Clean them. A clean filter is a happy and much healthier filter. Be sure to use dechlorinated water or pond water any time you clean you filter though so you don't damage the bio-media.

Need more information about the mint plant...What's it for and what does it do? I have plenty growing in the back yard..

delaney276: wish I could remember who on this site mentioned the mint in the Skippy filter ... it was not that long ago either it was posted. I believe it was to help clear algae so I tried it ... what the heck! When I took the top off the Skippy filter I noticed the mint had spread quite a bit & was a nice light green color.

ccombs: thanks for the info. I was afraid to clean those pads in the filter but now I will take them all out & give them a good 'bath' before I place them back in the filter. They obviously are doing their job filtering! The pond water is clear but the sides are green with algae but I do notice the fish go up to the sides & yank off a mouthful of the stuff like a salad! Guess it best to leave the algae along the sides? I just have a desire to scrape it all off & vac it up with the bottom sludge so it will look like some of these gorgeous crystal clear pond photos being shown on this site!

Different perspective:
My pond@ 1700 gal w/ bottom drain and skimmer; skippy is made from 70 gal stock tank; @ a dozen koi and goldfish.
I only clean my skippy filter pads once a year. In the spring, we drain the skippy, take out all of the pads and vac out the bottom w/ wet/dry shopvac. I put the pads, @ 20 at a time in a large plastic container/"tub" and since I don't have a source of dechlorinated water to run through my garden hose, I just use the garden hose on "jet" setting to clean them. However, I do add either liquid bio-stuff or powdered "pond-zyme" to the pond. I bare root thalia dealbata and pickerel rush, which has overwintered in my pond, in the skippy's scrubby-sponges and the plants do great esp once they're fertilized by the "dirty" filter pads. (I do clean the filter pads in the compact Savio skimmer frequently.)
The pond has been clear and healthy for 3, maybe 4 summers using this set-up and regimen.

I had been afraid that the 'good'bacteria in the pads would be lost if I cleaned the scouring pads & upset the balance. The pump has a sponge filter & I wrap the grills with batting & then cut furnace filter which I do have to clean often. In my small (150 gal.) pond that this year has been the clearest ever I didn't want to do anything to upset the good balance there seems to be now(NOW watch it turn pea soup green :( !!) The mosquito eating minnows have reproduced like crazy & wonder why the big goldfish don't eat the teeny new borns?

Yes, when I do clean the pond & filterss I always pour the water on a flower bed & also throw the string algae in the compost bin.

I thought I read on the skippy site that you shouldn't clean your filters.

don't believe what the skippy site says....they also say fish poop turns into sand!! That'a just plain nuts! lol! And yes...a skippy filter, ANY filter needs to be kept clean. Parasites and harmful bacteria thrive in the muck at the bottom of a skippy filter and it needs to be cleaned out on a regular basis for the health of the fish.

I clean mine just once during the summer, usually in mid July and then I throw the pads away in October when I shut 'er down for winter.

My water didn't really clear up till I cleaned the skippy. Just gave the pads a good rinse in rainwater. I think the skippy works but I'm with ccoombs. They've drawn some pretty illogical conclusions.
Vanessa