I invite all who have pumps to weigh in on their experiences with external or with submersible pumps. I'm in the process of collecting information now in order to get the technology options figured out. My pond will be about 10x15'.
I understand that the external pumps in general are more energy efficient and last longer, though more expensive up front, while submersibles aren't as obtrusive with the sound of the motor; on the other hand submersibles require constant cleaning of filter and can clog while out of pond pumps can be located behind easier to reach filters .
I'd like to hear from folks' experience.
thanks, Karen in Cincinnati
pros and cons of external vs. submersible pumps
We have been operating our submersible for about 5 months now... our first pump. The "chore" of cleaning the filter periodically (maybe once a month) is not really a chore. For us it is more like a chance to fertilize part of the flowerbed. We rinse off the filter over the bed... adding good organic matter to the bed. It takes all of a minute to clean the filter. The filter we use is some kind of a mesh wrapped around a piece of PVC pipe that has been perfotated with many holes and the end of the pipe capped off. It slips onto the end of the pump intake... no clamp required. This setup was suggested by a local pond place. There is no problem of fish or critters being sucked into the intake. The length of the intake pipe reduces the suction on the filter medium. I'm not sure how external pumps have their intake engineered. I have seen posts where people using a skimmer with their external pump have problems with fish getting into the filter box. Skimmers are another issue I know... but thought I would mention it.
Something I would check into for your area is frost problems. We get freezing temps here, but nothing like what you have. TxMel in the Ft Worth Tx area said she got single digit temps this past winter but never had the pond freeze. She has the external pump and skimmer box arrangement.
We are planning an extension of our pond which will add a stream and another pond about the same size as what you are planning. Right now we are leaning on continuing with the submersible pump. You definitely have the right idea on collecting ideas before proceeding. We will be following this thread as well to see what comments come up. Good luck.... Tom
We have a submersible pump, but the filter around the intake gets clogged at least twice a day. Tom, is the PVC setup an add on to your existing intake on your pump, or is it a part of the pump itself? I like that our submersible is quiet, but the twice daily cleaning is getting on my nerves. Ours filter around our pump intake is filled with brown algae (even though we have a UV filter) and (unfortunately) dead tadpoles.
I have a submer. pump that i have ran for over a year, I clean the medium once a week in the summer and i ran it all winter with no problem and i did not clean in the winter as there is no need, its quite and its serves me well for a 4 by 7 pond with fish and plants
I have been running a submersible for about 3 years now. I have not have any problems. I did replace it a couple of years ago with a bigger pump so I could have more water flow over the waterfall.
Aggie... here is the pump and filter medium. All that green stuff is algae covered filter medium. As you can imagine it will allow for lots of water to flow through it. I clean it every month weather it needs it or not. Before cleaning I do not notice any decrease in water flow.
Here is a close-up of the pump inlet and the attachment for the filter medium. When the tadpoles were very small, I think a few of them found their way through the medium and were pumped up to the bog area. But I also saw many swiming in and around the medium feeding on algae... but they were not sucked into the filter. The large surface area reduces the flow or intake pressure of the water flowing through the filter.
Aggie... you will probably have ups and downs with the algae until the pond balances out... that might take a while. It might help to get some microbial critters from some good lake or stream. That will expedite the process I think. It seemed to help our pond. Hope the pics help... Tom
