I never turn off my pumps. Once in a while the fish allow some of the food
to make it to the skimmer, but not very often. If you feed several feet
away from the skimmer, then the fish should be able to eat all that they
need before it makes it to the skimmer. If food is making it to the
skimmer, cut back on the amount being fed.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html


"Bill Oertell" wrote in message
...
When the fish are being fed, should the pump be turned off? It seems like
the
pump would suck out much of the food before the fish could eat it, and at
any
rate, it would attract the fish too close to the skimmer once the food got
over
near it. The pond in question is about 7 X 10 feet and about 2 1/2 feet
deep
with a 3,000 GPH pump.