Why You Need a *POND SKIMMER* for Aquatic Ecosystems

There are many components to an ecosystem pond, but none more essential than the skimmer. Learn all about the history and evolution of our skimmers and how they reduce maintenance for aquatic systems.
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[@namelessone5968]

I had to say, this is by far the coolest Professor I have ever seen.

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Hahaha!!! Thanks for your support!

[@ludwigrx]

I always learn something new every time you speak, Ed.

[@edbeaulieu5916]

That’s great to hear!!! & My goal is to teach and share the science behind water features......

[@GregsTurtleHaven]

Nobody does it like Ed! Great job explaining the function and ecosystem

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Thanks Greg!!!

[@tanusutomo7031]

Hi Ed The Pond Professor I like the way you explain the mechanisem of the water ecosystem thanks a lot 👍

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Your welcome and thank you for watching!

[@NathanBrainard]

Ed!! This video is awesome. We've had our Aquascape pond since October and LOVE it. As a very proud Aquascape pond owner these educational videos are so helpful in shifting me from an enthusiast to a more knowledgeable owner. Would love to see additional videos like this that are geared to owners and how to properly identify and maintain our Aquascape lifestyle. Would love to hear the science and 'how to' with the various products...i.e. how to identify and what to do when your water turns green, or what types of wildlife can you expect. We have all sorts of amazing bugs, frogs and life popping up in our pond, half of which I don't know what they are (lol) would love to see you share which of these creatures are great for the system, which ones to watch out for and how they help or hurt the overall ecosystem. Love your videos most of all. We really enjoy understanding how things work and the history and development behind them. Thank you So much for always educating us.

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Your very welcome!!! & It’s my pleasure...... Thanks for your detailed feedback and support, I will definitely continue with upcoming Vlogs with the “Science” I periodically post videos on my Instagram Page, edthepondprofessor and I actually have some recent ones that showcased the biology within a new pond, Bacterial Floc formation, black fly and midge fly larvae, tadpoles, whirligig beetles and most recently dragonfly nymphs.....

[@davidchadwick4086]

Awsome vid pall very informative more vids like this would be Amazon thank you for the information

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Thanks for the feedback and support! I love explaining stuff......

[@NathanBrainard]

Agreed! This was one of my favorite Aquascape videos, and I've seen hundreds!!!

[@07GSXR1G]

Wonderful job again. I absolutely love and appreciate the technical side and information you provide. I enjoy watching the ponds getting build, but my favorite part is hearing and seeing how things work. Thanks soo much. Please keep making videos.

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Awesome!!! Glad to hear you enjoy it and find value in it! Thanks for your support and feedback!

[@n173021x]

For anyone that’s ever installed one of these, the adjustable height adjustment for the water level is ingenious. Nice video!

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Awesome!!! That modification came from pulling out multiple skimmers that were set at the wrong elevation...... It was one of those lightbulb moments!

[@RWSBrowning]

Fantastic tutorial Ed In fact this should be the new standard for Aquascape academy education. You just raised the bar.

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Awesome! Thanks for your support!

[@zenchilladas]

You are such a refreshing soul! So excited to watch other videos on the channel for my pond!

[@EdThePondProfessor]

Thank you!!! 🙏🙏🙏

[@logarin]

It's just amazing all the research you had to do to get to that version of a fully functional skimmer. Thumbs up!!!

[@EdThePondProfessor]

Thanks Alex!!!

[@zenphotojourney]

Great video! I'm looking forward to seeing more explaining the technical aspect of building a pond and the science behind it!

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Thanks for watching!

[@wayneboogie333]

Thanks Ed. I recently bought a MacCourt 125 gallon just to get started. I elevated the filter box and added a foam and cut to size filter to it, and left the pump in the pond. Its somewhat similar to process of the skimmer. Every few days, i have to clean it and add water clarifier. Ive been doing some research and ive mostly gotten skimmer is optional. They way you explained it and broke down the importance, is excellent information. My next pond will be with a 20 by 20 liner, above ground. Ive got the lumber and cinder blocks. I just need rebar and a little more patience.

[@buckeyewaterscapes8300]

Great video Ed! Full of information and explained very well! You’re the best!!

[@tonymarshall3162]

Thank you Ed for sharing such valuable info and making it easy to understand ! I’m trying to soak in as much content as possible in hopes of starting a pathway into helping create these awesome ecosystem replicas ! You are a true professor and I greatly respect your vast knowledge and experience ! Thank You from Nisswa, Minnesota !

[@EdThePondProfessor]

Thanks for watching!!! Glad you enjoyed it and picked up some techniques......

[@zippyz3916]

As a geek for the equipment this was awesome. I would love to see more videos of how the equipment is made. Awesome video. Awesome SCIENCE.

