Skimmer advice

[Jonna]

I didn't put a skimmer in the pond I built in Cat City so I have no knowledge of them.  Now, I've promised to redo the small pond there at my friends this summer.  Take out the preform and put in a liner, the goal is to make it easier to clean whatever filter there is, currently she has to pull a lot of stuff out of the pond to clean the filter.

Anyway, space is very limited by a concrete patio that surrounds it.  My idea is to put only a skimmer with a large well and a leaf catcher/filter, put the pump in the well and then route the water through some kind of water feature that includes some biological filtering. 

I want a skimmer that is flush with the ground on top and goes down as deep as needed.  Do they make them like this?  With a hard ABS plastic lid that is not too huge and can be hidden with a potted plant or long stemmed droopy plants around it?

It's got to be a small pond, about the size of Joyce's Pondsai I'd say, but it can be a little bigger than the preform.  It's under an arbor, so shaded from the desert sun.  There are about 5 goldfish in there now and innumerable mosquito fish, which I hope happen to get lost in the new pond move.

[happyoutsidegirl]

Hi Jonna, I bought a kit that came with the skimmer, bio falls, and even the pump. Everything I needed. I got it at eponds.com    Mine is a 16'x21' but they come in many sizes. I love my pond sweep skimmer as it is so easy to clean and the pump sits in it but is blocked buy a filter mat and a net so fish or debree does not inter the pump chamber. I have compaired it to other brands and I think mine is the easiest to clean. The pond sweep skimmer and bio falls came with books for installing and it was really quite easy for me. You can use the excavated dirt to make a falls. There are lots of web pond stores and you may can find cheeper kits but I still have not found any better than mine. I hope this is helpful.

[Jonna]

Debbie, 

That was very helpful, thank you.  Sorry it took so long for me to get back to you, we are on the road and heading north for the US border.  We're spending a few days in the mountains and then back on the road.  Anyway, no internet when I'm traveling so I just now got here to read some posts.

I think that skimmer is exactly what we are looking for in this pond.  Small, low profile and easy to clean.  Sounds perfect.  I'm going to send the link to my friend and tell her to check it out.   

Many thanks,

Jonna

[Jonna]

Bad news, we didn't get to buying this skimmer + pump combo that Debbie recommended and now it doesn't appear on their web site anymore.  I can't ask Debbie as she is dealing with much more serious stuff but I'm wondering if I can get an opinion from someone on these skimmers.  It's a small pond, I think the preform was around 500 gal and this one won't be that much bigger.  I want some mechanical filtering for the pump that is easy to clean, I'm building in a bog/skippy type thing that will do bio filtering. 

The Atlantic PS4000 seems to have what I need but is it too basic? http://www.discountedpondsupplies.com/skimmer.htm 


I also looked at the Savio Compact Pond Skimmer, scroll down on the above link it is 2 below the Atlantic.  Is it more than I need?

I'm going to put in a bottom drain, need it or not it will be too hard to retrofit so I might as well.  I just don't know if I should plumb it to the skimmer, I'm afraid that will make cleaning the skimmer a daily rather than weekly thing.  There are only 4 goldfish and some mosquito fish in this pond, it is mainly a large fountain and plant bog with a few fish to eat mosquitoes. 

Any ideas?

[Jonna]

Well, I did it. I bought the Atlantic PS4000 at AZ ponds for $109.  Now I need to get the bottom drain and some flexible pvc and fittings.  PVC fittings always make my eyes cross. 

[Esther]

I just now saw this thread for the first time. Did you say this skimmer is going to a preform of about 500 gallons? What size and type of pump are you using? This skimmer and the idea of a bottom drain doesn't compute for me. I thought this skimmer used a submersible pump whereas a bottom drain used an external pump and vortex setup, two totally different setups. Can you plumb pump if it is submersible? I can't in mine, that is why I don't understand, I guess.

[Jonna]

Hi Esther,

We took out the preform and we're digging the pond deeper and a little bigger.  The bottom drain will go to the skimmer box which is below pond level and I "think" gravity will push the water there.  I'm hoping I have this right.  Please tell me if I don't.  I was more concerned that the bottom drain would push too much water into the skimmer box so we are going to put a knife valve so it can be reduced or turned off.   The pump sits in the skimmer box and will push water into a bog.  The bog will be elevated a couple feet above the end of the pond and have outflow in several places back to the pond like a fountain.  The edge of the pond and the bog box will be tiled, it should look like a big fountain with fish.  The bog box will be planted with dwarf canna, dwarf papyrus, and trailing flowers like begonias and impatiens - it is up against the house.

Right now we're discussing how to seal the bog box.  Diane only wants to bring the liner over the first level of concrete blocks and up the house wall.  That leaves several levels of blocks and tile above the liner and I'm thinking that something like Pond Shield epoxy would work on that, it is sealing that to the liner that is the current question.

[FrankJScott]

Please try Google before asking about Awesome Product Guide 5_595dd