What is a pond skimmer?
What is a Pond Skimmer?
Pond Skimmers
Particularly during the Autumn, ponds suffer from lots of organic debris falling in them, i.e. dead leaves. A Pond skimmer stops the debris from falling to the bottom of the pond by drawing in the surface water and filtering it out straight away. If the leaves are allowed to fall to the bottom they can stay there, rot, and cause problems with the chemical balance of the pond as well as release poisonous gases (to fish) which if the pond is frozen over can build up and become harmful.
There are two main types of skimmer:
Pump attachment – These are effectively special tubes which sit on the bottom of the pond with a pole to the surface and attach to a secondary inlet on a pump (there are only certain pumps which have these). The pump draws water down through the skimmer and takes it straight off to the filter to be taken out of the water.
Self-contained – These skim the water off the surface just like the other type however it is a self contained unit which floats on the surface with its own in-built pump.
These have the advantage of being easy to retrofit and do not need a special pump, but they do need their own power supply and can move around on the surface.