No suction at skimmer (kinda long)

Hello. First let me say I'm NO pool guy by any stretch, up until 4 years ago when we purchased this house I had never had any experience with maintaining a pool. For the most part I have been able to maintain the pool by reading the post on this site and other sites on the internet. This spring/early summer has been very trying for me to get the pool swimmable, and with 2 teenagers wanting to spend there summer vacation in the pool it has also been pretty stressfu too..lol. My original issue was with a chemical in-balance and i just couldn't get the water to clear up... which brings me to yesterday when I finally broke down and went to the local pool/spa store and had them do a water sample. they confirmed that the pool was high in phosphate. so we purchased the phosfree they recommend. The lady at the store told us to poor the chemical in at the skimmer and not to touch the filter for 48 hours. well not much longer after I poured in the phosfree I lost suction from the skimmer. Now I have no suction at the skimmer but the pump is running fine and the pre pump basket is clean and the water is flowing good with no bubbles. Also the jets have all but stopped circulating water. When I first turn on the pump the jet closes to the pump bubbles some then it stops and it losses its circulation. The pool is 39x14 and it has a Hayward pump, a Hayward C1200 cartridge filter and a CL200 clorinator. The pool has one main drain at the deep end and 4 return jets. Im at my end with it...I build race cars..lol..I'm about a breath away from filling the dang thing and turning it into a base for a nice steel building to store cars, parts and tools...lol. Any help would be greatly appreciated not only by me but my kids..lol. I think they have lost faith in me fixing it..hahaha.

No one ?

Backwash or clean your filter, might even have to replace the cartridge. It sounds like whatever junk the pool store sold you has clogged it.

Are you testing your pool yourself? What do you use? Generally it is recommended around this site to test yourself using the Taylor 2006 test kit, which doesn't contain a phosphate test because there is usually no need to test for that regularly. The kit allows you to test for free chlorine (FC), combined chlorine (CC), pH, total alkalinity (TA), stabilizer (CYA), and calcium hardness (CH). It is expensive but the reagents will last at least 1 or 2 years. I use it once a week and the rest of the time I test with a cheap HTH kit from Walmart.

We can help you more if we have the above noted readings, the size of your pool in gallons and what you normally put in your pool.

Thanks for the reply. I have cleaned the filter several times and it hasnt changed anything and the pressure doesnt drop after changing to clean filter like it has in the past summers. Yes Ive always tested the water on my own, but i must admit that i use the chepo test kit from walmart, so it's tough for me to give you the numbers you're asking for. The first summer was a bit of a struggle keeping a good balance of chemicals and keeping the water clear, but in the last two summers Ive had no issues til this spring. I couldnt for the life of me get the water to clear up. The lady at the pool store said that it was a common issue with a lot of local pool owners...she said with all the rain we had that the phosphate levels were high, and when she did a water sample for me she said that my pool was just like the others. She gave me the name of the product to lower the high phosphate, so that's what I bought and followed her directions... and now I have no skimmer suction. I suppose it could be totally not related but it seems very coincidental. Either way, now my once cloudy pool is now a nice green color and I'm realizing quickly that im in over my head. I called a local pool service today and they want $180 just for the service call. My pool is 39x14 and 26k gallons. I've used ordinary bleach and baking soda and chlorine pucks in the clorinator to regulate the pools chemicals. It has been crystal clear for the last two summers. Thanks in advance for any help.

Is your psi returning to your "clean" pressure after cleaning the filter?

Also, did you try shutting off the main drain to see what happens?

No, the pressure doesnt drop after putting in clean filter. No, i havent tried turning off the main drain. Im heading out now to mess with it. I'll do that and see what happens. Thanks

If your experimenting shows that there is a blockage in the skimmer, you could put a garden hose in the pump basket into the skimmer line and see what happens. If there is a blockage, it may push it back into the pool if you have enough water pressure.

Hi JenniferC, It sounds like the filter cartridge is clogged by the phosfree as you suspect. Can remove the cartridge and just run without it to test flow and the gauge pressure?

I know some people run with high phosphates and it works for them providing the free chlorine level is maintained at the correct level for your stabiliser level, did the pool shop disclose all the figures for you? Personally I prefer to reduce the phosphates so the pool doesn't go green in the blink of an eye if the chlorine tank runs out but others in the US don't and run successfully.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by FormerBromineUser

Also, did you try shutting off the main drain to see what happens?

---

Sorry for it taking so long for me to get back to this thread. Busy at work and a racecar that is in pieces has me running 100 different directions. So I did try closing the main and immediately i had good flow thru the skimmer, but the flow to the return jets is low and have air bubbles coming out of them. I must have some type of blockage or a huge air pocket in one of my lines. I have a guy coming today to look at it. Its very frustrating, I've had pretty good luck with the pool for the first few years we've lived here..but this year has been a real hassle. Thanks for all the replies and suggestions.

Just my 2 cents at this point, but this forum has historically helped pool owners enjoy their pools with less hassle using the BBB method, the Taylor test kits, frequent cleaning and smaller pumps. I have read the entire Pool Solutions site and scoured this forum, and I think if you do too it will help you maintain your pool with less hassle and more time to do other things. I am in the middle of a transmission rebuild myself, I spend 5-10 minutes a night on my pool.

Please provide us with an update when you can!