Hey, George. I am sure there will be posters with other ideas but, IMO, you are going about this backwards. Generally speaking, the water in your pond needs to go through the filter twice an hour. There are some variations to this but it is usually pretty close. Fish load and plants make a difference. I have a 1000 gallon pond with a 1500 gph pump going through the skippy and an additional 1200 gph pump with the flow cut down severely going through a separate UV/bio filter. The very small bio part, of course is after the UV part. The extra flow is directed back into the pond without going through additional filtering. I have never had a problem with algae of any type. The Skippy tank is the 100 gallon size and probably contains 75-80 gallons of water. I don't think the Skippy is touted as a cure for algae, although I could be wrong. It is used to break down organic material such as fish poop, excess food and other organics in the water.
If you are allowing a flow of 2 gpm or 120 gph, the water in your pond can only be about 120 gallons if you follow the guidelines. Perhaps I am missing something? How big is your pond? If your pond isn't any more than 120 gallons, I think a skippy of any size is overkill. Sandy

George, that would be 120 gallons per hour, or 240 every two hours.
The rule of thumb for circulating the pond water is once the volume, every two hours.
What is the volume of your pond?

You are correct, in that the water should not rush through the filter. There should be a reasonable "dwell time" to allow the bacteria in the filter material to do it's work.

Some pond owners use a diverter valve or tee fitting and have some of the water going through the filter and back to the pond. The rest of the water is circulated, directly via a waterfall, stream or fountain, etc, back into the pond. Eventually all the water goes through the filter.
Bear in mind, that as your pond matures the whole system becomes a filter. Algae growth on the liner and growing plants both contribute to "cleaning" the water up.
As do waterfalls, bog areas and streams.
Having control valves in the out flow piping, makes it easier to fine tune the the flow to the filter/waterfall/stream/ bog area,etc.
"Horton"

i have a 55 gallon skippy running just about full of savio stuff and scrubbies. i run about a 1500 gph pump through it and my pond is about 1300 gallons with a small bog with plants. also under water plants and snails and it seems to work fine, the water is crystal clear when the kids and dog aren't in the creek

jbuda

I haven't seen any formal studies of the efficiency of a biofilter with respect to water flow as a function of fish load or waste generated. This is also related to how much nitrogen and other nutrients your plants consume which means how many of what types of plants? What seems to be the rule is pump gallons per hour is 1/2 to twice the pond volume in gallons. Lots of fish, twice, few fish and lots of plants, 1/2. Anything much less and you don't have enough biofiltering. Anything more than double, you either have a fairly high waterfall or you are wasting electricity. Look up pond capacity versus head (or height it has to pump up).

I apologise for incorrect flow rate. Where did I get the wrong idea? I even checked back in a number of previous posts. Gee whiz, I really do have too much flow. Wonder why my pond is clear except when the raccoons decide to drop plant containers over the side. Sandy

Sandy, if it works the way you do it then it is right!
You know the old saying, "The proof is in the pudding"!
Rules of thumb are rules of thumb and allow for variations.
"Horton"

Horton...Show me some pond pics! LOL....Dave

Hi all again,

My pond is 1600 gallons. My filter is 2 square feet of surface and about 2 cubic feet of floor scrubbers for bacteria to grow on. I rechecked the flow through the filter (with a bucket) and it is about 8-10 gallons per min. This is more in the 3 hours per complete change of my pond volume.

It has been running none stop and I have not seen any improvement in the "murk". I change quilt batting everyday which probably is the only thing improving the clarity. And this is very slight.

After 4 weeks of pea soup and no improvement I am ready to drain it and refill it and suffer the consequences!! ;^(

Does anyone have any suggestions?

Thanks,

George

"Does anyone have any suggestions?"

Yes, do not drain your pond!!

Unless of course you want to go through the whole thing you are going through now, again???
George, plants, good, well planned filtration and patience, is what will clear your pond water up.

Here is an old tip from Norm Meck. [Google, Norm Meck for more information ]
Do you know anyone with a pond that has clear water?

If you do, ask them for a bucket of that water and some sludge, from their filter or pond bottom.
Take it home immmediately and pour it all into your own pond.
This will inoculate your pond with the bacteria that is needed and start the process of cleaning up the water.
"Horton"

Hi all,

Thanks for the responses. I don't want to drain. I was a frivalous mental threat to the algae!!!!

I will try to be patient, but.....

Patiently hoping to see my fish again and not just orange glows moving through the water.

George

Hi George. I am a new ponder myself, with my first pond made this year.

This site is so informative and the people here are very helpful. I know it's hard to have patience when you are so excited about seeing your fish.

I too got depressed when I went through the stinky, bug infested, thick, algae, pea soup syndrome. I got spoiled by the first week of my pond, when everything was new and the water was clear. But then when it got icky, and then disgusting looking, and it seemed like it was taking forever to see my lovely creatures that I paid for, I started to get impatient too. But I spent that impatient feeling reading up the articles on here, soaking up information like a sponge. Patience is mentioned over and over again. I eventually after reading up on how the ecosystem worked and balancing act of the pond, I realized I needed to look at the pond like a new science experiment and learn from other ponders as "experienced" scientists("experienced" by what they have tried, gone through, or what worked for them, as far as the ideas and experiences that they share on here). I learned to look at my pond for what it was, and what it was going through. You will see, when it does clear up, which it will "with patience" and mother nature, you will appreciate all the creatures, microscopic up to the the large critters and plants, including healthy algae, that makes the wonderful balancing act possible. From what I learned on here, the good stuff that your pond needs has to grow from the bad stuff to make its existence possible, to complete the cycle. Chemicals are only temporary. The right bacteria/s will help your pond for the long run and help maintain your water for you, like ponds of the lucky long time ponders on this site.

Patience is free. It will be worth it in the end..

Happy Ponding : )

All I can say is Amen, Amen and that is one more smart ponder. Glenda

My pump in my skimmer pulls 2950 gals per hour and goes directly through my skippy and back into the pond. My pond is 5000 gallons. Glenda