What is the "best" side vac, skimmer and drain strategy?

[QingGuy]

It's day 32 of my pool plaster cure so I was able to throw a side vac unit (Hayward Aquanaut 400) in, start adding salt and I guess settle into a "normal" cycle once SWG us up and running. So I'm left with this question, what is the best strategy for run time(s) and combinations of the vac, skimmer and bottom drain?

I assume vac is run as long as it takes to clean the pool. Do others run vac with skimmer valve open or closed? After vacuuming is done skimmers only or skimmer with bottom drains?

Anyone care to share a best practice on this topic or what works for them? I did search for a similar topic and found I got bits and pieces but not a comprehensive thread. Maybe my search-fu isn't strong this morning . . . Also wasn't sure where to post this so if a mod would like to relocate to a more appropriate location please do.

 

[Casey]

I'm not sure if you ever got an answer to your question or not???

 

[QingGuy]

No but I think I figured it out. I run my pump 9 hr a day with bottom drains and skimmers open. If pool is dirty I shut off bottom drain and skimmers, increase RPM and run vac for a couple of hours. Repeat next day.

 

[wsamon]

I run my pump about 14 hours / day right now with the automatic cleaner on the entire time via a dedicated suction line. My skimmer is kept about 1/8th - 1/4th open and I sometimes open either the main drain or my spa drain about the same amount. Unfortunately, anymore than that and the automatic cleaner doesn't get enough power to climb the walls and do a good job. I run the cleaner all the time because I both get lots of debris in my pool that needs vacuumed out and because I don't want to be bothered with attaching and removing it every day.