Getting sand out of an above ground pool

[bethdeboard]

So last year was the first year that I've had my pool and while my sister and I were trying to figure out how the filter works, we accidentally shot a bunch of sand back into the pool. I can't remember what setting it was on when we did that but it thankfully has never happened again. The problem is that we vacuumed the pool a lot last year to try and get it out and we are still vacuuming it this year. When we get in to vacuum though, the sand gets all stirred up and floats in the pool, causing it to be cloudy. We do end up getting a little vacuumed up but we always have to wait awhile for it to settle again so that we can vacuum. I'm not sure, but I think the sand is becoming less dense because we never had a problem with it floating around last year. It was just always sitting at the bottom.

Does anyone have an idea of how to get all the sand out of the pool? I've read online about simply vacuuming it which we definitely could do but it would just take a very long time for it ALL to be gone since we can't get it all out at once.

[Denniswiseman]

If it floats around it's not sand. You could also add some DE through your skimmer to make your filter more efficient
If it won't vacuum very well stir it all up and filter it out after adding the DE
You very likely have algae so you would need to Slam after using the Chlorine / CYA Chart to determine your shock level in relation to your Cyanuric acid (stabilisor)
How are you chlorinating, liquid chlorine (bleach, Sodium hypochlorite) is best as excessive CYA will render your chlorine ineffective
For every 10 ppm Free Chlorine (FC) added by Trichlor, it also increases Cyanuric Acid (CYA) by 6 ppm.
For every 10 ppm FC added by Dichlor, it also increases CYA by 9 ppm.
For every 10 ppm FC added by Cal-Hypo, it also increases Calcium Hardness (CH) by at least 7 ppm
How do you test? Pool stores and strips are widely inaccurate a FAS/DPD kit is best (Taylor K2006C or TF100)
What are your numbers
FC:
TC:
pH:
TA:
CH:
CYA:
Liquid chlorine (sodium hypochlorite or plain bleach)
Muriatic acid (hydrochloric acid) to lower pH and TA
Bicarbonate of soda to raise TA
Aeration will raise pH only