is time to drain your pool.
If you are looking for a highly efficient solution with the least amount of bacteria and debris left swimming around in your pool, the cartridge filter is your best solution. The cartridge filter can catch finer debris than a sand filter, being 10-20 microns versus 20-40 microns.
The high amount of pressure pushes debris back in your pool and can crack or damage your pool filter. A good rule to remember is bigger, in this case, is better. Although larger filters come with a bigger price tag, they provide better filtering and easier maintenance for pool owners.
The sand removes pathogens and suspended solids from contaminated drinking water. A biological community of bacteria and other micro-organisms grows in the top 2 cm of sand.
Sand Components
When water washes over rocks, it slowly breaks them down into the particulates that make sand. As a result, sand contains quartz, feldspar and other crushed rock. It also contains silica. Silica and silica dust are known carcinogens and are undesirable in play sand.
Answer: Get as much of the debris and algae as you can out manualy (net, vacuum). You can also vacuum the sand, but make sure you vacuum to waste so it does not damage your pump/filter again.
Rather than containing a whole host of minerals, as beach and play sands do, pool sand primarily consists of crushed silica quartz. The dust from this type of sand is a Class 1A carcinogen that can cause a fatal lung condition called silicosis. This is obviously not something in which you want your children to play.