lacigrl

I went out to re-try vacuuming again this morning, but then the thunder and lightning started, so I decided it'd be smart to abandon the idea for today...don't wanna get fried! Here's pictures of the system: DE filter, which is a Purex Triton 2000 Series: Could it be that I need to clean the DE filter? I just backwashed it today for the first time, and a whole lotta brown gunk and debris came out. I know that if you backwash, you have to add more DE. How much should I add? Since the house was an REO, I have no idea when it was last cleaned or what the initial pressure on the gauge is supposed to be. Maybe it'll work better now. Would taking it apart and cleaning the filters help? Various pipes: Control box area. Just below the right box are 2 light switches. They do nothing when flipped on, as far as I can tell. Maybe for the pool light? Also, in the middle is a lever with an on and off area marked. But the lever spins around freely and seems to be broken. I have no clue what it controls. Any guesses?:

Hi all! We just bought our first house, an REO, and it has an in-ground pool. Neither of us knows how to take care of it, so I've been reading up EVERYTHING I can. The water is currently clear, but there is a lot of dirt and leaves on the bottom. I also tested the water, and it needs a lot more chlorine and acid. But I want to clean up the dirt and leaves before I add the chemicals. I bought a manual vacuum head (concrete pool, brush-type vacuum), the vacuum hose, and a skimmer plate. I watched a few how-to videos and read articles, and it seems like I'm doing everything right, but still no suction at all! As far as I know, the filter/pump is working correctly. I cleaned all the baskets, and also made sure to prime the hose (held it in front of the water return pipe til water filled it), then attached one end to the skimmer plate and set it in the skimmer hole area, and turned on the pumps. Nada. Am I missing something? There don't seem to be any settings or things I can change on the pump itself. It's the kind with a clear lid on the top, so I can see that it's pulling in water, but there aren't any levers or anything that I can see. The filter system is a DE filter, and I can see that its lever is set to "filter." I really want to learn how to be able to clean and maintain this pool, but it's frustrating when things don't work the way they're supposed to! And I don't want the pool to keep getting dirtier and dirtier. Any advice?