POOL SAND FILTERS 101: Easy Operating Guide for Beginners | Swim University

Sand filters are relatively easy to use and maintain. But only if you know how each setting works and how the water flows through your system. So here’s a step-by-step guide on how to operate and troubleshoot your pool’s sand filter.
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⏰ Timestamps:
00:00 - Pool Sand Filters 101
00:32 - How Does a Sand Filter Work?
00:56 - Sand Filter Settings
01:26 - #1. Filter Setting
01:40 - #2. Backwash Setting
02:39 - #3. Rinse Setting
02:59 - #4. Waste Setting
03:28 - #5. Recirculate Setting
03:45 - #6. Winter/Closed Setting
04:02 - Filter Pressure Gauge
04:45 - Air Relief Valve
05:21 - How Often Should You Clean or Change Filter Sand?
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Swim University has made swimming pool and hot tub care easy for more than 10 million homeowners. And each year, we continue to help more people with water chemistry, cleaning, and troubleshooting. We know taking care of a swimming pool or spa can be difficult. And it’s hard to find a trusted source of information. We get it! This is the reason we created Swim University.
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[@SwimUniversity]

Here's the sand filter settings and operation covered in the video 👍 And if you want more help, grab the Pool Care cheat sheet at www.swimuniversity.com/cheatsheet 00:56 - Sand Filter Settings 01:26 - #1. Filter Setting 01:40 - #2. Backwash Setting 02:39 - #3. Rinse Setting 02:59 - #4. Waste Setting 03:28 - #5. Recirculate Setting 03:45 - #6. Winter/Closed Setting 04:02 - Filter Pressure Gauge 04:45 - Air Relief Valve 05:21 - How Often Should You Clean or Change Filter Sand?

[@Scubaduude]

Great tutorial. Exact and simple. It’s been many yrs since I was a lifeguard and this retraining brought it all back.

[@stupedaso4290]

Boy, do I feel like a schmuck. For the last 6 months (since getting our pool), we've had the filtration system on "recirculate" (as per our contractor who told us to do that). I didn't know that the recirculated water wasn't hitting the sand filter until I watched this video. That explains why the pool was so cloudy all the time!! Thanks for your helpful video.

[@SwimUniversity]

Oh yikes, glad you caught it! Hope it's filtering well now

[@mstephens8996]

Great video timing for me. As I was conducting my morning pool maintenance, I determined I needed a refresher on pool filter settings. Thanks for the update.

[@SwimUniversity]

Glad we can help!

[@337Steve]

Appreciate yalls knowledge

[@SwimUniversity]

Thanks! Happy to help!

[@listen4159]

My friend is new to pool owning. I'm always glad to reference your videos!

[@SwimUniversity]

Thanks for sharing it!

[@listen4159]

@@SwimUniversity I've sent him a handful of videos and a paragraph of all definitions and steps. He's doing amazing and his pool bounced back after some needed hardware maintenance

[@fallonsanchez6341]

This was a great help . I just bought a blueberry sand filter this was great info. 😊 Thanks

[@SwimUniversity]

Happy we could help!

[@loveitorleaveit6868]

Love the video, the critical info, the details and step by step walkthrough 👍👍

[@SwimUniversity]

Glad it was helpful!

[@gabiarpinte7223]

Thank you guys👍

[@SwimUniversity]

You're welcome!

[@grahamireland8028]

amazing help. thank you so much for a clear and understandable video

[@SwimUniversity]

Happy to help!

[@LegendaryLlama_]

I love pools!

[@sandy6782]

Good video

[@horacelee880]

My pool filtering system has two motors at the pad.Both are connected to a control box. A big one that runs the pump at start up & a smaller one sitting next to it that never runs! What is the smaller pump used for is it some kind of auxillary & if so whats it`s purpose??

