Black Hole Skimmers
Benefits for Ponds
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Surface Skimming
Black Hole Skimmers are in-pond skimmers designed to keep water surfaces clean and healthy by continuously drawing in floating debris, oils, and organics before they can sink and break down into muck.
They also create an upward flow that lifts suspended debris to the surface, where the skimmer removes it — keeping the entire pond clearer.
Duckweed, Azolla, mosquito larvae, and eggs are quickly skimmed from the surface — keeping the pond clearer and healthier, while also reducing mosquito populations around your yard.
Aeration & Circulation
Removing debris is the first step in preventing muck and green water, but aeration is just as important. Aeration helps beneficial bacteria turn waste into less harmful byproducts, like nitrates. As water warms, its ability to hold oxygen decreases, making added aeration vital for fish and overall pond health. Black Hole Skimmers mix air into the water as it enters the self-adjusting skimmer head, raising dissolved oxygen levels to keep the pond balanced and thriving.
This small pond skimmer has kept a livestock tank healthy, even through hot summer months — clearing debris, aerating the water, and keeping mosquitoes in check.
Powerful and Reliable
The result is simple and powerful: cleaner water, healthier aquatic life, and less time and effort spent on maintenance. And because Black Hole Skimmers sit directly in the water, there’s no need to cut liners or rely on risky permanent installations—making them a reliable, adaptable solution for ponds.
The skimmer shown here has been running for over two years, faithfully skimming and aerating without a single issue. The fish is on the bottom of a four foot deep pond (video taken at night).
Optimal Self-Adjusting
Black Hole Skimmers are built with a self-adjusting head that rises and falls with the water level, automatically adapting to changing conditions. This design also allows the skimmer to handle a wide range of flow rates efficiently — from gentle circulation to strong currents — so it continues to skim effectively without constant adjustment.
Pushing the skimmer head down demonstrates how the Black Hole Skimmer adapts to changes in flow — even as filter media begins to clog.
Convenient Cleaning
Cleaning a Black Hole Skimmer is simple and quick, because you can easily remove the skimmer and filter chamber from the PVC stand or connection. Then, simply rinse or change the media in the chamber. This design also makes it very convenient to switch to different types of media, allowing you to quickly adapt your filtration to your pond's changing needs.
In the video, we are removing an 800 micron filter sock from the tall body skimmer.
Power Guard
The Power Guard and removable Topper are key features of the Black Hole Skimmer. This innovative design serves multiple purposes: it helps stabilize the skimmer at higher flow rates, increases water aeration for a healthier pond, and acts as a safety barrier to inhibit pond inhabitants from entering the skimmer.
See how the Power Guard handles high flow rates and aerates the water in this video, keeping your pond healthy and your inhabitants safer.
Filter Media
This video demonstrates how to effectively layer filter media. Start with coarse media (black), then medium (green), and finer media (blue). After that, filter floss can be stuffed in after the blue layer to polish off the water.
Water flows from coarse to fine, so larger debris gets caught first. This keeps the finer media from clogging and lets it “focus” on the smaller particles.
Our skimmers also allow layering. With easy access for cleaning, you can swap or rinse media as needed to keep water flowing and filtration working at its best.
Mosquito Control
Here’s how Black Hole Skimmers help control mosquitoes:
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Water Movement: Mosquitoes avoid laying eggs in moving water. A skimmer keeps the surface circulating, making the pond or pool inhospitable to them.
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Debris Removal: By removing leaves and organic matter from the surface, the skimmer eliminates the food source mosquito larvae rely on.
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Direct Removal of Eggs and Larvae: As water is pulled through the skimmer, any mosquito eggs or larvae on the surface are trapped in the basket before they can hatch or mature.
Wiping aphids off the plants, the skimmer collects them off the surface.
No Liner Cutting
Traditional pond skimmers are usually installed by professionals and are expensive to install. Leaks around these skimmers are also a common problem—they're difficult to repair and are often a reason people give up on their ponds entirely.
Black Hole Skimmers not only work better, but they also eliminate the risk of leaks because there is no need to cut your liner. Our skimmers do not have to be installed or maintained by a professional. In fact, a professional that recommends a Black Hole Skimmer is one that truly cares about their customers.
Muck Reduction
The recipe for pond muck has three ingredients: * Decomposing organics like fish waste and dead leaves. * A lack of oxygen, which the muck-eating bacteria need to survive. * Poor circulation to deliver that oxygen throughout the pond.
Black Hole Skimmers address each of these ingredients. They collect organics from the water before they can settle, while also circulating and aerating your pond. This provides the beneficial bacteria with the oxygen they need to break down debris and prevent muck from forming.
Variable Flow Rate
Black Hole Skimmers are built with a self-adjusting head that rises and falls with the water level, automatically adapting to changing conditions. This design also allows the skimmer to handle a wide range of flow rates efficiently — from gentle circulation to strong currents — so it continues to skim effectively without constant adjustment.
Pushing the skimmer head down demonstrates how the Black Hole Skimmer adapts to changes in flow — even as filter media begins to clog.