What are the proper filter settings when vacuuming??? Pump basket full..confused.

[crocop]

Hey,

Before I vacuum, I try to remove most big leaves manually.

Currently, when I vacuum, I just connect the vacuum to my skimmer, and leaver the sand filter on "filter" mode. When I vacuum, I maybe collect like 10-15 leaves..is this bad?

Where do these leaves do? To my filter or to my pump basket? Not sure because yesterday I opened my pump for the first time in like 3-4 weeks, and there we ALOT of leaves in there. Is that from the 3-4 times I vacuumed?

Should I continue to vacuum in "filter" mode and then backwash once PSI gets high? Or should I be vacuuming in waste mode? If so, same idea of connecting it to the skimmer right?

Thanks,

 

[JesseSchmidt]

Does your skimmer have a basket? If not, get one and it will catch them before they get to the pump. But after vacuuming, it's a good practice to empty the skimmer and pump baskets. And yes, running the pump on regular filter mode is correct unless you have a swamp situation and are trying to get rid of lots of junk.