submerge the hose in the pool first to get all of the air out, then attach to the skimmer.
with a hand vacuum you would be best of vacuuming it to waste in order to get rid of it Al rather then stopping it with the filter and then backwashing.
If your filter is repaired then you can just vacuum the pool.
Vacuum them into the filter.
Most likely the filter. i would check the fingers inside the filter for tears.
Check with a pool supply store. There is a small, battery operated vaccum that can be attached to your pool pole. It may be called the pool buster and it costs around $300. The vaccum is battery charged from a standard 120 wall socket and works very well for normal vaccuming.
You should not put chemicals in the pool while the vacuum is in. Put the chemicals in and give them a chance to work first. Then you can vacuum and backwash the filter as needed.
Add the aluminum sulphate to the pool. Run the filter for two hours. Wait overnight to vacuum the bottom of the pool.
The same as the floor vacuum inside the house but instead of it sucking air it sucks water through the filter. Just run the pool hose from the pool vacuum to the vacuum plate over the top of the leaf basket. then turn on the pump and runi t along the floor of the pool.
There is likely a crack or leak in the hose, filter or pump above water level which is sucking in air and causing the lost prime.
If you have the regular set up that includes a skimmer, pump and filter then you don't have to waste any water. Get an lid-to-hose adapter, that fits over the skimmer basket at your pool supply store. Fill the hose with water and attach it to the lid. Place the lid inside the skimmer over the skimmer basket, then vacuum to your hearts content. Pool Masters
Something blocking it
To maintain a small Intex pool you will need a filter, pool vacuum, pool test kit, net, and chemicals. Keep the filter running to clean the water, test the water daily. Adjust chemicals for chlorine, and PH. Use the net to scoop out leaves and debris as needed, vacuum the pool as needed as well.