Need some skimmer / pump / filter help

[koiguy1969]

her skimmer doesnt look home made to me. take another look. i think the original mechanical filtering was lost and jimmy rig replaced...i'd bet a flourecent light difusser grid cut to fit horizontally in the box with a hole for the out pipe and a couple cut to fit furnace filters would solve the dilemna. and a simple mesh planter pot zip tied on the outside of the skimmer inlet (top opening to the box) would allow alot more time bofore clogging as temporary fix. as the sides clogg with leaves etc.. the bottom being a ways under the waters surface will remain open still allowing water to flow to your pump...

 

[koikeepr]

yeah, that's what I mean. Doesn't look like all the parts are there. Not sure if the thing every had a weir door or not...a cover, etc. Am wondering if FineFins can maybe even figure out what brand it is by any visible marks or even try to research them online to see if missing parts might be found.

Otherwise, sounds like further jimmy-rigging (or hooley-gooley'ing as my father used to call it) is needed. This whole set up looks like it requires a lot of work as FF says.

 

[FineFins]

I'll start by saying the pond work is now in litigation. Believe it or not, trial is in 3 weeks. As for the parts, the company that did that particular work, made it so that the pump sucked in the original netting that came with the skimmer and ripped a big hole in it rendering it useless. The skimmer never had a weir door. I worked on the pond yesterday, cleaning and trying to find a spot that I could break in an hook up a proper filter, but that's going to take some chiseling as koikeeper suggested.

I'm going to a guys house today to look at his filtering set up and see if I can get an good ideas.

The chicken wire could be cut to make larger opening and that would help with the daily clogging. After cleaning yesterday, the only thing blocking it this morning was string alage, which there is a lot less of now. I think I can make it through winter and hope to win the lottery and redo the WHOLE thing AGAIN.

 

[koiguy1969]

good luck in court!

 

[DrDave]

Good luck. A lot of contractors would have you believe they are experts in everything. I run into this a lot with BBQ Islands.

 

[koikeepr]

you're so right DrDave. I mean, cementing in pipes and a filter is really a coo-coo bird move. I've never seen that one before,

FineFins, I actually have 1 inch wire mesh across the mouth of my waterfall on my upper pond that cascades down the the lower pond. Prior to having this, my goldfish (which are the residents in my upper pond), inevitably landed in lower pond with the koi.

My recommendation is not to get actual chicken wire, as it can cut a fish if it is pushed against it. In the same aisle as chicken wire is wire that is sort of rectangluar openings rather than octogon/thin chicken wire. It's a tad thicker and it's stainless steel so it's supposed to not rust. They have it in silver and green. I got the green so you couldn't see it. Every month or so I lift the rock that hides it and clean up anything that's accumulated against it.

More like rabbit wire versus chicken wire. It looks sorta like this, but you can buy it in very small rolls, too. I think I have a 10 foot roll and it was something like $7. It's outside in the garden area where they sell all their fencing and stuff.

Larger holes, less clogging.

 

[FineFins]

Yes, Koikeeper, it is chicken poultry fencing I'm using. I just cut some bigger holes and I think that may make quite a difference.

Also, thank you for the compliment on my pond. When I first came home from work and saw those large pieces of flagstone all around it I almost died. It was in the dead of winter, no green in the yard and it looked like an Apollo 13 launch pad! The look grew on me as Spring arrived and things started greening up. I like being able to sit on the edge and put my feet in and drink beer as the fish massage my feet. The original pond had the rock necklace which I wanted to get rid of. Unfortunately, just about all of the work took place while I was at work and it was a surprise each day when I came home. I do love my pond, but it is a huge case of "if I knew then, what I know now!" Thanks for everyone's responses, I really do appreciate your help.

One last thing, I do have the lid to the skimmer box, I just had it off in that first picture to let you see the guts of the box.

Thanks again.

 

[koikeepr]

FineFins, don't feel badly about inheriting a pond with poor plumbing. When I moved into the house I bought over 3 years ago it had this pond with ZERO thought for filtration. The previous owner had overgrown rush, twenty 29 cent goldfish in pea green soup and claimed he never fed them. No filtration of any kind--no skimmer, no filter, no nothing. I just felt so darned badly for those itty bitty fish.

I set upon retro-fitting the whole pond and all those fish are still alive and I have crystal clear water. And, it's a breeze to take care of.

You WILL get there and create a filtration system that is easier to take care of. We'll help you do it--don't you fear! If you can just hang on to early spring, we'll help you out. The winter tho, is a great time to build stuff while your pond is out for the winter. We look forward to helping you out!

 

[DrCase]

I have been tied up on some other projects
But i would like to still see the lines your trying to deal with

 

[FineFins]

If that was for me, I don't understand your question.

 

[koikeepr]

i think he's talking about your pipes? A better pic of how they look in the concrete perhaps?

 

[nc0gnet0]

I know your setup well, it was from an aquascape kit. I have the same skimmer/waterfall wier... You are however missing a few parts. I understand your in litigation.....may I ask is the litigation regarding the installation itself? Was this pond supposed to home fish or were the fish an afterthought?

 

[FineFins]

LOL, that's funny. How can I take a picture of pipes (lines) that are mortared in concrete? I think I can find some pictures of before it was concreted in to give you a better idea.

 

[FineFins]

Sorry, I don't want to discuss that online.

 

[nc0gnet0]

Well your skimmer is missing brushes that go inside the box. Your weir should have come with a bunch of bio-balls that go into a mesh bag and they sit on top of the matts. Did you or the landscapers plant the plants that I see in your weir?

While I see several suggestions on how to alleviate the clogging of the skimmer you have set up, pretty much everything you do to prevent this will eventually clog. I highly suggest you attack the problem at the source, in other words try to find a way to keep the debris out of the pond that is eventually leading to the clog.