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Thanks for the feedback Zippy Z!!! I love this stuff too!!!

[@jamesjustanothergakoiguy1692]

And here I thought I understood everything I needed to know about a skimmer. Ed has done it again, gave me an education. I guess that's why they call him the Pond Professor. Keep doing this types of videos, and If I can make a request. Do a video on how to estimate a pond excavation. Similar to your stone calculation video that explains how you determine the man hour cost to dig out a pond and at what point does it become more cost effective to bring in heavy equipment to do the digging.

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Thanks for your support and feedback James!!! I can definitely do that as I have all of those calculations.......

[@PondKingWaterGardensMN]

Boy do we have it easy these days! Thanks to you all at Aquascape 👍

[@farmert9679]

Excellent tutorial. Excellent

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Thank you!!!

[@seedsofnaturewatergardens]

Great video Ed! I always learn something new everytime I watch your videos.

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Thanks for your support Bill!!!

[@adeelshaikh2129]

Hi ED very good information thanks for sharing

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Your welcome and thanks for watching!

[@timffoster]

Wow! I wasn't expecting this much detailed information from a manufacturer. You're giving away trade secrets ..but making me a true believer.

[@EdThePondProfessor]

Education is an important part of our mission and sharing Trade Secrets is part of Teaching and Understanding Why and How we created our original Products....... Thanks for your feedback!

[@willard4818]

Wow, I'm really glad that I found this video. I was trying to figure out how a pond skimmer really works because I am currently building a pond. Though unlike the aquascape ponds which are made on top of a liner, mine will be made out of concrete due to the lack of supplies in my country but.I will try my best to keep it naturalistic. Even though that is the case I still want to replicate the concept of the how you build ponds especially the filtration system, I now have grasped the whole idea thanks to you Ed!

[@EdThePondProfessor]

Awesome!!! Thanks for your feedback and good luck with your project! Please share the pics when your done

[@dubldee5364]

😱 totally surprised to catch a teaser of yall out west with Joseph. Can't wait to see the finished product and the training to be done with it.

[@everythingfishy1207]

Awesome video thanks ed I’ve been watching your old pond build videos on aqua scape, and just found your channel thank you for all the educational info and how too.

[@blaisefernandes1746]

Hello this was great to watch 😊 the technical knowledge ... If it's possible please do a video on the plumbing and connecting all the pipes and how to make it work

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Absolutely!!! Thanks for your feedback!

[@dennisfeldmann7399]

Thanks Ed this exact system was installed on my pond through put's ponds. LOVE it!!! Very easy to work with.😳

[@edbeaulieu5916]

That’s great!!! Dan and his Team are Awesome!!! Thanks for your feedback and support......

[@PutsPonds]

Thanks guys

[@heathermarshall9694]

I learn something new in each vid. Thanks Professor Ed.

[@thefishylife6823]

It's all about the surface agitation..... right? Your awesome Ed!!! Keep all the great and hard work!!!!

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Thanks for your support! & Yes!!! Surface agitation is very important!

[@anelson8293]

Well done..the amount of R&D ain’t this is awesome .. I’ll be building one of these shortly that I can float and manoeuvre around our half acre pond . Thanks for the direction and ideas

[@EdThePondProfessor]

Thanks for watching and good luck!!!

[@cathleenbaldwinmaggi2252]

Thank you! This helped me understand a bit more. I am modifying an ecosystem to a pool pond and know I am missing the skimmer and wetland filter. Pretty sure how to do the wetland and this gives me an idea for the skimmer... we will see! At least my fish and turtles are happy in the "high food" pond!

[@edbeaulieu5916]

That’s great!!! I’d love to see the pictures!

[@RK-xp7qn]

Thank you for all the knowledge, I love what you do !

[@sharronmiller451]

Awesome info!!

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Thanks Sharron!

[@ninamarieswistara5179]

Awesome video Ed!

[@joacimzehlin9592]

Very good explanation video Ed 👍🏼 ❤️🇸🇪❤️

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Thanks for watching Joacim!

[@toxicheroband1718]

Great video !! Really nice product !! Thanks

[@EdThePondProfessor]

Thanks for your support!!!

[@GGerre23]

What an amazing informative video! Thanks!

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Thanks for watching!

[@ronderfulaquariums2978]

Wow this was sooooooooo INFORMATIVE THX FOR SHARING

[@miratangtangit]

Very well explained! Now I'm enlightened.😊

[@EdThePondProfessor]

That’s great!!! Thanks for watching!

[@Suffolktrueblue78]

Excellent video thank you, really enjoyed the tempo and how you explained the detail. One new subscriber for sure 👍

[@EdThePondProfessor]

Thanks for your feedback and watching!!!

