How To Keep Pond Surfaces Clean ... Use A Skimmer, Floating or Fixed In
Position
A great deal of the debris you see on the bottom of your pond starts life as
a windborne bit of debris that for a while floats on the pond surface. If the
debris is allowed to sink it becomes unsightly and if organic in nature it also
consumes precious oxygen in a pond to be able to
break down the organic waste.
A pond skimmer is designed to remove floating dirt particles such as pollen,
leaves, and dust for example. Water at surface level is sucked through the
skimmer and diverted to either an external sump or filter or an internal chamber
attached to the skimmer where the solids are "filtered" or strained out.
Floating Skimmers ... best for smaller garden fish ponds
These are by far the simplest to install; the skimmer is simply
attached using a length of tubing or pipe to the suction of the
pond pump (normally a pipe size of 32 or 40 mm is correct) and
the skimmer then adjusts its position so that it floats and allows
surface debris to be sucked into the chamber in which there is
mesh to trap particles. It can work in ponds of almost any depth
... deeper ponds use longer pipe lengths between the pump and
skimmer. The diameter of the pipe is important to ensure minimum
restriction to water being sucked by the pump into the skimmer
basket.
Bradshaws also supply skimmers with built-in pumps which don't
need to be connected with hose.
Fixed Skimmers... best for larger koi ponds
These are similar to skimmers used in pools ... they are located
so that water leaving the pond is via the surface overflow into
a strainer system (contains a basket made from fine plastic mesh
for example). Water is actually sucked from the surface by a pipe
connecting the skimmer to an external pump located in a chamber
designed to operate at the same level as the pond (it's connected
by a pipe so that levels of water in the pond and chamber are
the same). The pump sitting in the chamber then delivers the water
to a pond filter or waterfall or directed to wherever you want
the water to go to.
Fixed skimmer installations are best reserved for larger ponds
and all serious koi keepers have this type of pond skimmer installed.
It is amazing what difference a skimmer can make to the clarity
of pond water since often it is fine dust particles that get disturbed
by fish or blown into the pond that create a water haziness that
prevents perfect viewing of the koi or other pond fish. The ideal
pond pump for use with fixed skimmer installations is the filter
pump or solids handling waterfall pumps.
Filter pumps also called solids handling pumps
Over the last few years major improvements have been made to
submersible pond pump impellor designs especially. Pumps that
used to have sponges to protect the impellor from damage caused
by pond debris can in fact now pump such debris without breaking
the impellor. These pumps were developed alongside another big
improvement to garden fish pond filters. This was the introduction
of small pressurised pond filters like the Hozelock Cyprio Bioforce
(this was the first one) or the FishMate pressure filters. Because
these filters operate under pressure they need pumps that could
develop more "head"
or pressure and this prompted better and more efficient impellor
design in order to keep pump running costs down. Oase make excellent
pressure or solids handling filter pumps and have been seen as
the pioneer in this field with their famous Aquamax product range.
Bradshaws Delivery and Shipping
Shipping is direct to your door from our warehouse and takes
approximately 5-7 working days. For deliveries of items under
30kg a charge is made to cover handling and despatch (For Highlands
& Islands despatch please phone for delivery and service details).
Next day and 48 hour delivery is available in most areas. For
single items weighing 30kg or over, also a charge is applicable.
Returns
If any item does not meet your expectations you may return it
within 30 days. Please return it in its original condition, including
packaging & obtain proof of return from the carrier. Please
ensure faulty products are clean and not contaminated with pond
water or mud from your pond. Please note Bradshaws will cover
the cost of return for damaged and faulty products. Please call
our customer services team before returning an item on 0870 444
8272, weekdays 8.30am-5.30pm and in summer 10am-3pm on a Saturday.
Remember to include your returns label from your despatch note
in your returned parcel. Please state whether you would like a
refund or replacement. Your statutory rights are not affected.
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