Fish-safe skimmer?

[dustboy]

Is a fish-safe skimmer even possible?

We have a big beautiful crepe myrtle tree that dumps flowers and leaves in our little pond several times a year. I had a PondMAX skimmer that worked great except it loved to eat my goldfish. I tried slowing the flow to the bare minimum but it was still hungry. So, it had to come out.

Right now the crepe is dumping its admittedly gorgeous yellow and red leaves in the pond, and if the wind blows a little bit I can't keep up with the manual skimming.

 

[GBBUDD]

my first recommendation is a intake bay , but if thats not an option then i would go with the helix skimmer but be careful you do not want to pull to much water through it as that then creates two issues

 

[GaryMoz]

I second a intake bay, I built one on my pond and the fish can swim in and out of it but it does capture the surface debris. I have an outlet on the side which leads to a pump, but you could just drop a pump in the bottom. (the ball cock is for my maintaining water level in the pond)

 

[GaryMoz]

I should say you can may one but just putting a board across the corner that seals the side and bottom so water can only get in over the top. I then used some stiffish black plastic (It was my TPO liner material). Cut a shallow v and use at the top the board as a but of a weir. Then just pop a pump in there with a bit of filter material over the top.

The great thing about it, you can leave it for a few weeks and it just doesn't get blocked like a normal skimmer

 

[dustboy]

The intake bay does look like the solution. I could partition the area under the bog, but the sides of the pond are very uneven (butyl liner over dirt) and I don't know how I would seal the edge of the partition to the liner.

Maybe the easy solution is to just put a net over the pond during the week or so when the tree is shedding. Boy would that make the raccoons mad!

 

[GaryMoz]

The intake bay does look like the solution. I could partition the area under the bog, but the sides of the pond are very uneven (butyl liner over dirt) and I don't know how I would seal the edge of the partition to the liner.

Maybe the easy solution is to just put a net over the pond during the week or so when the tree is shedding. Boy would that make the raccoons mad!

The seal around the edges do not have to be perfect, but good enough for water to be draw over the top. Another simple idea, although not the best looking, use a free standing plastic rubbish as form of intake bay, as with intake bays you just need to ensure the water level is kept correct

 

[Tula]

We used a tight fitting piece of PVC.....wedged it in the weir. It worded well for us, however we had adult koi.

 

[West Van Ken]

I have a 6 x 10 ft pond and a very low tech solution. I made a net. Using stiff galvanized wire I made a hoop and attached it to a 5ft broom handle. I bent the wire so it looked like a capital D, with to "tails" coming off the curved side. I cut 2 shallow grooves on each side of one end of the handle. The tails fitted into grooves and I held them in place with two small hose clamps. Then I attached tulle netting to the wire hoop. It works really well for skimming the surface, picking up algae from the pond, and gunk from the bottom. The hoop is about 12" across. It doesn't work so well for catching fish! I need the heron to return.
Ken Bryden Vancouver BC

 

[GBBUDD]

I'd avoid the galvanized wire and just use steel and let it rust. Tin /galvanized is toxic to fish

 

[West Van Ken]

I'd avoid the galvanized wire and just use steel and let it rust. Tin /galvanized is toxic to fish

Fish are alive, healthy and multiplying. There is very little zinc and it shouldn't oxidize that fast.

 

[GBBUDD]

From wire , your probably correct , the reason i said so is too many use a galvanized tub to house fish. There are many degrees of galvanizing and the toxicity will vary.