Collection: Pond Skimmers

What is a skimmer used for?

A skimmer is a tool for your pond that helps keep the surface of your water clean. When leaves, twigs, and other debris fall on the water, they usually sink to the bottom over time. A skimmer ensures these are removed, preventing them from polluting the water in your pond.

How does a skimmer work?

You often place a skimmer in your pond and connect it to a pond pump. Because the top of the skimmer is slightly below the water surface, water falls into the skimmer by gravity. The water is drawn in by the pump and can be diverted to a filter, such as a pressure filter. Large debris like twigs and leaves remain in the skimmer's net. You can periodically remove and clean these debris from the net. Smaller particles are carried by the pond pump to the filter, where they are captured by a filter sponge or biologically broken down. This provides complete filtration of all the water in your pond, allowing you to capture large debris as well.

Floating skimmer or standing skimmer?

There are different types that may be suitable for your pond. A standing skimmer is often placed at the bottom of your pond. You can anchor it with a few heavy stones. Using a telescopic or riser pipe, you can adjust the top so that it reaches just to the water surface. Attach a hose to the bottom that leads to a pond pump. The pond pump then draws water from the skimmer to your filter.

A floating skimmer can float on the surface of your pond. It may have a connection leading to a pump or an integrated pump. In the latter case, you usually only need to place it in the water and turn it on, and the skimmer starts working.

Which pump for skimmer?

The pump you connect depends on the capacity of your skimmer and the filter you attach it to. Ensure that the flow capacity of your filter is leading and adjust your pump and skimmer accordingly. Most skimmers have a wide range in capacity: they work with both small and large volumes of water. The standing BluSkimmer has a capacity between 8,000 and 16,000 liters, for example. You can choose a pond pump with fixed capacity or a pond pump with adjustable capacity. The advantage of adjustable capacity is that you can increase or decrease the power as desired. You can also set different capacities throughout the year.

The floating BluSkimmer from BluGarda has an integrated pump. You don't need to buy an extra pump for this and thus don't need to connect it with a hose to a filter. You place it in the pond at the desired location, plug it in, and the skimmer starts working.

Remove leaves from pond

When autumn arrives, many leaves will fall from the trees. These often quickly find their way to the surface of your pond. Pollution in your pond can quickly disrupt its balance. The leaves and twigs that decompose in your pond are broken down into ammonia, nitrite, and eventually nitrate, among other things. This is also known as the nitrogen cycle. An excess of these substances is harmful to the plants and fish in your pond. An excess of leaves can quickly lead to an excess of these waste substances. You can use a net to remove the leaves that have fallen into your pond, but it's much easier to let a skimmer do the work for you. The skimmer can continuously remove debris from the water surface into a collection net. You only need to empty the collection net occasionally.

The benefits of a skimmer listed

• Removes surface debris such as leaves, branches, insects, etc., preventing them from polluting the pond water
• Available as standing or floating skimmer
• Suitable for small and large ponds
• A standing skimmer can be connected to a pond pump, and water can be diverted to a filter