Low flow, poor suction; bubbles in pump & pool, mustard algae

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Originally Posted by kahmeal

Sorry it took me a while to reply, been a bit caught up with other things the last few days. I have not yet had a chance to track down the leak, however as far as that handle goes; The position it's in is as far as it will turn in that direction. The other possible positions are 12 o'clock which completely blocks all water to the pump and then 2 o'clock which partially blocks the right pipe the same way the left is now partially blocked. Unfortunately these two pipes are not labeled so I'm not sure where they go.

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The valve cover is installed incorrectly. Take out all the screws, remove the valve internals and rotate the cover 180 degrees and re-install. That should fix the valve problem. While you have the valve apart, check the o-ring for any damage as that can cause a leak.

Ditto, it was in fact the valve. Took it apart, replaced with new freshly lubed rings, re-oriented the handle properly and no more bubbles :) What a weight off my shoulders, and quite the learning experience along the way! Just got done spending about 5 hours on the valves/filters/vacuuming/scrubbing the pool and finished off with a fresh gallon of clorox and leaving the pump on for the night. My taylor testing kit came in as well so I'll be spending this week getting the water quality dialed in and hopefully be swimming by the weekend! Thanks to everyone who helped me along here; again, so much learned.

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Originally Posted by mas985

The valve cover is installed incorrectly.

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Good catch, Mark.

That was a nice catch.

Question on this topic, one I've wondered about recently. Will an underground suction leak provide enough air? I suppose it depends on soil composition. Rocky/sandy could, dirt/clay might not. Mostly dirt around here, I assumed that an underground suction leak would draw in and show mud. Any ideas?

As you say, it depends on soil conditions . . .