How Much Does a Sand Filter Cost? A new sand filter can cost anywhere from about $300 to more than $1,000 on average. Inground pool sand filter prices range between about $450 to over $1,200, depending on the size. Above ground pool sand filters are often cheaper at starting costs in the $300 to $500 range.
Sand filters are less expensive initially compared to cartridge filters and are easy to maintain. You can expect to change out the filter sand every 5-7 years on average. Sand filters can filter large quantities of water, making them ideal for backyard pools as well as large commercial pools.
Pool Sand Filter Price
The average sand filter cost ranges from $300 to $1,200, depending on the size of the filtration system you need. Sand models are filled with a special no. 20 silica sand that is specifically designed to trap debris and particles.
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.
Sand filters will often be able to perform for around three-to-seven years, depending on use. If you frequently clean and backwash your filter and only use the pool seasonally, you can expect to replace it after at least five years.
How Much Does a Sand Filter Cost? A new sand filter can cost anywhere from about $300 to more than $1,000 on average. Inground pool sand filter prices range between about $450 to over $1,200, depending on the size. Above ground pool sand filters are often cheaper at starting costs in the $300 to $500 range.
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.
As pool filter sand is considered a hazardous material, you should not simply throw the sand away in your trash can. To properly dispose of the sand, you need to call a disposal expert or take it to a disposal site.
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.
Broken laterals and snapped seals are the most common reasons your filter is blowing sand into your pool water.
Sand filters are least effective but also the least expensive to buy and use. Cartridge filters are more effective but are more expensive to buy and use. DE filters are the most effective but are the most expensive to buy and use.
Cost to Replace Pool Filter and Pump
You could pay anywhere between $650 to $5,500 to replace a pool filter and pump, though most people won't pay more than $3,500. Pool filters cost anywhere between $150 and $1,500 to replace.
Filter Size
The filter flow rate must be rated at least the same GPM as your pump, or higher. With pool filters, it's best to err on the larger size so it can handle the power of your pump. A helpful rule of thumb is to choose a filter with at least 1 square foot per 10,000 gallons pool capacity.
Sand filters use chlorine because the sand is added for filtration, but chlorine sanitizes the swimming pool water. Sand, cartridges, and DE can't replace chlorine because they have different purposes. However, you can use swimming pool robots, salt systems, and other tools to improve your pool water.
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./
Pros of Saltwater Pools
There's less chlorine and less of the heavy chemical scent and content. They're gentler on the skin, with less irritation to the eyes, hair and swimsuits. The water has a softer, silkier feel to it compared to chlorine water. They have lower maintenance costs than chlorine pools.
Pool water turns green because of algae in the water. Algae can grow rapidly, particularly when it's warm like Summer, which is why it can surprise you overnight. This generally comes down to an imbalance or lack of chlorine in the water.
Grab a brush and some baking soda. Bicarbonate, the active ingredient in baking soda, is an effective spot treatment to help kill the algae and loosen it from the wall.
What's important for you to know: You shouldn't swim in a pool that's green until you test the chemical levels, like the officials in Rio did before the diving event began. It's the balance of things like chlorine, pH, and alkalinity in a pool that keeps it sterilized.
Pool filter sand should not be reused because the roughness of the particles that is used to catch unwanted bacteria, contaminates, and debris will be too worn down to be effective. Reused pool filter sand can result in severe contamination of your pool and is not worth the risk.
The Bottom Line
Play sand simply won't keep your pool as clean as it should be. Beach sand and play sand may introduce contaminants and insects into your pool, as well, and are much more likely to travel out of the filter and into the pool itself.
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.
Volume = (width x length x depth) x 0.037
For a rectangular pool that's 18 feet long by 9 feet wide, you'd need at least 1 cubic yard of sand for your base.
Pool gallonage x 2 (the recommended number of cycles in a day) ÷ daily hourly run time ÷ 60 (minutes in an hour). So, for a 30,000-gallon pool that runs continuously (24-hours), the formula is: 30,000 x 2 ÷ 24 ÷ 60 = 41.6 or rounded up it's a 42 GPM minimum flow rate.
The rule of thumb is generally 8 hours, although it could be anywhere from 6-12 hours, depending on your pool's size. Each pool is unique, so to keep your pool pump efficient and effective, you need to figure out exactly what your pool's turnover rate is.