DIY Network

Installing a Water Garden: Skimmer and Plumbing Components From "Waterscapes" episode DWAT-102

Heidi Robinson and guest Rick Bartel discuss the important role of the skimmer -- the "heartbeat" of the water-garden's artificial pond ecosystem.

In this segment of DIY's Waterscapes workshop, prep work begins for adding the pond skimmer and the plumbing that will connect it to the waterfall feature.

Materials needed for laying out the water garden:

Shovels
Pick axe
2" flexible PVC pipe
Pond skimmer
Pond waterfall tank
Long carpenter's level
Line level and string
Wheel barrow

advertisement

	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C
	Figure D
	Figure E
	Figure F
	Figure G
	Figure H

Skimmer

According to water-garden expert Rick Bartel, the skimmer (figure A) is the "heartbeat" of the pond system. It circulates the water, providing oxygenation, and contains a series of filters that keeps the pond clean. This relatively large piece of equipment will be concealed, mostly underground, by excavating a hole that's about 24 inches in diameter and 20 inches deep at one end of the pond. Only about the top inch of the skimmer and lid will extend above ground.

• There are numerous skimmers available from water-garden suppliers, and they come in a variety of sizes. The size you select will depend on the overall size of your pond. Regardless of size, all pond skimmers work in essentially the same way.

• Water passes into the skimmer through the opening at the front, and passes into the interior chambers where filtration occurs (figure B).

• Any large debris, sticks, etc. are captured just inside the opening in the skimmer basket (figure C). This basket can easily be removed for emptying and cleaning.

• Once the water passes through the basket, it then passes through two openings and circulates through chambers that contain ultraviolet sterilizers. The ultraviolet sterilizer is a fluorescent-style tube light that emits ultraviolet light. The ultraviolet sterilizer helps purify the water by killing bacteria, aquatic parasites and undesirable algae. This form of water purification helps greatly in keeping the pond water crystal clear.

• The water then passes out of the sterilizer chambers and is drawn through a filter pad (figure D) that removes finer particulate matter. Like the skimmer basket, the filter pad is low-maintenance in that it can easily be removed and cleaned simply by spraying it with a garden hose.

• After the water passes through the filter pad, it is drawn into the pump chamber where a submersible pump (figure E) circulates the water out of the skimmer and into the pipe that leads to the waterfall tank -- where the clean water is reintroduced to the pond. The pump we chose pumps about 3600 gallons of water per hour.

• To provide for the proper amount of circulation, the skimmer and waterfall are at opposite ends of the pond. They are connected together by 2-inch flexible PVC pipe (figure F) that is buried in a trench behind the rear of the pond.

• Important: Flexible PVC pipe is preferred to the rigid type. If the rigid type is used, the 45-degree and 90-degree elbow-attachments that will be needed to angle the route of the pipe will reduce water flow. The bendable type of PVC allows you to custom fit and mold the pipe around the curve of the pond (or any obstacles such as rocks or tree roots) without significantly reducing water flow.

• At the waterfall end of the pond, the end of the PVC pipe attaches at the rear of the waterfall feature. This style of waterfall (figure G), with a tank that will be submerged below ground, allows the water to flow into the tank then out into the pond in a natural fashion.

• The PVC pipe connects to an inlet port at the lower rear portion of the waterfall tank (figure H). In this way, the water fills the tank from the bottom and then cascades out the front spout with a smooth flow -- rather than spraying out too forcefully.
  

RESOURCES :

The Water Garden Design Book
ISBN: 0764153730
Authors: Yvonne Rees, Peter May
Barrons Educational Series
(August 2001)
To order this book from Amazon, click here.

The Master Book of the Water Garden: The Ultimate Guide to the Design and Maintenance of the Water Garden
ISBN: 0821227963
Author: Philip Swindells
Publisher: Bulfinch
(April, 2002)
To order this book from Amazon, click here.