Winterizing Skimmer?

[RainbowBits]

Hi :biggrin:
After I lower the water level below the skimmer mouth, am I supposed to take the water thats left in the skimmer out?
Or is it ok to just leave it?

 

[koikeepr]

skimmers are usually made out of very thick plastic material and I would be surprised if it would burst due to a frost. However, I personally would still remove the water that remains in the skimmer for winter because of that potential liability, and the fact that the water in there is gonna get stagnant, and you wouldn't want that running through you pond in the spring. So, I would just get a bucket and get that water outta there now rather than later.

 

[RainbowBits]

Thanks so much :biggrin:
I will get the water out

 

[DrDave]

Water, when it freezes, expands about 9%. It is capable of bursting steel pipes. No plastic, regardless of thickness can withstand this, especially since plastic becomes very brittle when frozen.

So any plastic part of your pond that can hold water, should be drained and protected from any ingress of water during storms.

 

[RainbowBits]

Thanks
This is the first time we are going to shut dow the pond ourselves, i hope we do it right!
I know the installer would blow out the pipes, we dont have one of those blowers, so we were just going to use a leaf blower, do you think this will work? The pipes are PVC, I dont know how far they are in the ground though.
We have the lids to cap off the waterfall, and a cap for the filter pipe.
The filter is Ultima II with an external pump. The other equipment i dont know the brands, but its a bottom drain, UV, skimmer has a big square fake rock lid, to the side of the skimmer is a "toilet flush" thingy for the bottom drain, and theres a water check valve also.
This should be fun lol..i hope we do everything right :biggrin:
wish me luck