Losing water pressure, primer won't stay full, unable to vacuum properly

So the water level in my 20,000 gallon pool keeps dropping at a rate of about an inch a day. I have weak water pressure coming out of the returns. My priming basket won’t fill. I have to put it on backwash mode to fill it. Then when I’m vacuuming I lose all suction and have to start the process all over again. My pump is a

Pentair Challenger 1-1/2 HP 115/230V Single Speed FR Pump - 345201. And I have a DE filter

Hi RyanWaters,

You should not be losing more than a 1/4" of water per day due to evaporation. If you are loosing 1" per day then you have a leak somewhere. The typical places to look for a leak would be anywhere where plastics meets the pool (i.e. light niche, skimmer, return jets, main drain etc…). You can use a dye leak detection kit to try and find the leak yourself, or I have had better success hiring a professional leak detection company, they typically charge $300-$400 to detect the leak.

Thank You

Patrick

www.inyopools.com