How do you hide your skimmer box?

[michey1st]

We've broken ground on the new pond, and I need a skimmer, but i'm flummoxed as to how to integrate it. Here's a proposed diagram:

Primary viewing will be from the deck (where the photo was taken) and also from our ground-level patio, which is to the bottom left of the photo. So, location of said skimmer will be right in the primary walking path and viewing angle.

The new lower pond will be approximately 9x14 with the shape you see. Total volume for all ponds and bog will be around 2000 gallons. I'm waffling between an in-pond skimmer box and something outside the liner, but they are all so huge! I don't want to take up internal pond volume with a 2' x 2' box, but I have no clue how to hide an external skimmer while still keeping the lid accessible for cleanings without it looking out of place or being a tripping hazard. Plus, keeping the pump inside the skimmer worries me --- what if the water level drops while we aren't home and the pump dries out? Those kill switches seem complicated to me >.< We also would like to keep all plumbing inside the pond proper if at all possible for ease of access.

My pump is a 2900 gph Laguna, so it's pretty sizable (10 x 12 plus the pipe coming out horizontally) and likely won't fit in smaller skimmers unless I remove the cage (which is a no-no according to the manufacturer). Consequently, it doesn't have an accessible in-flow (unless I take off the cage). If I use a skimmer, is it safe to remove the cage with the theory being the skimmer will keep the particles out of the impeller? Without the cage, the pump is around 6 x 8 or therabouts.

So, thoughts? Experiences? Got a good and not-super-expensive and not-super-huge skimmer to recommend? I toyed with trying to make one out of a rubbermaid bin set inside the liner -- might be a cheap experiment but I don't know how effective it would be at, you know, skimming, lol.

 

[fishin4cars]

There are some companies that have false rock tops. IMO that's the best option. The easier the access to the more likely to stay on top of cleaning the net frequently. It use to bother me a lot seeing the black lid. Now everything is planned around easy accessibility.

 

[michey1st]

Thanks, Fishin! I'm still worried about the tripping hazard this presents, especially if it has a fake rock cover -- someone may just decide it's a stepping stone =/ Still haven't ruled it out as an option, yet, but wondering if there's another way.

I'm thinking of trying to make my own and house it inside the pond in a nook. I'm thinking some kind of rubbermaid bin (or maybe a black square trash can), with a side cut out for a weir -- replacement pool skimmer weirs are cheap enough on amazon (starting at around $5) -- just have to figure out if there's a good way to attach it and still keep it flapping. I'm thinking eye bolts screwed in to the side of the can, maybe. Sort of like waterbug's design, but without the concrete surround. I would still need to come up with some sort of camoflage, though.

The idea is still percolating...

 

[addy1]

I used am exterior pool skimmer, just cut a hole in the liner, it does not have a pump in it, does have a huge leaf basket It draws via the exterior pond pump. Don't even notice it, sure in drawing in those maple spinners right now.

I made sure it was on the predominate downwind end of the pond.