Hello from Maryland

[Troutredds]

lol I was raised in Rockville, lived there until I left for college out west.

Small world, @addy1! I was born in Silver Spring but we lived in Rockville back in the 1960s, before also heading out west.

Welcome to the group, @gau11cho!

 

[Usman]

helooo to maryland

 

[gau11cho]

Hello and thank you all @Mmathis @Usman @Becky @cas
@CometKeith lolz i feel you on that. I guess i was lucky enough my wife didnt really complaint much (or at least not until this point ). I guess she prefer i spend time by the pond than out to soccer field 3x/week after work.
Hello to the local expert @Spartamets @addy1 and @Troutredds i am sure i will have a lot of questions related to our local weather/environments and its effect to the ponds too.
I used to told my dad back in the day that his hobby was too boring, just sitting by the pond next to an japanese maple enjoying some tea and starring at fishes i didnt know i inherited it from the very first day.
About the skimmer, im still affraid off our fall season. We do have lots of foliate in our yard. I just order the above the ground pool skimmer for $30 on amazon and will try to replave that with my diy skimmer. Water comes out of the pool skimmer will be pump back to the pond by a small pump i already had. Any thought?

 

[addy1]

My biggest problem is maple seed pods, I have a maple tree very close to the pond, usually the wind blows them away from the pond, if it doesn't I get tons of seeds in the water and have to dump the skimmer daily.
Mine is a pool skimmer, my draw is to a external pump.

 

[Spartamets]

I think you'll find a net essential for the Fall, depending on what you have nearby. It keeps a lot out of the pond.

 

[tbendl]

Welcome. I would definitely net if you have tons of trees.

 

[gau11cho]

Mine is a pool skimmer, my draw is to a external pump.

@addy1 what exact pump and fitting did you use? I have a 385gph submersible pump that i was trying to connect to the pool skimmer using the 1 1/4 hose that i had; but couldnt fit the hose into the pump. Any suggeztion? Or maybe i should buy another pump?

 

[addy1]

I am using a dragon lim external pump I bought around 20 years ago for my pond in Arizona, moved it to Maryland when I shut that pond down. It pumps around 6800 gph

I have 2 inch pvc coming from the bottom of the skimmer, going to a T where it joins the pvc coming from the pond, which enters the pump. I don't use submersible pumps except in my tiny deck pond. There it just circulates the water when the timer is not running the stream pump which is external also.

To me external pumps are easier to maintain, you don't have clogging prefilters. I usually turn it on in the spring and ignore it for the summer.

 

[sissy]

Hose does not go inside it should go outside and be clamped on with a stainless steel clamp .Clamp should go on the outlet on top of pump

 

[gau11cho]

Thanks @addy1 and @sissy. I am finally able to connect it to the pump and running. I also ordered a net and external pump for later use if needed. The only problem i seem to have now is the little foaming on the pond. Not much but it bothers me sometime. I did a water test and it s all good, but its always some white foam floating around. I think the way i build my waterfall help create a lots of bubble, and also i didny have any plants in the pond yet. Is it true or there is something wrong?

 

[cas]

White Foam or bubbles on the water is probably Protein Buildup (or called DOCs, which stands for ‘dissolved organic carbon’). Something I learned on this site is if you scoop up some foam and let it sit in a bucket, if it is DOCs it will have a slight brown to very dark brown color.

 

[gau11cho]

White Foam or bubbles on the water is probably Protein Buildup (or called DOCs, which stands for ‘dissolved organic carbon’). Something I learned on this site is if you scoop up some foam and let it sit in a bucket, if it is DOCs it will have a slight brown to very dark brown color.

I did what you suggested @cas , it turns slight brown in the bucket. I just added one big pot of irish, 5 of water hyacynth. Dont know if it helps but most lf the foam is gone in 2days, only some left right under the waterfall.