I need help with filtration for my small pond: 8 x 6 x 2.5 - lined - around 900 gallons.
Present state - there is a submerged pump pushing water up through the vase - no filtration. It acts as a resource for the local wildlife - mostly birds and racoons. It will never will be a Koi pond - too small - presently it's home to 2 Shibunkins.
As there is no filtration or skimmer, the surface is covered in a film, there is a lot of leaf fall into the pond and 6" of mud. Although it gets 2" of ice for 2-3 weeks over winter, the fountain keeps some of the surface open and the fish get through winter fine.
Ideally I would like to setup a skimmer and a bottom drain. I have a Savio Compact Skimmerfilter with a 6" faceplate that I want to use. The filtered output will go up through the vase and a second outlet goes to a TPR (I think that is the correct term used here.) It's retrofit so the input line/output lines will be run through bulkheads below the 1 foot frost line.
The skimmer needs to go in the top-right corner where it's least visible and where the power outlet is located. Ideally the vase/fountain stays where is is for composition reasons when viewing the pond from the house, even though I know it creates a short flow back to the skimmer.
My main concern is how to combine the skimmer and bottom drain. If I put the bottom drain through a 2" or 3" pipe into the bottom of the skimmer would that generate enough flow for the bottom drain? Or will the skimmer weir inlet totally dominate the flow? If it was a larger pond I would put the BD through a sieve filter like Ceton, then combine the skimmer and Ceton outputs, but that seems like overkill for such a small pond like this.
Another option: Should I lose the BD but still use a TPR to direct most of the flow out away from the fountain and get some circulation going?
Advice would be really welcome!