Often the owners of country houses, in the presence of the necessary space, think about their own pool or decorative pond. A modern pool or pond is a complex structure with various technological equipment. One of the necessary devices to maintain clean water is a skimmer. What is it and what is it for?
What is a skimmer
In the upper layer of water (to a depth of 40 centimeters) there is a large part of various pollutants such as pollen from trees, bathing hair, small leaves and other garbage. To eliminate this trouble, specialized equipment - a skimmer comes to the rescue.
The name comes from the English word; when translated into Russian, it means “take off” (from something). A skimmer is a fairly simple device for collecting top water and then filtering it.
Depending on the type of pool, they are divided into two types: mounted and built-in. The first option (mounted) is suitable for small and shallow pools. For large, a built-in cleaner is suitable. For artificial reservoirs , another special floating device will be required.
Mounted skimmer
What is this device? The principle of its operation is simple: water circulates through a funnel with a filter mesh, and thus cleaning occurs. The undoubted convenience of such a skimmer is that it can be installed even after the construction of the pool.
When installing the device on an outdoor pool, it is necessary to pay attention to the direction of the wind, since it can be used to create a flow of water, and due to this, its purification will increase. If the pool is located indoors, then in addition to the cleaning device it is necessary to install water return nozzles.
Built-in skimmer
What is it is that? This is a treatment plant consisting of a metal or plastic tank to which a water intake pipe is connected. Its installation is carried out at the stage of raising the pool bowl. There is also a window for receiving water, which, passing through the filter, returns to the pool. A coarse filter is also present in the treatment plant to prevent large debris from entering the pipeline.
When choosing a skimmer, it is worth focusing on the material of the treatment plant. It can be plastic, stainless steel or bronze. In addition, the selection material for the pool bowl can be served as a selection criterion: concrete or film. The number of appliances will depend on the volume and size of the bowl. On average, one skimmer can process up to 25 square meters of pool area.
And the pond will help clean the skimmer!
The owners of artificial reservoirs or decorative ponds know firsthand that this is a device for controlling the purity of water. Unfortunately, they do not possess a system of self-cleaning and filtration, as occurs in natural reservoirs. Unlike a pool, using an integrated or mounted device in a pond is not always technically possible. In this case, you should pay attention to the floating skimmer.
The principle of operation of this device is such that, using a pump, the upper contaminated layer of water is sucked in, filtered, and returned to the reservoir. To optimize the operation, the frequency of use of the skimmer depends on the degree of contamination of the reservoir. It should be noted that using it in combination with a pump allows you to filter the upper layers of water, the temperature of which is much higher than in deep ones. The temperature at the depth remains unchanged, this helps to prevent the growth of algae.
Modern technologies also offer consumers floating treatment plants that run on solar panels. And if there are enough sunny days, there is the possibility of additional energy savings.
The right equipment for the pool or pond allows you to seamlessly maintain the purity of water and enjoy your vacation.