Skimmer - the Fish Killer

[Spanky]

I have a pond side skimmer. I lost one goldfish several weeks ago to it. Rescued my favorite sarassa from it today, barely alive. How can I keep the fish out of it while allowing the skimmer to perform its intended purpose?

 

[Faebinder]

Use a metal mesh on the skimmer's opening.

 

[Faebinder]

Make sure the mesh is big enough to let small leaves in but not the fish. Another option is to tie wires/ropes far apart at the opening of the skimmer preventing medium sized fish from coming in.

 

[Tula]

I use 1/4 inch PVC pipe, cut to fit snuggly between the weir opening . If you google DIY fish skimmer guards you'll see many ideas. So sorry you lost a goldfish

 

[poconojoe]

I'll add to the mesh idea. Keep the mesh slightly below the water surface so leaves and such can still get sucked in. Maybe a plastic mesh or net would be safer for fish.

 

[Ronfire]

I built a floating weir skimmer same idea as a Helix Skimmer. Never had a fish get stuck in it, have seen the fish swim in , around and back out. Depends on the skimmer but you could probably convert yours. The skimmer portion was around $35.00 if I remember. All it would need to convert would be remove the door, maybe add a plate with a hole in it to hold the basket and drop into the existing skimmer.
Here is a video of a Helix in operation.

 

[cas]

Did your skimmer come with a net? During spawning, some of my fish end up in the skimmer, but I have a net before the pump. Sometimes the fish have been in the skimmer a couple of days before I notice they are missing and they are fine.

 

[ashirley]

I cut a piece of plastic deer fencing and attached it to the front of mine with cable ties.

 

[Spanky]

Thanks for all the ideas. My skimmer does have a net in front of the pump. The first fish actually went over the top of the net during a heavy rain and got sucked to the bottom of the pump. The next fish must have died from exhaustion trying to escape the net.

 

[addy1]

I used a pool skimmer, external pump with a ball valve. I can dial up or down the draw as needed per season. IE flowers , leaves, seeds falling. Most of the time I have it on low draw. Never see a fish in the skimmer.

 

[dustboy]

I used a pool skimmer, external pump with a ball valve. I can dial up or down the draw as needed per season. IE flowers , leaves, seeds falling. Most of the time I have it on low draw. Never see a fish in the skimmer.

^^^This....if the flow into the skimmer is too fast it will suck up fish. I found out the hard way too.

I did the same as addy, added a diversion with a valve. I can adjust the flow between a pickup on the bottom of the pond and the skimmer. I have as little flow as possible into the skimmer, just enough to draw in the floating leaves.

 

[Swalker]

I built a floating weir skimmer same idea as a Helix Skimmer. Never had a fish get stuck in it, have seen the fish swim in , around and back out. Depends on the skimmer but you could probably convert yours. The skimmer portion was around $35.00 if I remember. All it would need to convert would be remove the door, maybe add a plate with a hole in it to hold the basket and drop into the existing skimmer.
Here is a video of a Helix in operation.

Would you have a vid of yours in action? I really like the design

 

[GBBUDD]

I have the helix skimmer and I had one fish get stuck. There is nothing stupid proof. But the helix Is hardly a cheap option I believe it was 6 or 700 dollars. Theres a small crack between the weir and the lower area.where one fish that I had got his tail stuck in and died. The reason I said stupid was that particular fish rode the short bus. We would drop food in the pond and he'd come up to feed but always swam by the food or even swam in the wrong direction. It wasn't the brightest fish in the pond. Like addy said a valve is a great option but it has a trade off. Less draw the less your skimmer will do. Making it almost pointless in having. Another option is to build or find a plastic box a pre-filter to the skimmer so if your fish get sucked in they drop into a area where they can swim and give the fish a second chance before it goes into the skimmer.
A extreme option is to split the water line and install a second skimmer that way your pond still has water being pulled to the same area with the same draw.