Do I really need a skimmer?

[maverick80]

Hey Everyone,

I'm just about finished digging my pond. It is about 7' wide, and a little over 2' deep at the deepest point. I've been doing some reading about filters, and skimmers. My hope is to buy a bahama 1600 filter falls, and match that with a submersible pump. I would also like to integrate a UV light to limit the algea.

I keep reading that a skimmer is highly recommended to get any debris off the top of the water. I'd like to avoid installing one of these if I can. I don't want to add something else that I may screw up when it comes to cutting the liner, and getting the thing leveled, I also would like to limit my budget on this project.

I'm only going to be adding a few fish. Can I get away with just a bahama filter falls, submersible pump, and uv light?

Thanks!
Mike

 

[sissy]

I don 't have a skimmer and didn't need one really no trees around my pond ,You could go with an in pond skimmer that you don't have to cut the liner .I think a few on here have them and you could look at them on you tube .

 

[maverick80]

Hi Sissy,

Thanks for the reply. How about a drain? Do I really need one of those? Can I get away with just using a pond vac once or twice a year?

Thanks,
Mike

 

[fishin4cars]

You can get away with not using both. But I would like to say one thing about a skimmer, If you buy a decent one they can make your life so much easier when it comes to maintance, and at the same time you'll notice the surface of the water stays so much clearer when there isn't dust, pollen, leaves, etc floating on the surface. A Savio skimmer has a nice basket that is easy to clean and eliminates most of the big stuff out before it ever gets to the filter so the filter can do a better job at what it is suppose to do, Remove fish waste. It then has filter pads, again, they remove more stuff that the Bio filter doesn't have to break down. You can get a UV light that works great and it mounts right in the skimmer. NO additional plumbing needed, Great place to put the pump, Leaves and trash don't get to the pump so the pump lasts longer, No fish can get to the pump only the skimmer basket, and when they get there they usually swim right back out on there own. Lastly a skimmer combined with a Waterfall filter and a back-flush system is a GREAT way to go. I have been using this set-up for several years now. Honestly once I broke down and tried my first skimmer it sold itself to me. I won't build a show pond of my own without one again. One because of the superb job it does removing all the stuff out of the system quickly and efficiently. It really is a great mechanical filter. Second reason, and this is the biggy, a skimmer can pay for itself in as little two years. WHY? because simply speaking, you'll burn up less pumps.
For the bottom drain, you can always go a retrofit BD later, but if you go the route of Vacuuming I would think since you have the vac use it, like once a month. or at least every 6-8 weeks. The cleaner you keep the bottom of the pond the less problems that can sneak up on you.

 

[maverick80]

Hey Fishin,

Thanks so much for the advice. I'm calculating my pond to be between 450-500 gallons. I'm interested in atlantic water gardens BF1600 water fall filter. I like the way you can attach the liner directly to it. Can you recommend a skimmer and pump to go along with the BF1600?

Regarding the skimmer I'm just nervous to not level it correctly and have it be too deep, or not deep enough below the water line.

Thanks again!
Mike

 

[sissy]

I don't have either and just use a swimming pool net to get gunk off the bottom of the pond ,easy and done and less of a head ache .It would all depend on your budget right now .Things will change over time and when money is there then you can add things .You always end up changes things any ways .I know I am guilty of that . :cheerful:

 

[Neo]

I'm thinking of using a floating skimmer to remove the dust on top of the water but I've seen some on here say that fantails can get caught in them.

 

[sissy]

I saw a video on you tube a guy finding a fish in one dead and guess he wanted to warn people .I have never heard of it my self until i saw the video

 

[fishin4cars]

Nick, I have heard that too. But in the five years I've been using skimmers I have only had one fish that got "Caught" in a skimmer and that was a Koi that was to big too get turned around and get back out. I can see where a slow moving fish like a fantail "Could get caught in one of the water flow was to significant. But even then, and this is just my personal experience. I have fantails and goldfish along with butterfly koi, water is being pumped at a rate of 8000pgh through the skimmer. My goldfish actually go in the skimmer net and eat things trapped on the netting and then swim back out on there own.

