Over the wall skimmer with no suction

[Lemonred34]

Well the title pretty much sums it up. Please excuse my ignorance to what is to follow lol. I pulled the basket out to clean etc, but when I reach my hand in there seems to be almost no water flow. PSI on pump is normal. But my question is, with this being an over the wall skimmer can I just remove the connector and place the grid strained back on the inlet to check for debris? I assume to do it while the pump is off but will I also need to close the valve and the inlet line connector like I would to clean the pump basket? Again, please excuse my ignorance when it comes to the pump ?

I’m certain it’s in my signature but just in case, 12x24 ultra frame intex with Krystal clear sand pump 2 100 gph

 

[Texas Splash]

If you would like to shut the system off to disconnect the skimmer/hose to check for a clog, that's fine. But when water flow back to the pool (return port/jets) gets weak, many times it's simply a dirty filter ...... or algae. Algae, even in a clear stage, can overwhelm a filter causing filter (needle) pressure to rise quickly and water flow to slow down dramatically. I'm assuming the pump is on the ground below the waterline, so water should flow easily to the pump, therefore suction-side water "pull" to the pump should not be a problem unless you have an air leak (like a broken straw).

You might help us more by posting a full set of water test results and telling us how you test your water. Which test kit?

 

[Lemonred34]

I’m using the TFT 100. I’m at the tail end of a SLAM at the moment (blue cloudy stage) and have only been checking FC and sometimes CC.

Last results from this am:
FC 11
CC 0
CYA 30 (tested last week)

PSI was really low this week almost 0 cleaned out pump basket and that brought it up to normal range, but no real change in skimmer suction. I did notice an air bubble in the middle of the line (on outside of pool.) when pump is shut off the air bubble travels to top of line where it connects to pool.