Tetra Pond In-Pond Skimmer, Skims Pond Debris Before It Sinks, BLACK 13.5 IN

The media could not be loaded. I took inspiration from another reviewer and modified it by zip-tying a pool noodle to the top edge so that it floats, and it's amazing. My pond is underneath a bunch of trees, so I was going out there every day sometimes multiple times a day and manually skimming the water because it was full of pollen and tree droppings. After running for 24 hours, the pond was never cleaner and continues to stay crystal clear after a week of running.

Thanks I haven't hooked this up yet hopefully it'll work well keeping debris off the surface

Decent for the money. Basket is worthless and blocks a lot of the surface area of the filter pad. I don't use the basket. Need at least 800 gph pump to make it work well. Filter pad could be better.

The media could not be loaded. Works great... Doing exactly what I need it to. Skim the debris off the top of the pond.

We purchased the WGP1000 Tetra pump (500 to 1000 gallons) and this Tetra pond skimmer for our 1000 gallon pond.The Tetra pump does not come with the hose barb for it's inlet (where water is sucked in). The skimmer comes with (2) barbs, (2) plastic nuts, and (1) hole plug.The Tetra skimmer has (2) holes (one hole on each side) implying you can add (1) barb per side and use dual pumps. Unfortunately you cannot because you have to use one of the barbs for the Tetra pump that was designed to be used with this skimmer. I find it very odd.(1) barb goes on the skimmer and (1) barb goes on the Tetra pump. There is no third barb so we have no way to add a second pump to the same skimmer.We have a dual pump pond. (1) pump goes to a plant bog. (1) pump goes to a Pond Master filter then to a Tetra water fall at the other end of the pond for full pond circulation. We thought the Tetra WGP1000 pump would come with it's own barb for its inlet but it does not.The Tetra pump only comes with outlet parts, nothing for it's inlet. You have to use (1) of the (2) Tetra Pond Skimmer barb adaptors on the Tetra pump inlet. I cannot find a place to buy just the barb and a nut for the skimmer so both pumps can suck through the skimmer.(1) pump pulls water from the skimmer while the other pump is in it's own basket and pulls water direct from it's basket through its small mesh screen.Even if we bought a second Tetra WGP1000 pond pump we would not be able to connect it because we would need another barb. The Tetra pump designed to be used with this skimmer does not come an inlet barb and they do not appear to sell barbs separately. This leaves me having to drive 45 minutes to the closest town's big box store to try to find a barb with a matching nut that matches the opening on the Tetra skimmer.Tetra needs to offer a parts kit for this skimmer if possible. Why have (2) inlet holes if you can only ever connect (1) pump with their own products.As far as the skimmer goes, we have been using it for only one day so far. Pulling the basket to clean it does cause leaves and debris to fall back in the skimmer, or slush off the basket as you pull it up and out of the skimmer because it is below the water line. If the basket had taller sides maybe it would function better.Overall it will be easier to delay cleaning one of the pumps and keep the surface of the pond cleaner using this skimmer instead of using a pool leaf rake and having to repeatedly shake it off a short distance from the pond.This did not fully solve our problem though of having to clean the pump inlet every few days because of debris blocking it. We hoped the skimmer would make keeping the pumps clean easier, but only having (1) of the (2) pumps sucking water through it only delayed off some of the maintenance.

Not quite sure what all the fuss was all about on the stickers and labels from the other reviewer. Sure there are informative and descriptive stickers all over this skimmer but they came right off with a little patience. I didn't rip them off. I took my time and they came off cleanly and in one piece. There was a very little adhesive residue left over but a paper towel with some lighter fluid made quick work of it.I teamed this skimmer up with a Tetra 1900 gph submersable pump. I have the skimmer set on top of an upside down bucket that I cut big holes in to make it a "cave" for the fish to swim through and hide in.The only "problem" I've had in the month it's been installed is that a few of my very young shubunkins have been sucked into it. These little guys were born last October, just before I shut the pump down for the winter. I knew they wouldn't survive the winter cold so I put them in an aquarium over the winter months. We've had a very warm spring and I started the pond pump up mid March when I noticed my water was over 65 degrees. I decided to take the 12 new fish and put them in the pond and give them more room (than the aquarium). I check each morning to see if there are any of the little buggers in there and normally there are one or two. I was trying to figure a way to lessen the chance of them getting sucked in. I thought of splitting the intake for my pump to include maybe a separate underwater prefilter to take some of the suction away but then yesterday morning I noticed when I push down on the weir (from the inside when the top is tipped up) that the water "flow" into the skimmer seemed to be less intense. Actually slowing the turbulance down enough that it seemed a little fish could work his own way out. I ended up putting a small rock onto the wier to weigh it down. That seems to be doing the trick. Time will tell...I will still check each morning and write an update.Anyway, for the money, this skimmer does a great job keeping the water surface much cleaner than it was without the skimmer. I used to have to overflow the pond when I would see any kind of clutter or debris on the surface I didn't like. This has been a great upgrade to my pond. It whisks away leaves, flower pedals, and any uneaten food to keep it from decaying and clouding the water. I've actually been opening it up later in the day and scooping out any food still floating in there and putting it back for a snack for my little buddies. If you want a skimmer to help keep your pond cleaner and clearer, don't hesitate buying this one. It's a real bargain. I hope I've helped balance the bad reviews on this thing. The stickers just need a little patience and this thing is plenty sturdy to do the job it's intended to do and do it well.