[@sarahratliff1131]

Hello! Thank you so much for your videos. You helped us open our pool tor the first time last year and here we are again! I do have a question about the system. When we shut off the filter after running it for a bit - the water in the skimmer seemed to kick back and allowed the debris to fall into the pool water and the basket by the motor seemed like it wanted to burst out of the container. Is this something you’ve dealt with before? Any recommendations?

[@SwimUniversity]

You may want to install a weir (skimmer door) to prevent debris from floating back in

[@amradel0000]

are there versions of it could be used in salty water ( in the sea ) ?

[@stevedevito210]

If I have a tablet chlorine system on a sand filter what setting do I run it on?

[@judicroson9670]

HI,im using a intex sand filter but the diagram on top for settings is unreadable what should i do ?

[@chesterhillman1621]

Do you suggest using filter cotton balls

[@germanatravaglini8110]

Thanks for this, nice to know what all those settings are! The difference between backwashing and rinsing was not clear to me. I'm new to pool maintenance and I get a lot of conflicting info. Guys doing maintenance here tell me the sand filter needs replacement after 20 years, and they never mentioned anything about adding sand. I'm confused. How do I know when my filter needs more sand?

[@SwimUniversity]

You shouldn't ever need to top off your sand, but you do want to replace the sand eery 3 to 5 years. It becomes "worn out" in a sense.

[@germanatravaglini8110]

@@SwimUniversity thanks! Is there a way to understand when it's time to change it? And how do I do that?

[@kennyspringer7668]

Matt I really need you on this one I bought a new sand filter they gave me one bag of sand with it is silica 20 can I mix a different brand with it as long as it is silica 20 as well??

[@SwimUniversity]

You should be fine, but you just need to double check the ingredients so that they match.

[@mohamadzaidi8322]

Hye..why my filter pressure unstable...up n down...after i did backwash..plz help

[@user-zk3zd6mb4j]

How often should I backwash

[@jimbocharles2428]

Great vid as usual. I have one issue though, all other tutorial type vids recommend only turning the multiport valve handle clockwise and this is not the case with this vid. Am I missing something ??

[@SwimUniversity]

For some models, it doesn't make any difference which direction you turn it. But it's likely a bit easier on the seal if you always are consistent and turn it only one direction.

[@spocket7]

Thanks for the graphical and clear explanations of the different modes - useful. I've installed (replacement) a brand new sand filter unit on my above ground pool. All seemed fined but ~1 week later when I run a backwash, there's an obvious amount of sand coming out (seen through the glass and waste water) during the backwashing. When I run RINSE, either no sand or just couple of grains may appear in the glass. So far, no obvious sand being sent back in the pool. Do I have an issue? Or does the sand just need to settle in more in the tank? Trying to figure out if it is normal, or if something is broken inside, or if I messed up the install (re-reading the instructions, I did not put water in the tank before putting the sand in.). Or am I missing a seal or something. Ideas?

[@SwimUniversity]

Is there sand in the pool too? It could mean a lateral or standpipe in the sand filter broke when you installed it

[@ayyathiofuntastic]

hi, thanks for the video. My filter pressure when circulating mode is 7 psi, but when filter mode the pressure is zero. so the spray is very weak. is that normal? how to fix it?

[@SwimUniversity]

That's not normal. Check out this video to help you troubleshoot: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gYSbgqN8d8mWarM

[@nadiacoffey2609]

I think our filter sand either needs to be cleaned or changed but not sure. We’ve had our home for three years and the previous owners said the sand filter was new. We have a new pump. Our chemicals are fine but our water is still cloudy. We’ve never cleaned or changed the sand in three years. Our pool guy who helps us open the pool said we didn’t need to change the sand but nothing is clearing the water.

[@adreanna7128]

you should be changing ur sand in ur filter every 2 years

[@ViCArk1]

What if I just added green aid , would I do filter or recirculating setting ?

[@SwimUniversity]

Set it to filter after adding green aid, then shock

[@user-zk3zd6mb4j]

What if my pool has no pressure guage

[@angelsoho]

Aren’t you supposed to only rotate the multiport clockwise? Not trolling, just an honest question cause I swore I was told counter clockwise is bad for the thing.

