Skippy Filter Media Question

13 years ago

At long last I am building a skippy filter.

I am making scrubbie type things and also bought washable A/C flat filters.

My question is whether the flat filters should be cut into pieces and jumbled losely in the skippy as recommended by a couple of sites on making skippy filters

or

whether I should leave them as flat filters - they do cover the surface of the grating I am using.

Thanks for any input.

Anne

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Comments (9)

diggery
13 years ago
Disclaimer: I'm the last one here to be offering advice, lol.

HOWEVER, I can share my experience which is a result of all the wonderful advice I've received here over the years. I have a small pond...actually three pre-forms joined together. I built my skippy using a large lotus pot (the better to disguise it with, my dear).

I have plastic lighting grate over the pvc pipe in the bottom. Then a SINGLE piece of a/c filter, then scrubbies topped with quilt batting and another piece of light grating on top. I sprig my plants into that. Ends up looking like a large mixed container with lots of texture and *voila* the skippy is invisible. I will add that, since I built the skippy 3 yrs ago, I've had gin clear water ever since.

Ha. Reading back over your question, I could have just said 'leave it flat' and skipped over the details. Oh well. Hope this helps.

~digger
mammasue
13 years ago
My skippy in a 35 gal Brute trash can. I left mine flat layered in QB and covered with another flat pad also.

I use pots for my plants on top in case I do have to tear it down for some reason. The picture is from early last summer.

{{gwi:199971}}
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I appreciate everyone taking the time to respond. I'm going to look into the barrels. In all honesty I dont know the exact size of what my pond is going to be because it is an irregular shape. I have tried doing the math in a variety of ways I have seen on the internet and I get a different number each time. It should be known that I am HORRIBLE at math lol. I know that there is no way it will be more than 1000 gallons and no less than 500 so I figured if I figure on 1000 gallons and filter for a 1000 gallons then the water would be that much clearer if it is filtering for a pond larger then what I may end up with. Perhaps I'm a fool for thinking that too lol. Would any of you mind helping me to figure out the gallon amount for my pond design? I have included an image of the design with measurements but they are in metric so I will give the equivalents here. For ever 30cm or ".3m" that equals roughly 1 foot. 60cm or .6m in turn would equal 2ft. 1 meter is roughly 3ft. (actually its slightly over but round down to 3ft) The one measurement that isnt on the design is the angled line with is 1.4meter long (roughly 4.5ft) Also you may notice the blue square grid and those are equal to 10 square centimeters. I completely understand if no one wants to lol.
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Last year my 1/2 whiskey barrel skippy (~30ga) kept my 300ga pond very clean, I ran a 640gph pump thru it, only about a 3' lift. Lots of plants help, and a light fish load (six 6" goldfish/comets). I also made a prefilter that that needed to be cleaned frequently during the spring algae bloom, then all at once when the water cleared I just removed it. After that I had clear water all summer. The "stuff" on the scrubbies is ok. Good bacteria (and some waste) live there. Many people clean theirs, I never do (except to dump it out in the fall for winter). I don't know if there's a calculation for size of skippy vs. size of pond, but IMHO you could/should go bigger, and/or get a bigger pump. I think I read somewhere you want to turn the water over at least once per hour - meaning you would need at least an 800gph pump, and that's before taking into account the skippy, fountain, falls, etc. I can see you might easily go even bigger. I sounds like you're making progress! Don't drain and refill it! You'll just start all over! In general it takes several weeks to let the pond 'cycle' and start to clear. More shade helps at first ( umbrella, lily pads, etc). You're doing all the right things! Keep asking questions, and be patient. Happy ponding! S
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annedickinson
Original Author
13 years ago
"Gin" clear sounds good to me. Time for a martini!!!

Thanks Digger and Mammasue for your input. We are waiting for marine epoxy to set as I make more scrubbies.

Anne
diggery
13 years ago
Ha! Will that be shaken or stirred? =]

Anne, I'd love to hear how you make scrubbies.

~digger
annedickinson
Original Author
13 years ago
Very gently stirred with a feta cheese stuffed olive on a toothpick!!

I still have LOTS more to make, so I'll take pictures. They aren't pretty but they will work. Lots cheaper than store-bought too.
annedickinson
Original Author
13 years ago
Digger.

I posted pictures and instruction of how to make scrubbies in the Gallery section.
Anne
chas045
13 years ago
While I probably have enough scrubbies, I would like to know of a cheap source. What is the 'Gallery section'. I tried searching in the Photo Gallery without success.
I just had some tile work done and the tile guy used a large pad that looked like it might be useful but he didn't know what it cost because it was part of a kit. He did say he had heard it might be like some filter but I haven't seen filter material like he used.
annedickinson
Original Author
13 years ago
Chas,

To get to the gallery section, click the back arrow to return to the main discussions menu. Just above all the postings (Don't go all the way to the top of the page), on the right it will list "Gallery" and "Conversations". Click on Gallery. You will see my post about scrubbies.

Anne
diggery
13 years ago
Thanks, Anne =]

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Skippy Filter Media Question

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