Batting on top. The batting, being the finest filter medium, catches the smaller particles that make it through the more porous a/c filter & scrubbies before the water re-enters the pond.

Depending on your water quality/clarity, keep an eye on it in the beginning and clean or change as necessary. Once your water is visually clear, the batting should last a good while.

Adding a skippy was the smartest thing I ever did, thanks to the 'experts' here. Experience is an excellent teacher! (It also proves many of the self-proclaimed experts wrong.) The combined experience of the members on this forum is priceless. Thanks, y'all.

~digger

Congrats Anne! Digger gives good advice too. Can't wait to hear how clear you pond is in a few more weeks. :)

Lisa

Here is the visual proof. I just went out and took a picture because I'm so pleased!

Original water "greenness" on June 1, 2010:
{{gwi:177555}}

Current water clarity on July 10, 2010:
{{gwi:220440}}

I can see that the algae is growing on the supporting grid, which is just fine with me. I think of that as "good" algae. AND... I can see the grid as white, not green as in the first picture.

I can even see the fish better. I'll get a picture of them another time.

I agree so much; everyone here is so helpful and gives me the courage to go ahead and try things. I think I lurked for about 2 years before I actually attempted a pond.

Doing a happy dance ------> Anne

Anne,Sooooooo will we be seeing you on "So You Think You Can Dance" anytime soon??
Great to hear your water problem has cleared up.

"Horton"

P.S. By the way, how's your pond? LOL

Digger.. thanks so much for the batting info. Hopefully I'll get to it tomorrow. BF broke his leg last week so all pond activity has come to a crawl including the upper stream which I was turning into a small pond. It is now just bare liner waiting til I get back to it.

Lisa.. I'll keep you posted. Sure wish I had room for a pond like yours and the energy to keep it up!!

Horton .. Oh, yeah, the pond!! haha Pond is doing much better. Can see the comet much deeper. The black female fish is still a stealth fish most of the time. Now that I can see past the surface I have discovered two stealth babies from last year - about 3" long.

The plants around the pond are overgrown and need attention too, but broken legs have priority over pond plants.

I had a toad in there but he kept ending up in the swimming pool so I transported him closer to the river. I doubt the chemicals would be good for him once we added them. Today I pulled 6 dead baby frogs from the pool and one live chipmonk. Wish there was a way to keep them out. Pool is too big to net.

Horton, I appreciate your help over the past few years. Your advice is invaluable.

Anne

I too am a Skippy filter fan (can't remember how it got it's name or who devised it?)& outside of bit of string algae hanging around the pond plant pots, I have had clear water also now for two years (cross my fingers now!). I have an in-pond pump in a basket & place quilt batting around that first which catches most of the debris & then all the scrubbies up in the Skippy filter. Somewhere on this forum I read of someone putting mint in the Skippy filter also so I have mint growing in it every spring when I hook up the Skippy again. Whether the mint has helped... who knows, but I am keeping it growing there none-the less!! Right now most of the mosquito eating minnows the City gives away free are on maternity leave.... hundreds of teeny babies must have been born over night! Bet the goldies (& even the babies' mothers I read) though will eat most of them, sadly!) Several manage to survive over winter also. Oddly, we have never seen any goldfish babies in the several years we have had the adults!

Pashta, that corkscrew plant looks great! I just bought one this year so hope it does as well!

The stray duckweed that came with the new minnows from the City I put in a separate container in the pond & hope it will grow there so I can keep it & give to the fish occasionally. The bits that went into the pond with the new minnows x the City were gobbled up in no time ... they sure love that stuff! Illegal to sell here though.

Good luck with your new pond & am sure you will find it so enjoyable!

Anne, thank you for your kind comments but I'm a little concerned about your boy friend's welfare!

You said, "BF broke his leg last week so all pond activity has come to a CRAWL............ .................."

Poor guy! Can't you wait until his leg mends????
It must be hard on his knees! :)
"Horton"

Horton,

hahaha. He'll get a laugh out of that!!.. And he really does have to crawl upstairs on his hands and knees. Obviously he doesn't make the effort to come down to the computer room or go outside too often. Only 4 more weeks of healing!!!

Anne

I followed the instruction precisely as the "Skippy" people gave them. No additions nor substractions as far as media filters. Have had crystal clear water from day one and it has been going strong for months. These people warned not to substitute. Good advice.

Another skippy filter fan here. I made mine last summer and this year, my pond has been crystal clear until a few days ago and I think the hot weather is making my water a bit cloudy. I still have to place my rocks up around the filter but when I get that finished, i's going to look great with the water Hyacinths growing out the top. They have gotten so big and beautiful this year. I have posted a picture for you guys.

The skippy web site has some decent information, but also has some REALLY bad information. The most ridiculous statement they make is that you never have to clean the filter because fish poop turns into sand. That is just nuts!!! Fish poop does not become a mineral. The rotting fish poop in the bottom of the filter must be cleaned out once in a while or it becomes anaerobic and full of nasty bad bacteria (the kind of bacteria that causes ulcers and fin rot on fish) and some parasites. It is just incredibly unhealthy to allow that decaying waste to remain in the water column. Flushing the sludge out of the bottom of the filter several times during the summer is very necessary, in spite of what the skippy people claim.

Thanks for the info.

We installed a bottom drain. Is that sufficient for flushing out - to just open it and let some water out, taking the sludge on the bottom with it; or is it better to also remove the filter material and rinse it too?

Anne