[@marks83]

There are a lot of different multi-port valves. This happens to be a Hayward 714. The gasket is molded to the key assembly. In many multi-port valves including but not limited to the Hayward 710, the gasket is not molded to the key assembly. Rotation counterclockwise can in some cases drag the gasket out of these types of valves. However, this is not an issue with the 714. As a technician, I have frequently told customers of both to always rotate clockwise just because I didn't want to take an additional 20 minutes to explain the differences when it truly doesn't matter. Sadly time is money and I want to get home to my family rather than spend an excessive amount of additional time explaining something to a customer that honestly will make no difference in how they need to care for their pool.

[@SwimUniversity]

Thanks for asking the question! And Mark's answer below is even better than how we would've explained it

[@frankkish9485]

It doesn't care. Just make sure the pump is OFF!

[@ShortyisHeree]

soo after backwashing and rinsing our machine started to make a clacking noise.. why :(

[@frechco5750]

How often does sand need to be added to a sand filter? I'm pretty sure the installers said to add a bag every year but a friend said he's never added any. I don't think I lose much over the course of the summer backwashing every week. I've had it two summers and just checked it but not sure how full it should be. Thanks in advance and I love your videos and tutorials!

[@SwimUniversity]

You shouldn't lose any of the sand unless you have a leak in the filter. You should replace all of it after 3 to 5 years, but in the meantime, none of it should be leaving the filter.

[@acm_Official]

We have just installed a sand filter but I'm not sure if shen I buy the filter the sand is included already, or I have to add it for the first time... please help

[@joijoi8599]

My sand filter does not have a rinse setting. What else would it be named?

[@SwimUniversity]

It's okay, it just means you might see sand once and awhile in the pool after backwashing.

[@heracleonueva2428]

A sand filter every hour always backwash is good or bad thankyou,,,,,

[@SwimUniversity]

Are you saying you backwash every hour? 🤔 That's too much.

[@Jack-fp9qu]

what are filter balls and are they better

[@SwimUniversity]

We haven't used filter balls but let us know if you try them

[@sa76vr52]

I use them and they are great! I haven’t use sand because I read great thing about the balls first.

[@marks83]

I wish you wouldn't have lumped closed and winter together. We are above the freeze line and have had a lot of frozen valves due to using close instead of winter. Closed does just that it closes the valve trapping water in the valve that can freeze. Winter does just the opposite it completely opens the valve so all water can drain out. You may cost a lot of people a Ruther expensive repair due to a simple oversight.

[@SwimUniversity]

Yes, you're right. We lumped those together and made them seem like the same function. We'll make a note in the comments so people don't get confused.

[@Coopersuperduper]

I was told by a pool guy to only turn the valve clockwise. It seems this shows the turn counter clockwise.

[@SwimUniversity]

Going in the same direction can help prolong the life of a multiport valve for sure

[@user-mq3ff7bb3d]

@ Koto AVN Koi Gora motor Kotha letter time Guntur to Janab

[@markusaurelius4015]

How do you know when the sand needs to be replaced? I’m within that 3-5 years but no clue how to know if it NEEDS changing. Thanks!

[@SwimUniversity]

High pressure or poorly filtered water is usually a symptom

[@danmead3527]

What if your sand filter doesn't have the waste setting

[@SwimUniversity]

It should. What kind of sand filter do you have?

[@1god2012]

Same! And how do we raise the pressure on ur sand filter?

[@lizbugy12]

Same question. My pump is the XtremepowerUS 12 in. sand Filter Combo

[@amandahaggerty5159]

My filter doesn't have a recirculate or waste setting. Filter is Blue Torrent. I cannot be sure of model number. Likely AC 124. Trying to get rid of algae and the floc I have says to set the filter to recirculate. Should I continue using pump as usual?