Carter’s Garden Blog

I had a customer come in to the Pond Shop yesterday needing help. He has had a Pond for several years now and is ready to make it lower in maintenance. He wants to put a skimmer on his Pond! He is a DIY guy and wants to install it himself and he wants to do it right. BUT, he has fish… Several are pretty good sized Koi and he is worried that the Pond Skimmer could be a problem… His #1 question was – “Will my Koi get trapped in my Skimmer Filter”?

One of the first things you need to do when choosing a Skimmer Filter for your Pond is to find out what size Skimmer you need.

The first thing I told him while answering his question was NOT to worry about the fish. It’s overwhelmingly NOT a problem. I showed him around the Ponds here at the Nursery & once he saw the simple operation of the system and how healthy & happy my Koi are he was a believer.

Then I asked him a few questions to figure out what type and size Skimmer would be best for his application.

• I found out that he has a fairly large Pond/Water Garden, 3′ deep, with quite a few fish.
• He has over 2,500 gallons of water in his system.
• He has a fairly powerful pump – around 7,000 GPH (gallons per hour). The water from that pump splits and goes to 2 different Waterfalls.
• His Pond has No bottom aeration.
• We sketched out the pond from a couple of photos that he had on his phone and were able to quickly figure out what he needed.
  

  He installed this Pond himself. It’s basically round in shape with 2 different Waterfalls. The pond is 3′ in depth & the upper shelf is approximately 1 to 1 1/2′ in depth. There is no stone in the pond and no gravel on the bottom… Which after he saw how we do it is about to change 😎 Seeing is Believing!

Not only did he need a Skimmer Filter, he needed a Plumbing upgrade! He had a mis-mash of plumbing pieces going to 2 waterfalls from a submerged pump in the bottom of the pond. So we specified 2″ flex PVC Plumbing AND we added a Check valve in there to make it easy for future maintenance. We also decided to install a 2 stone aeration system.

So easy to install! A simple Aeration System will make your pond healthier, your fish happier & will help with much needed dissolved oxygen for your finned pets.

And we specified a Top of the line Skimmer, with an adjustable faceplate,  a rigid debris basket and a removable weir (just in case his fish need some time to adjust to the new Skimmer).

This is the Cadillac of Pond Skimmers! With an adjustable faceplate, removable weir & rigid debris basket, the Signature Series 1000 Pond Skimmer by Aquascape Inc. has got you covered! | We are Master Certified Aquascape Contractors! | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, Tennessee.

Here’s a side view of his new Skimmer! When this is properly installed it will be virtually invisible & do most of the work throughout the year!

The Skimmer we chose has LOTS of room inside the basket, an adjustable faceplate, a removable weir and is a great choice if you have Koi. |  Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, Tennessee.

He left ‘Carter Country’ a Happy Customer!😊 He purchased the Skimmer, plumbing, fittings & Aeration System plus 10 bags of gravel and set off to install his new Skimmer 🙂 He has promised to send me an after picture and a report on his installation. I will share it with y’all too. It makes me smile when I talk to a fellow Pond Enthusiast that is excited about the hobby and his Pond!

PS: IF you ever have a problem with Koi getting trapped in the skimmer (its only happened a few times in 30 years) – give me a call and I will help walk you through the “training process”. It’s really as simple as checking daily and shooing them out, they will get the point. It’s also a great idea to remove the weir flap from the skimmer faceplate until the new wears off for the fish IF your having issues.

Happy Pondering!

Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com