Question on skimmer and vacuum

[cab]

i am a recent pool owner. i have two lines coming in to the pump, one has skimmer on it with a ball valve and the other has vacuum with a ball valve. i hook the kreepy krawler to i assume the vacuum line? when i unplug the kreepy krawler the pipe it hooks to creates a pretty strong vortex and when the kids are splashing around it sometimes will suck air. question is can i shut the vacuum line off when its not in use? thanks.

[floridapooltech]

yes, you can shut the vacuum off while it is not in use, however, you will want to make sure the ball valve marked skimmer is wide open. sometimes, if there is not enough water in the pool, the skimmer will create so much suction that it will actually start sucking air through the skimmer. You can always open the vacuum valve partially to compensate this extra suction, just make sure nobody gets near the port as this can potentially become a dangerous situation (unless you keep an automatic cleaner attached).