Things You'll Need
- Pond skimmer
- Water pump
- Water hoses (PVC or vinyl)
Instructions
Set the skimmer in the pond so that its intake is at the level you wish the pond water to be. The skimmer will determine the height of the water.
Set up the plumbing from the skimmer into a holding tank. The water should flow into the holding tank by gravity; therefore, this tank needs to be lower than the level of the pond water. The smaller the tank, the more frequently you will have to top off the water level. A good tank to use is a large plastic feeding trough from a hardware store. You want to use gravity to fill the tank instead of another pump to reduce the chances of mechanical failure in the pumps.
Add your return pump to the tank. The size of the return pump can vary depending on how much flow you want through the skimmer. If you will use this set-up as a filtration system, you may want to consider a larger return pump to increase the flow.
Plumb the return pump into the pond. Try to use as few bends and angles in the piping as possible, as it will reduce the back-pressure on the pump. Back-pressure will cause the pump to strain and reduce its useful life span. If you are using this system as a filtration system, you should have the outlet of the return pump in an area away from the skimmer, so you don't re-filter the same water.