How Much Sand Does My Swimming Pool Filter Need?

One of the many benefits of owning a sand filter is that you only have to change the sand every five years or so. Not to mention, replacing the sand in your pool filter is pretty straight-forward. However, before beginning this journey, don’t forget to ask yourself the all-important question, “How much sand does my swimming pool filter need?” From our experience, this is one of the most overlooked steps in the process. 

How Do I Determine How Much Sand My Swimming Pool Filter Need?

Replacing the sand in your swimming pool filter should be an easy task. However, the step where most pool owners go wrong is determining how much sand has to go back into the filter tank. It is extremely important to use the correct amount of sand. Too little or too much sand can and will negatively affect the filter performance and potentially compromise your pool’s health.

There are a few ways you can determine how much sand your filter requires.

Owner’s Manual

First, if you are one of the few pool owners who keep all of their manuals in one place and know exactly where to find them, lucky you. If not, you can use the make and model listed on the tank to search for the manual online. A quick, simple Google search has never hurt anyone, right?

The owner’s manual for your filter will contain all the information you need to replace your sand. Below is a screenshot of the manual for the Pentair Sand Dollar and Cristal-Flo II Sand Filters.

In the example, you can see that the 26″ tank requires 350 lbs of sand. The larger the filter, the more sand it requires.

I Can’t Locate My Pool Filter Manual

So, what happens if you can’t locate your manual? Don’t worry, it’s not uncommon!

If for whatever reason you can’t locate your physical manual and the Internet gods aren’t being friendly, keep us in mind. INYO understands how difficult it is locating information on an older or discontinued filter. As a result, we wanted to create a single, more succinct list of sand requirements for the most popular sand filters.

Using the charts below, you can find out how much sand you need for your specific make and model sand filter.

American Products/ Pentair

Hayward

Jacuzzi

Pentair/ Pac Fab

Pentair/ StaRite

Waterway

How To Add/Replace Sand to Your Sand Filter

The ‘how much sand does my filter need?’ question is always followed up with, a “How do I replace the sand?” question. To help with the “how”, we recommend checking out our how-to video below on replacing the sand in a sand filter.

I Don’t Know Which Filter I Have

How can you determine how much sand you need if you can’t identify the make and model of your filter? Frankly, it’s a little difficult. However, it isn’t impossible. If possible, the very first thing you want to look for is an identifying part number.

Typically, you can find a part number on any part of the filter. Still, in many cases, you may need to open the filter and examine the internal parts. If in the end you still can’t identify your filter, we can try and help. Send us a few pictures of your sand filter to UPLOAD@INYOPOOLS.COM and one of our technicians can take a look for you.

Charlie Ramirez

Writer at InyoPools.com, brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in pool care and equipment, helping pool owners make informed decisions for over a decade.

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