 

[koiguy1969]

BUILD A DIY SKIMMER..one that can sit inside the pond. easy to make and no cutting the liner. in fact TetraPond makes one that sets inside the pond. *you can still dig a notch out for it in the wall of the pond.
http://www.123ponds.com/tp26562.html


just a little info on skimmers and aeration....
The pond skimmer does more than clear the surface of the pond. Pond skimmers increase oxygen levels in ponds helping to further purify the water, and of course provide rich oxygen for your koi and pond fish. Pond skimmers can do as much or more than any sort of submerged aerator, and they do not disturb the surface of the pond, allowing for nice visibility and reflections to be enjoyed from the surface of your pond.
Did you know that most oxygenation for ponds take place by way of the ponds surface area absorbing oxygen directly from the atmosphere. Those air pumps we use that create thousands of little bubbles that rush to the surface of the pond and explode really do very little to oxygenate. For oxygenation to occur those bubble need to have contact time with the pond water so they can give off the oxygen but they move so fast that there is really minor oxygenation that takes place. It is where the bubbles break up the surface of the water that the oxygenation takes place. Well a pond skimmer is constantly and rapidly breaking up the surface of the pond too. Pond skimmers oxygenate at a much greater pace, with more oxygen being absorbed into the water because the skimmer is constantly increasing the ponds surface area.
** the preceeding was a cut and paste from an article by Mike Gannon.
i dont use a skimmer on my outdoor pond. but i do use one on my indoor pond for wintering my fish. i just net by hand outside. but fines and DOCs tend to accumulate in the top layer of water so i built a DIY fines skimmer that does a fantastic job of removing them, any floating solids (fish poo mostly) and aerating too.
thread link showing build. http://www.gardenpon...ent-pond-setup/

 

[fishin4cars]

Hey Fishin,

Thanks so much for the advice. I'm calculating my pond to be between 450-500 gallons. I'm interested in atlantic water gardens BF1600 water fall filter. I like the way you can attach the liner directly to it. Can you recommend a skimmer and pump to go along with the BF1600?

Regarding the skimmer I'm just nervous to not level it correctly and have it be too deep, or not deep enough below the water line.

Thanks again!
Mike

Mike, you can go with a retro like the one posted above, that way you could run a small pump for your size pond with little expense. But they aren't nearly as effective at removing real trash. I must ask, why so small of a pond? Your pretty far north, I wouldn't really recommend a pond any shallower than say 30-36" deep so your fish can survive the winter. Plus small ponds really are harder to keep than bigger ponds. To a point. Honestly a 1000 gallon, to 2500 gallon pond is a really good starter size, they are more stable, You can use about the same size filter fall and skimmer on the whole range, buy a pump that can turn over the pond at least 1 time per hour. and you don't have to take up a lot of space. This also gives your fish more room to grow and explore. leveling a skimmer is really and installing one is no harder than the filter fall. there is usually a mark on the front faceplate that is is you water mark, you simply set the skimmer where you want the water level to be. To me installing the liner is easier on a skimmer than a waterfall filter. You tube is great and you can do a skimmer install from start to finish in under a hour.
If your going with the BF1600 from Atlantic, their two recommendations are the Atlantic PS 4000 or the Oasis PS3900, 4000 is a little more but has a added set of bristle brushes in the filter, I like it because you also have a extra slot built in for adding a Matala filter pad at a later date if you wish. I have added this on both my Atlantic skimmers with positively improving results. Oasis is a more economical skimmer, it does, come with a leaf net and a single filter pad to clean the water before it reaches the pump. I don't like the weir door though as it doesn't lock shut and when you need to hold water back to do pump repair or replacement it can be a little more PITA. Also being it is a little smaller than the 4000 it does have more limitations on what pumps can be used in it, But in your case even if you go up is size to say a 1500 gallon pond you shouldn't have any issues with pumps fitting inside it. It's mainly a issue on higher output submersible pumps.

 

[maverick80]

Hey Fishin,

My main reason for such a small pond is space. I have dug it at the edge of a paver patio i layed down last summer. I made the pond as long as the patio so it looked symmetrical. As of right now the pond is a half circle in shape. I suppose I could dig it larger and extend it partially around the patio. My backyard very gradually slopes downwards towards my back fence. So its just kind of a pain to get everything level.

I'm concerned about digging it too deep for safety reasons as well (curious dog), although I'm in the process of building a shallow ledge around the inner edge to make it safer.

I'll consider building it out some. Can someone recommend a pump & skimmer that will mate with the BF1600 for under $200? I'm hoping to spend less then $500 on the filter/pump/skimmer/pvc combined.

Thanks,
Mike