PUMPS

[HSJami]

Hello TutleMommy, I love that name! I think before you decide on a pump you need to reconsider the size of your pond. 100 gal is not much water for a turtle. They get pretty big, and if you want fish besides, you're going to need much more water for them. Even a few Goldies will outgrow 100 gal in a short time. Once you have come up with a satisfactory volume of water for what you want in it, then decided on a pump. I've had very good luck with submersibles. I have one in a 2,000 gal system rated for 3,000 gph. It supplies a fountain, a waterfall, and a spring. In a 500 gal system I have a pump rated for 650gph. It drives an 18 inch waterfall. A prime advantgage to submersibles, especially in small areas, is that they are virtually invisible and take up no space outside of the pond itself.

 

[SE18]

sump pumps will burn up in a few weeks; they must be really poorly engineered

my OASE aquamax 1200 can be used as submerssible or external; I've used it both ways but I now have it submerged as I believe it runs cooler that way in summer

 

[sissy]

very true in hot weather they will and sun does not help .Some of my pumps can be used in or out of the pond i prefer in the pond ,if the clamp hoses come loose at least there in the pond .

 

[sissy]

To me the only difference in submersible and non are what you preferr and are at ease with .I had one external and the hose came loose and a lot of the water drained out of my pond and scared me from them ( my fault more than likely as I did not check the clamp on the thing ).At least if the hose comes loose in my pond it is in the pond .So for me submersibles stay cooler in the water and I don't have a skimmer in my pond to put the pump in .Also in the winter you have to take an external pump and store it and submersible you just unplug and leave it .A little work with one and no work really for the other one .But if you are in a warmer climate you would not have to worry about that .I just think there is not much difference it is up to the user and there comfort zone.They seem to both do the job they are there for . I have several subemersibles that are over 8 years old and still work great it is just that they are smaller gph for my first small pond ,but I still use them for spitters and one is in one of my filters to pump the gunk from the bottom out as the cleanout I put in is hard to get at and the other filter has a small sump pump I use to clean the bottom of that found it was easier for me than cleaning it from the bottom clean out .Just plug them in and done in a few minutes and do my water change then also .

 

[addy1]

i have just used externals, never had an issues with piping coming loose. We use the flex connectors. I like the ease of cleaning the leaf basket, to me protecting a submersible from pond junk and needing to clean what is protecting it is too much work lol.

For our winter it took 5 minutes to disconnect and put into the house. Re hook up took about 15 or so, but I had lost track of one piece I needed...........sigh, did find it finally. Next winter all stored in one place.

I have read the externals use a little less power, but both are efficient. So it comes down to your preference.

 

[koiguy1969]

pro and cons...IMO....
submersable....pros: less xpensive to buy... quieter, (you'll never hear it on the bottom of the pond)....easier to plumb, (easy to plumb using all hose and almost all of the hose can be inside the pond).....
cons: cost alittle more to run. not as strong, so not as good head heights
external: use a bit less electricity, so cheaper to run.... generally have a bit more pressure .so can get better head heights...longer life span
cons: harder to hide...can be noisey, some more than others....most people plumb them remotely so typically theres more out of pond, under ground plumbing. more expensive initial investmestment

 

[sissy]

gosh ponds can be difficult and confusing at times .so much info to absorb and only one brain to figure it all out .I guess it all comes down to money at times and more now than ever .

 

[j.w]

Good info koiguy, tried to LIKE but of course could not :sad:
I agree addy about having to clean the gunk away from some of the submersibles can be a pain. I have more trouble w/ the smaller fountain ones than say my larger pondmaster one that seems to be able to suck anything and not clog up. I've had it for many yrs and it's still ticking and hope it does for a long time cuz they aren't cheap!

 

[koiguy1969]

jw..i use 1 or 2 large diy prefilters (prepump)...my pump is 2 feet from my waterfall, i only have maybe 3 feet of hose & one connection outside the pond ...the pumps inlet is plumbed with 1 &1/4" hose to the prefilter(s) at the other end of the pond. no gunk in, on, or around the pump......my pump sends pretty darn clear water to my bio filter.

 

[sissy]

You can always start with a cheaper pump and then when money is free to spend on a more expensive one you can buy it .You never know you may find a real bargain later on an expensive pump and it never hurts to use the cheaper pump for spitters or something else, 2 pumps are better than one .One goes out you always have a back up ..End of pond season there are a lot of great deals out there to be had .

 

[j.w]

jw..i use 1 or 2 large diy prefilters (prepump)...my pump is 2 feet from my waterfall, i only have maybe 3 feet of hose & one connection outside the pond ...the pumps inlet is plumbed with 1 &1/4" hose to the prefilter(s) at the other end of the pond. no gunk in, on, or around the pump......my pump sends pretty darn clear water to my bio filter.

Ok so that makes sense and then all you have to do is clean those pre-filters and not drag out the pumps! I'm always having to lift out those fountain ones and unclog them. So if I attach a hose to them w/ a prefilter then much easier. Wonder tho if the prefilters will clog up, but wait you said use large ones so they prolly don't plug up much right?

 

[koiguy1969]

yes they are large...i made my prefilter(s) out of an old tetrapond trickle filter(s)... i have 2 but sometimes use just one. the hose isnt even clamped on i just slide the hose off and lift the prefilter out, and hose out the filter pads...i do it every few days.. only takes a couple minutes, and the amount of muck it catches and eliminates from the ponds enviroment is by far substantial enough to make it well worth the little bit of time it takes to clean it.

 

[j.w]

Thanks koiguy and I shall be rigging up something simple as a prefliter for mine also! I'll have to think on this to see what I could use to stick on the end of the hose w/ some kind of pads in there to stop the gunk from going through. Maybe a plastic pot stuffed w/ pads w/ a lid and a hole where the hose fits on or something or other. I don't have any old trickle filter things you are talking about.