I have an external pump (Sequence 4200). The intake is located in the skimmer. Last spring I discovered that toads were getting into the skimmer and working their way under the filter pad where the intake pipe lives and were being sucked in through the intake and collecting inside the primer pot of the pump. Fortunately i found them before they all drowned and I was able to save most of them. I immediately put a drain grate cover over the intake opening and that seemed to solve the problem until last week when I noticed that my water flow seemed restricted. I could find nothing wrong with the pump so reached in to see if something made it past the skimmer strainer and filter pad and was clogging the drain cover. I was horrified to find 2 frogs sucked up against the drain cover. The suction was strong enough that they couldnt free themselves and were dead. I plan to upgrade my external pump to a more powerful one next year because of an expansion project we are doing to the pond so i expect that this suction issue is only going to get worse. Anyone else have this problem?
Frogs getting sucked into pump intake
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sissy
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Not sure about what you could do there but hope you can resolve it before then .I don't have a skimmer and have laguna pumps with cages .Wonder could you put a splitter on the hose and pull water from some place else that you can make a safer cover for it .I know I have seen people put 5 gallon pails in there ponds with holes drilled i them and put a second hose in the bucket and pull water through the bucket ,but guessing that would get plugged up with gunk also
Meyer Jordan
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Due to the inherent nature of a pond;s water circulation system, unfortunately amphibian casualties are collateral damage. The stronger the pump, the greater the mortality. There is no real solution that would not also compromise this circulation resulting in less than optimum conditions.
As a little over a first year Ponder..... I had my first experience with the Toad Frog breeding season.....I rescued dozens of toads out of my skimmer....lost a few of them......but considering the thousands of little toads that were hopping around my backyard in June....some of them will be back next spring.....their eggs are an aggravation .....but I do love to hear them sing while they are breeding.....
Thank you for the response. I just hate it when I find that something I've created to benefit these little guys ends up being their detriment.
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Last summer I found dead moles in our pool skimmer 
It seriously creeped me out and I was super careful about not putting my hand in the skimmer!
It seriously creeped me out and I was super careful about not putting my hand in the skimmer!
sissy
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Moles chewed my one liner up .I will never trust those ugly things again .Before I put in the new liner I put lots of milky spore down in the hole .It kills the grubs which are what the moles are after .So if you find moles near your pond you know you have a food source for them .So a warning if you treasure your liner if they are near they may do damage to your liner