[@ftswarbill]

Holy cow I'm glad I stumbled across this video. Subscribed!

[@EdThePondProfessor]

Thanks for watching Bill!!!

[@johnwillsn]

Well explained. Thank you.

[@EdThePondProfessor]

Thanks for watching!

[@aquagardening5803]

Perfectly explained prof...

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Thank you!

[@shawn_baker]

I think I'll just save some time and go with Aquascape 😆

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Thanks Shawn!!! We’ve put a lot of work into our system over the years......

[@shawn_baker]

@@edbeaulieu5916 I know you've done the work for us already! I'm loving my pond! I would like to see more about how the molds work. I find that fascinating!

[@MarioLopez-ml8uw]

This guy really knows his craft. 👍👍

[@EdThePondProfessor]

Thanks!!!

[@MarioLopez-ml8uw]

@@EdThePondProfessor Just found your channel, you got a new subscriber. 👍

[@bradparker649]

Words that fly over my head....lol. great educational video Ed

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Sorry....... I hope you picked up some of the information between the Ecology lesson???

[@colleenheitzler8670]

Cool science lesson!

[@GregWittstockThePondGuy]

Da Professor! So Ed 😂😂😂

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Would you expect anything less......

[@robertjohnson4881]

Thats the professor ^^^^

[@alijens8544]

Is a skimmer (v. bottom pump) still the best option for a duck pond? Thank you for excellent videos & tips!

[@timfoster5043]

Excellent!! That's knowledge I can use. What's the 2nd most important part of a pond?

[@EdThePondProfessor]

Thanks!!! Coming soon......

[@ZokomoTV]

Pond Science with Ed, great!

[@ramonpaulocruz7323]

Great content

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Thanks for watching!

[@clovisaurelio3730]

Wonderfull. We need in Brazil

[@oscarkromhout7621]

Hey ed, Nice video! I always like yours best, it's more about the biology and technical stuff rather than how it looks. Anyway, I used the contact form of Aquascape to see if there was any possibillity to work together with you guys from Europe. But here hasn't been any response so far. Any idea's how to contact you guys differently?

[@Brad-lt4lw]

Awesome video..

[@EdThePondProfessor]

Great!!! Thanks for watching!

[@bigwonder7421]

Excellent

[@EdThePondProfessor]

🙏🙏🙏

[@cn4675]

Professor Ed! Awesome job with this video! I am curious if I can I split out from the skimmer pump sending water up to the wetlands filter and also sending it to a separate biofalls filter? How might that be accomplished? Thanks for any advice and for the inspirational content!

[@EdThePondProfessor]

Thank you!!! 🙏🙏🙏 Yes, You can split the flow between a wetland and Biofalls, You’ll need a PVC Manifold along with a two Ball Valves to adjust the flow between the two filters to insure optimal water flow

[@cn4675]

@@EdThePondProfessor got it! Thanks for replying 👍

[@jackschultz8273]

Great video Ed,You explain it so clearly,Question how many skimmers do u run on that massive aquascape signature pond?,or do u use one big skimmer?

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Great question! We use a customized Skimmer/Prefilter, it’s referred to as a Negative Edge or Infinity Edge, I’ll explain the difference in an upcoming Vlog

[@jackschultz8273]

Looking forward to it,I saw that pond 3 years ago and I’m still mind blown 🤯👍

[@robertforrest7956]

Skimmers of some kind are a Must!! Very good video Ed. Question; on your big jobs, like the one you released the other day, what % is done on the fly as compared to planned out. I'd imagine there are Many variables. Thanks Ed...👍looking forward to also seeing Hobbit House...😎

[@edbeaulieu5916]

The Technical components are typically planned out ahead of time because that’s how we generate the Project Estimate and Contract. The artistry is done on the fly once the rocks are delivered to the job site

[@robertforrest7956]

@@edbeaulieu5916 Thanks for clarification Ed. You can't choose EA rock understandable! Still would like to see how your Hobbit House is doing, and coming along with your wife's touches and growing in. 👍

[@ShowYouOnceAgain]

Just found you. Great information 🙂 I also saw that at the beginning of this video you have a flash holding a snapping turtle. I get mixed info on those. We have them in our natural pond. It's 10 ft deep and they seem to have made themselves quite at home. Should I be worried and try and get them out because they might eat all my koi? I also have common carp in there

[@EdThePondProfessor]

Hi Jenny! Thanks for your support! I haven’t had any issues with them coexisting with Koi…..

