Unhappy with pool water quality and I'm not sure my skimmers are working, or I have the valves in the right place

[SW Pool Owner]

Hi folks, I have 3 valves on my pool, 2 of which I have barely any idea how they work. I've noticed debris not really being 'sucked' into the skimmer, noticing a lot of leaves and Crud just sitting in the water, and overall unhappy with the water quality now vs when I bought the house.

I've noticed when I open the skimmers the water just sits there, only in one skimmer do I sometimes see the suction motion.

I adjusted the valves a few days ago and when I went to brush my pool there was sooooo much green algae being thrown up in the water. Can someone help me and tell me what these valves do and what position they should be in?

The photos don't do it justice, but I see lots of small Crud just sitting in the water. And the skimmers seem inconsistent. Pressure seems fine. And I have no idea what position my valves should be in.

Appreciate any and all help!

 

[Jimrahbe]

SW,

Your skimmers do not seem to have much "action". Here are the most likely reasons.

1. Missing weir doors. Skimmers "skim" the surface water because of how the skimmers weir door works. It floats up and down with the surface of the water and basically forces the surface water into the skimmer along with all the debris. Do both of your skimmers have operating weir doors?

2. Poor water flow. This is usually caused by a dirty filter. When was the last time you backwashed your filter?

3. Poor suction. Usually caused by dirty pump basket or clogged pump impeller.

If you can see any kind of algae, that is most likely the problem. Algae can quickly clog a filter.

I assume that the valve with the Red handle selects flow from your two skimmers. It looks fine where it is.

The valve without the handle needs to be looked at. It selects between your skimmers and something else. Either your main drain or your vac port. Either way, I would turn that valve so that only the two skimmers are operating. This will shut off the main drain or vac port and send more suction to the skimmers.

You need to make sure the valve with no handle is NOT adjusted so that it has turned off the two skimmers and is only sucking from the main drain/vac port.

Tell us how you think the valve with no handle is currently set.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[SW Pool Owner]

Thank you so much, the valve with no handle appears to be the main drain. I have turned that completely off off and turned the skimmer handle all the way (should I have just kept it turned a quarter like in the photo?)

1. All have weir doors, but I've noticed they don't close unless there's a high level of water in the pool, then I hear the constant slapping of the door open and close

2. Backwash every 3 - 4 weeks. Just backwashed now, water was clear.

3. The impeller was indeed clogged with lots of little twigs and sticks and layers of sud, I cleared that out. 1 one of my baskets is definitely full of Crud, I will clean tomorrow. I have 3 skimmers, the other 2 seem to capture less but it's working much better now after cleaning the impeller.

I do see some more suction on skimmer #2 and #1 now. I'm not sure what to expect, I was expecting a lot of suction pulling all the Crud in but I guess it's a slow approach? Sometimes I see stuff slipping right by the skimmer, but when I open the skimmer I do see a little whirlpool of water, more force than I saw before cleaning the impeller.

Thank you for your advice, I will see what the pool looks like tomorrow.

 

[Jimrahbe]

SW,

Your water level should be about in the middle of the skimmer opening. In a gunite pool this would be in the middle of the tile line if that helps visualize where the water should be.

If you have three skimmers, how it the 3rd skimmer connected?

I assume your pump is a single speed pump.. Is that correct?

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[SW Pool Owner]

In my L-shaped pool, I have 2 skimmers at the very end. So if you visualize an "||_" for L, the "_" part has 2 skimmers and the "|" part has one skimmer across from it. My skimmer have 4 screws and I've been keeping my water between screws 2 and 3, refilling to the top of 3 every week or so. Should it be higher?

Single speed pump most likely, I don't see any option to change speed

 

[Jimrahbe]

SW,

Thanks for the diagram.

You have three skimmers but only two pipes coming back to the pad. (To the valve with the red handle). So, the question is how is the 3rd skimmer connected to the equipment pad???

Are we sure that the 3rd pipe at the equipment pad is not for the 3rd skimmer?

I guess the only options are:

1. The 3rd pipe at the valve with no handle really goes the 3rd skimmer.

2. Two of the skimmers share a common line.

Please look under the baskets in each skimmer and tell us how many pipes are open. Pics of each would be great.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[SW Pool Owner]

Sure, will report back tomorrow as I won't be home tonight

Thanks

 

[SW Pool Owner]

Ok, I see what happens. So skimmer 1, 2, and 3 are controlled by the valve that was pushed 25%. If I rotate it 100%, skimmers 2 and 3 dont work and only skimmer 1 works, and vice versa at 0%.

I've noticed they all have weir doors, but I had to lift it up manually to see it working. Now I see a smooth stream of water flowing in, but once my pool turns off the weir door does not close. It stays flattened and all the Crud floats around, which explains why my pool doesn't look good.

Also my deep end of the pool (8 feet) is getting cloudy. CC is 0 but I can see it a little cloudy and when I brush, I see little green spores flying up. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong since my FC is steady at 7.5 with SWG, CYA at ~80. I bumped FC to 11 but would love to avoid a shock if possible since it's so hot here these next few days.

 

[SW Pool Owner]

I think I might not be running my pool long enough. I run it from 11:30 AM to ~8:30PM but maybe I need to go back to 12 hours. I believe my pool water filter time is about 6 hours, based on what the previous owner put in for settings on the SWG

 

[mknauss]

but once my pool turns off the weir door does not close.

The foam is gone from the back of the weir door. You can try to put some foam in it, or replace the door.

I think I might not be running my pool long enough.

Which Pool Pilot Digital do you have? RC35, RC42, or RC52?

 

[SW Pool Owner]

RC42

Hmm foam on the weir door? Will investigate..

 

[Jimrahbe]

SW,

Most weir doors have foam inside them that make them float. Over time, the foam gets waterlogged or comes apart making, them sink instead of float.

Thanks,

Jim R.

 

[SW Pool Owner]

Skimmer #3 has no foam, but skimmers 1 and 2 do. However even when I turn the pump off, I notice the weir door for skimmers #1 and #2 WITH FOAM don't fully close, only partially and lets stuff skim through the top. I'm not sure why..

Also on a side note, since the pool was cloudy I measured the pH as high and went to add muriatic acid. I measured 54 fl oz according to the Taylor handbook and added it to the pool using a measuring cup. My dumbass self used the measuring cup to stir the water and my measuring cup melted right into the water within seconds. Go me.