Thank you for the feedback. A skimmer on a hinged arm would work. I didn't think about that. That's an idea too. One important requirement that I would need is that the unit cannot extend out into the pond area, like a dock. So a section on the bank would need to be dug out to contain the skimmer. Your idea is similar to mine with a floating mechanism. My initial thoughts were to have a square like skimmer. Sink 4 round posts into the ground around the skimmer unit.
Make it so that the skimmer unit would be able to slide up and down the posts via a float that would be mounted on top of the skimmer. For a 1/3 acre pond, yes, the skimmer would need to be rather large. My guess is at least the size and depth of a large outdoor trash barrel (?). The pump would have to be rather large to pump out that amount of water, but I'm not concerned there. We have 220 and 110 power at the pond that I put in last year when I installed the aerator.
To make things simpler with the skimmer, the only other thing I can think of, and it would be rather expensive, is to make provisions that keep the water level constant. This would require drilling a well dedicated to the pond. When the water level is low, a float mechanism, much like a sump pump trigger, triggers the well pump to fill the pond until it reaches a second, higher level float switch. When the water level is high, such as in the spring, water is pumped out via a separate transfer pump. That water gets pumped out and into the creek at the back of our property. There would be a few additional benefits with this option, but again, this would be pricey and a very hard sell to the wife. This idea was actually mentioned to me by a couple people already after I already had thought of it.
Either way, it appears its going to have to be something custom built. I'm going to get in touch with some pond building companies and landscaping companies and inquire if they have implemented anything in the past.
Last edited by Busarider29; 07/25/19 07:39 AM.