[@ShowYouOnceAgain]

@@EdThePondProfessor o wonderful! I am glad to hear that. It's mating season and I just saw the big two footer out yesterday evening looking to go lay her eggs. Ty 🙂

[@NaturebyGus]

With that design and model I am concerned about small aquatic wildlife and baby fish getting suck into the skimmer. Was this taken into consideration during the design? Thanks

[@heryace9825]

Ed I need help, I am new to the pond world but I would like to improve my pond

[@TheBarefootedGardener]

Hi Ed, So then technically isn’t the ideal nutrient load flirting between oligotropic and mesotrophic to support plants? I have foam inside my skimmer, are the foam removal products a bandaid or fixing the “root” of the problem?

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Yes, Somewhere between the two trophic levels is ideal! Foam is a byproduct of Dissolved Organic Compounds in the water, it’s beneficial to remove the foam

[@stevesalavec5082]

Do you need a skimmer and a cannister filter or can you just use a skimmer and waterfall box with bio balls etc?

[@EdThePondProfessor]

Either one will work but you need some sort of Biological Filter......

[@deangregory8069]

Ed do you sell these in Greece?

[@COOL_DAD]

Would it be a good idea to sup a sumergible uv inside the skimmer?

[@EdThePondProfessor]

Yes, You can install a UV if necessary

[@whatdomuslimsknowii9165]

I want to make my first turtle pond with three turtles. What would be your advise for good material to use for a beginner ? Thank You 🙏

[@edbeaulieu5916]

What type of turtles and how large are they?

[@NathansWildLife]

Do you guys sell filter pads individually

[@EdThePondProfessor]

Yes, We sell precut filter pads for specific filters and we sell the material by the roll allowing you to cut them yourself for unique filter designs……

[@geckoztom]

How do lakes do this without skimmers? Or do they have enough inhibants to eat all the algae?

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Great question!!! I wanted to discuss this in the video but the video was getting pretty long and I didn’t want to confuse anybody. Large lakes are a bit different, some of them may have a consistent current of water from small streams entering on one side and a river or outfall on the other end of the lake, this keeps the lake at a specific water level, the discharge point acts as the skimmer because debris will get flow downstream. Another important factor on large bodies of water is wind driven waves, wind is very effective at pushing debris across the surface of water and the material will accumulate along the shoreline, when large waves are part of the equation the debris is literally pushed on shore where it will become food for terrestrial animals and/or compost for shoreline plants. If you’ve ever walked on a beach after a storm you’ll know exactly what I mean because you’ll see a lot of material piled up above the high water line...... Does this make sense???

[@joshuamartin5095]

I’m glad I watched this before I put a trash can in the ground.

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Exactly!!!

[@angelamozmendoza1869]

Hi Ed! Is it possible to ship a skimmer from there to Philippines? How much would it cost?

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Hi Angel! Yes, We ship products all over the world, I can find out the cost for you..... Do you have an existing pond or are you in the process of building?

[@angelamozmendoza1869]

@@edbeaulieu5916 we're actually planning to have a pond feature outside of our church

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Angel Amoz Mendoza Do you need assistance with any other components or designs?

[@cepontzsons]

🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐🐐

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Thanks!!!

[@ojasvitkumar8885]

Please bring aquascape to India 🙏

[@edbeaulieu5916]

We would love to but we’ll need to find the right Distribution Partner to allow us to do this.....

[@ojasvitkumar8885]

@@edbeaulieu5916 ok gotcha 😉

[@TVKira]

Hi professor :) Thank you for this video. I would like to ask some questions if you dont mind. Is skimmer works like bog filter? if it's not, Is there any difference with those two? i tried searching in google, i cannot find the exact answer haha

[@EdThePondProfessor]

Hello, I love questions! No, Skimmers and Intake Bays will house the pumps and act as a Prefilter to remove floating debris by drawing the water from the surface of the Pond. A Bog Filter is fed the water from the Skimmer and it will act as an Upflow Biological Filter. The water from the Skimmer/Prefilter will be pumped into the bottom of the Bog Filter into a large sedimentation chamber to remove solids. The water then flows up through the filter media and enters back into the pond by flowing over a waterfall which will help to oxygenate the water.

[@TVKira]

@@EdThePondProfessor thank you so much for responding professor. this is really detailed. Keep safe :)

[@EdThePondProfessor]

Glad to help! 🙏

[@Riley095]

Everyone gangsta until those fish got sucked right up

[@cristinaprohor5198]

FIRST

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Thanks for your support Cristina!!!

[@fencer39]

Appreciate you enthusiasm and technological know how but her in the UK your prosucts are crazy expensive and yet at the end of the day they are just molded plastic. Having worked in the plastic industry I just can see why they cost so much ! I like your product but I'm afraid I'll buy the cheaper similar product. probably made in China !

[@Jamesrcrowley80]

Good info!

[@edbeaulieu5916]

Thanks James!!!