Best defaultvalve positions on new pool

[dfresh]

We just finished having an inground pool and spa built a couple months ago. Came out great and the builder did great, but when it came to leaving us proper maintenance instructions they weren't very detailed. We're just north of San Diego now and it's a chlorine system with cartridge filter and stonescapes mini-pebble liner. About 17K gallons. The intake valve options are spa, pool skimmer (single) and dedicated suction line with pentair rebel. The skimmer setup they used is new to me where it's connected to the bottom drain ports in the pool deep end, but only 1 is enabled at a time. The skimmer is on by default and if i want to enable the pool drain ports I put this block type device in the bottom of the skimmer to change the suction.

What's the recommended positions the valves should be left in for daily pump circulation/cleaning? It's a variable speed intelliflo pump and the builder configured it to run at low speed from 8-9am and higher speeds from about 10-11am to have the cleaner kick in. Currently I have it set where all suction comes from the pool (cleaner/skimmer) and outputs to both pool and spa at around 60/40 ratio. Should I use this same setup when adding chemicals?

Had a pool when I lived in Kansas, but it was a vinyl liner and so far chemicals are the opposite for me. Used to have to worry about keeping alkalinity up and used granular chlorine. Now I use liquid chlorine and liquid muriatic acid so far. My alkalinity hovers around 100-110 after we added baking soda per the builder when it was opened so that's the main reason for liquid chlorine. The builder also told me the inline chlorinator should be able to handle all chlorine needs for this pool, but I've since learned his expertise seems to be in building them, but not much in maintaining. Thanks

 

[triptyx]

I'm assuming the spa has a spillway into the pool.

"Normal" setup is spa drain off, pool skimmer/drains on, returns set to 80% pool, 15-20% spa so that water spills over into the pool. This prevents a situation where the pool mainline clogs, and the spa drains itself, causing the pump to lose prime and burn up. This also allows mixed, properly balanced water to enter the spa and keep its chemical levels safe and good. The action over the spillway can also help to "skim" the spa - putting floating debris into the pool where it can enter the skimmer or be sucked up by the vacuum (or main drain if you have water passing through it). I have a dual-plumbed skimmer (skimmer and main drain), and have a diverter plate in it so that there is a little bit of flow through the drain. This also helps to prevent the pump from running dry if the water level drops below the skimmers - the diverter plate has a floater that if it no longer floats, clogs the skimmer and pulls all water through the drains to preserve the pump.

If you're confused about how to set this, take a few photos of your pad so that all of the lines and valves can be seen and we can help you with what to turn on and where.

 

[kadavis]

First of all since you have a suction side cleaner the main drain isn't that important as a part of the circulation system, the cleaner is like a moving main drain. The cleaner should have a manual on how much flow you need to make work properly. The valve controlling the skimmer and cleaner line would be adjusted accordingly. Don't know if you have automation or the pump is a standalone but you need to increase hours pool is in operation.Again the builder should have left you manuals for the pump. If not go to manufacturer website and download these.