A good pond pump

[Warborg]

I have not done any research yet, I just thought I'd ask some experts first.

What I'm looking for shouldn't be to hard(I hope).

Cheap, does not have to be powerful(just something to move water), needs to be able to run 24/7, prefer it to be safe(see below)*, internal(in the water) and lastly(which may not happen is; find at a local store)

I hate buying things online but will as a last ditch effort.


*When I say safe I mean safe for me to put my hands in the water while it is running. Does this exist for pond pumps? I put my hands in my fish tank all the time with filters running.

Note: I am currently running an external filter. But it recommends running for only 8 hours at a time... and that I not put my hand/body parts in the water while it is running

Thanks for any help or advice.

 

[mrunlucky07]

Cheap, good, and local rarely ever go together.

Any pond pump should be safe to run and enter the water while on. Plug it into a GFCI outlet as well and you are covered.

Without know what GPH and filter situation its tough to suggest anything. Like anything in the industry name brands come at a price and are generally higher quality.

Locally HD lowes have pumps, not very cheap though, and probably medium quality. Should work for a few years though. Look for a watts rating when you buy it. A 1,000gph pump could be 80watts or 400w. 80w would be about $70 a year to run while 400w would be around $350 a year.

Local pond supply places probably carry better brands, but you will most likely pay at least double an online price.

If you really want cheap Harbor freight is about the cheapest.

 

[Warborg]

Thanks, there is a harbor freight close by... I'll go check it out.

 

[Yanbbrox]

I have to agree that cheap and good never mix.

At the moment I'm still in shock at the amazing service I got from EA when my pump went down but I'm not sure if you can get sequence pumps in the states, but I buy another for sure, and they run low wattage so in the long term they work out cheaper on juice.

 

[shadowspar]

i get my pumps from home depot. they carry the brand beckett, its very good, energy efficient, wet rotor techonology, magnetic drive, and they are pretty cheap.

 

[jcardona1]

what kind of filter are you running that you only run for 8 hours? that defeats the whole purpose of biological filtration. filters and pumps are meant to run non-stop

 

[Muske]

Any filter that recomends running for only 8 hours and not placing your hands in the water is a joke. BB starts to die after 30 mins. If the external/canister is then re-started after no O2 for 16 hours, it is a crap bomb going into the pond.

 

[Warborg]

what kind of filter are you running that you only run for 8 hours? that defeats the whole purpose of biological filtration. filters and pumps are meant to run non-stop

It's a swimming pool pump/filter.

I just got a fountain like pump($24)... I still sided on the caution side while putting it in and making adjustments.

I also found a neat mini water pump for $7 that I can use for my pre-conditioned water and use it to go into the pond

 

[JAFRIAS]

try looking at webbsonline.com i use Pondmaster pumps their great but any with a 3yr warranty is were i would start i like the Alpine too