I previously posted the following in the Intex Census thread, but since it is directly related to the original post in this thread, will post it again.
After lots of trial, error and frustration, I have found a pretty good way to vacuum an Intex pool. The vacuums you connect to a garden hose are worse than useless. Even with a true vacuum system, if all you have are the standard paper filters, most of what you vacuum out flows right back into the pool. So you need some way to vacuum to waste.
This method is simple and has worked well for me. You will need a vacuum hose, a vacuum head and a pole to attach them to. 1. Fill the hose with water by holding it in front of the return. 2. Turn off the pump and disconnect the hose where water flows into the pump and let the water run out onto the ground. 3. Remove the strainer or skimmer from the outlet that leads to the pump and connect the hose to it. 4. The suction created will allow you to vacuum to waste, permanently removing that crud from your pool. You could use the garden hose style vacuum head with this method. Just put duct tape over the hole where the bag goes, so all the suction is coming from the bottom.
The suction will usually be enough to keep the hose connected to the outlet without physically attaching it. If not, there are several ways to attach the hose with various adapters. My vacuum hose fits my skimmer adapter pretty well, so that is what I use.
Another option has less suction, but all you need is a garden hose. 1. Run a garden hose from the faucet to the pool. 2. Turn on the faucet and let water run into the pool long enough to get all the air out of the line. 3. Turn off the faucet and quickly disconnect the hose. Water will start to flow out of the pool through the hose. 4. Get in the pool and use the suction created to vacuum to waste. I use the first three steps to remove water from my winter cover.