water level dropping

[Poconos]

Hi Carolyn,
Since the liner is only a year old I guess it's possible a seam opened. Chasing my leak last year, a pool contractor told me that if a seam is going to open it will do it usually in the first couple years. Someone else may kick in other thoughts on this. I next started with the dye around the junction of the floor and sides at the deep end. Had already figured it was a deep end leak because the leak rate didn't change as the level dropped. Have to go very slow with the dye. Position the hose, squirt a little, and wait a little. I was losing about 3 quarts a minute and when I hit the spot it was obvious. Found it within an hour. 3 small slits inside a 2" diameter circle maybe caused by agressive use of the pool vacuum brush. You also need the water to be really still, no currents to disperse the dye. To see how difficult finding a leak of this size I stuck a garden hose on the bottom and started a siphon and set the rate to be my 3 quarts per minute. Then was able to see what to look for with the dye. Funny thing, with the naked eye I never saw the slits, until I knew where to look.
Hope this helps a little more.
Al

[carolynn]

AL, did you ever swim around the bottom with a mask and look for the leak? That is what I was told to do at the pool store. Also, did you use the RIT dye? I am going to get my husbands help on the pipe contraption to get the dye to the bottom. Some one could probably make a fortune selling something to find the leaks! Thanks for your help.

[Poconos]

I didn't go down and look. Water was way too cold in April. I scarfed some dye tablets years ago that are used for stream tracing and other things. One tablet makes a good gallon of red fluorescent dye. Someone else on the forum suggested the RIT. My water was extremely clear while chasing the leak...that's a necessity. Found a slick way to lay a deep end patch too. Post #9 in this thread
http://www.poolforum.com/pf2/showthread.php?t=101

Al

[cleancloths]

Block off the skimmers and see if it still leaks with the pump shut down, if it does then it is most likely the liner or main drain. If it does not it is either a leak in the skimmer, the return lines or the feed lines. Close one off at a time and run the pump for 24 hours and see which one causes the water to drop. I recently had a problem like this and found it was the pressure line feeding my polaris that had a crack in it under ground.

[carolynn]

OK, We had a big rain storm last night so all my measurements are wrong on isolating each pipe. I'll start that again. At least I got some free water !
Al, Do you have a picture of the red dye contraption you made?? Your pics on the link for the patch were very helpful!
Thanks everyone for all the info, It is such a help to be able to find help!

[Poconos]

Carolyn,
I don't have any pics of that thing but I could take some. Tied up today so maybe tomorrow I'll do it. Considering the cost factors of finding the leak, fixing it, etc I just bought a $20 1 gallon sprayer at Home Depot or someplace dedicated to this leak finding task. For the vacuum line hose attachment you can blob silicone seal to the sprayer thing and let it cure for a day. I always keep a few caulking size tubes of that stuff around. Also, I never worried about the dye staining the liner. Seems like it might but never had a problem because it disperses relatively fast and the chlorine will get rid of the color.
Al

[carolynn]

STILL Need HELP! We did get something to work to get the dye to the bottom, Thanks, Al. I have put dye at all of the skimmers and inlets, all around the seams where the wall meets the bottom, and the bottom drain. with nothing that I can tell is leaking. I have taken measurements and seem to be losing about 1 1/2 inches a day, seems to be the same with the motor on or off. This seems like a lot to me, and that it should be pretty obvious when the dye gets close, Am I right? The filter and motor are 2 feet higher than the deck of the pool and I am not loosing the pressure in the filter, if that makes any difference. I am going to turn the filter on with just the bottom drain now and see what happens. My next ????? is Where is the next most likely place to be leaking and what else can I do??? HELP!