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Sat, Dec 5, 09 at 17:13
| Shut off the Skippy filter & drained it before it froze but didn't know what to do with the dozens of pads we had in the filter? They were really 'yucky' so threw the all into a big tub full of water & now they are frozen in that water! Did I do wrong & kill the 'good' bacteria or will it start again in the Spring when I set up the filter again? Had such a great algae-free year but have no reason or idea why?! Maybe the mint that I had growing in it along with those scrubby pads? Want to built a new Skippy container for next year out of something more substantial than the plastic box I had. Could one cut sides, top & bottom out of heavier plexiglass, screw the panels together & somehow glue or caulk the edges where they come together & make it water tight? It is a small pond so don't want anyting elaborate or too $$$ |
Follow-Up Postings:
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- Posted by sleeplessinftwayne z4-5 IND (My Page) on Sun, Dec 6, 09 at 16:19
| Plexiglass is not the material for an outdoor filter. While many aquariums are made from it they are not exposed to the conditions of the outdoors. It would rapidly deteriorate. In addition the view of the inside would not be very attractive. All that yuck in the scrubbies would be on display. The scrubbies could have stayed in the Skippy. Bacterial activity ended when the temperature dropped. The bacteria is definitely dead now. I assume you removed the stopper so snow melt won't be a problem. The yuck you mention might very well have been colonies of the good bacteria. They are not known for their beauty. In the spring I would allow them to dry out after shaking the yuck off and rinsing well. Then just put them back in the filter. New colonies of bacteria will develop soon but if you want to start them up more quickly you can add bacteria from a bottle. Watering tanks like the Rubbermaid tank come as small as 50 gallons. They can take all sorts of weather in stride. The rounded corners avoid 'dead spots'and the whirling water feeds the bacteria very nicely. You can always order new materials on the internet. Sandy |
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| Ditto what Sandy said. I drain my skippy for the winter, hose off the bags of scrubbies and store them in the garage (frozen) 'til spring. Set up the skippy again and within 2 weeks the filter is doing it's job again. Love those tanks! S |
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| I do the same with my biofilter. I rinse everything off with the hose, put them back in the filter, and stick the filter in a corner of my lot with a plastic sheet over it for the winter. The good bacteria are always present in the water. You just set up the filter when the weather gets so the temperature is above about 50°F and it takes a week or two for the bacteria population to return depending on temperature. The warmer the faster. |
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| I am in South Texas & installed my skippy this past summer, so this is my first winter with it. I have kept mine up & running so far, even though our temps have been in the high 40's-60's. My WH are still alive in it, so hated to shut it down. However, we have an artic blast bearing down on us and expect severe freezing for the next 2-3 days. Should I go ahead and shut it down & store it for the winter? I currently have my filters running also as bubblers. Is that OK? I didn't want the ponds to freeze over in this cold. Thanks in advance for cold weather info for a normally warm weather ponder. |
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| IMO, if pumps are left running, the water won't freeze during a short term artic blast. However small diameter low flow exposed plumbing may, and you have to watch out for splashing water (such as a waterfall) freezing and causing water to be diverted from it's intended path and draining your pond. Put some of the WH in a bucket of water and bring it the house for a few days. Otherwise it won't survive. Hope your cold temps are short lived! My pond is now under a 2' snow bank with just a little hole open where the tank heater is. We're supposed to hit -25F tonight with the windchill at -45F. I won't see it again 'til the end of March :( Good Luck! S |
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| We have had 15 degrees some nights here so far. I removed the Skippy filter & place the pads (dozens of them!) in a big tub of water (frozen now!) in the garage. The pump left in the pond & at night the pump with the bubbler on top is left on so an area of open water is maintained in the surface ice. This is a small 250 gal. pond but it has been 3-4 years now & have no problem with the fish & sunken lily containers surviving.The icy cold pond water is crystal clear but the sides, bottom, sides of pots are lined with green algae. I do watch the bubbler though to make sure no pond water is being splashed out ... it did happen one summer so only water left was below the base the pump was sitting on ... enough to keep the fish alive thankfully! Glad to know those 'yucky' scrubbing pads can be re-used over again & don't need to be cleaned before using again next Spring. Think I will use the mint growing in the filter box again also ... it may have helped?! |
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