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.
a cut and paste from an article by Mike Gannon.