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Ponds & Aquatic Plants

Skippy filter size questions

16 years ago

I have a small pond (800 gallons)with a 500 gph pump which has a diverter and a fountain head. I built an "adams filter" for the submersible pump four days ago and a "skippy filter" about the size of a five gallon bucket about three weeks ago. The diverter goes to the "skippy filter" and runs down the stream and the fountain is bubbling just below the surface of the water, keeping the water moving and adding oxygen. My water was still green - to which I have added parrots feather, anarachis(sp) and water hyacinths within the last week. So far I have cleaned the "adams filter" every other day and it is FULL. The water still has a green tint to it and quite a lot of suspended "stuff" in it, which is mostly dirt from the rocks around the edges. My scrubbies in the "skippy filter" have some stuff attached, looks like a mix of dirt and algae. My question is: 1. Do you think the skippy filter is big enough? and 2. I'm going to start cleaning the "adams filter" every day to eliminate as much floating particles as possible. Is there any thing I should add to the pond to help clear it up and keep it clean? Any advise would be greatly appreciated to this new ponder. What about bacteria helper? Algae clear? etc.

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Comments (2)

sheepco
16 years ago
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
sheepco
16 years ago
A lot of people do use chemicals and algaecides and bottled bacteria with very good luck. I'm not much of a fan, but my pond is small. I think it's $$ down the bottom drain so to speak. Unless you have some under-lying problem like too many fish, or a water quality issues, I'm a believer in letting nature take her course (I'm also monetarily challenged :)

S
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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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I too am a Skippy filter fan (can't remember how it got it's name or who devised it?)& outside of bit of string algae hanging around the pond plant pots, I have had clear water also now for two years (cross my fingers now!). I have an in-pond pump in a basket & place quilt batting around that first which catches most of the debris & then all the scrubbies up in the Skippy filter. Somewhere on this forum I read of someone putting mint in the Skippy filter also so I have mint growing in it every spring when I hook up the Skippy again. Whether the mint has helped... who knows, but I am keeping it growing there none-the less!! Right now most of the mosquito eating minnows the City gives away free are on maternity leave.... hundreds of teeny babies must have been born over night! Bet the goldies (& even the babies' mothers I read) though will eat most of them, sadly!) Several manage to survive over winter also. Oddly, we have never seen any goldfish babies in the several years we have had the adults! Pashta, that corkscrew plant looks great! I just bought one this year so hope it does as well! The stray duckweed that came with the new minnows from the City I put in a separate container in the pond & hope it will grow there so I can keep it & give to the fish occasionally. The bits that went into the pond with the new minnows x the City were gobbled up in no time ... they sure love that stuff! Illegal to sell here though. Good luck with your new pond & am sure you will find it so enjoyable!
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