Does anybody use sump pumps in their pond's. What are the pro's and con's???

doubledragon

The House Of Endlie
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Nov 19, 2006
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Does any body use these to power their pond's, waterfall's, filters. etc.
Do they last as long as regular pumps? Are they louder, more electricity, etc.
 

Muske

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Feb 14, 2007
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I have one for clean outs and it works great, don't know if I would use it 24/7. Mine is a greasy little pig. If my main pump ever fails, this could be used in a pinch.

A buddy of mine runs one that is way undersized for his pond and it does a fair to poor job. It only has a 3/4" outlet which is basically garden hose. I sitts on the bottom and is a clogging machine. I think a little beefier hose would help, but they are no pond pumps. They were designed for the job and are the most important componet of the pond. Again, if needing a temp. pump for a few days to weeks, sump pump will do.

Energy consumption info. would be on the box and could be large if the sump pump is burley.
 

doubledragon

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What do you mean greasy little pig? Will they leach grease out of the inside of the pump that could harm the fish?
 

Muske

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Yes sir...

It likes to leak a little oil from time to time.
 

doubledragon

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Do you think the oil could harm the fish, or do you think it is a food grade type of oil. Is your sump pump old or fairly new.
 

Muske

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A few years old and I don't think it would be good for fish and plants.
 

EdCal

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Jul 4, 2009
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I have a two Rio pumps, one in my pond and one in my wet dry sump. I've never had to grease or oil my pumps, the water itself is the lubricant
 

Pharaoh

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EdCal;3565033; said:
I have a two Rio pumps, one in my pond and one in my wet dry sump. I've never had to grease or oil my pumps, the water itself is the lubricant

He is speaking of actual Sump Pumps, not aquatics water pumps.
 

mrunlucky07

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Oct 19, 2007
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I bought the smallest 1/4 hp harbor freight one to drain the hole as I was digging it so it had some abuse. It was rated at 100w, but actual draw was 300w. It lasted the digging of the hole, and then about a year and a half as an on/off pump for just running a waterfall for ambiance when by the pond. Probably about 4 months total run time. It got very loud and this summer started tripping the gfci and no longer works.

Overall they generally consume about 4x the of power of an external pump and don't last near as long. If you just want to get the pond going and upgrade later it will work. But I wouldn't plan on it for a long term solution.
 

doubledragon

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Nov 19, 2006
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mrunlucky07;3567558; said:
I bought the smallest 1/4 hp harbor freight one to drain the hole as I was digging it so it had some abuse. It was rated at 100w, but actual draw was 300w. It lasted the digging of the hole, and then about a year and a half as an on/off pump for just running a waterfall for ambiance when by the pond. Probably about 4 months total run time. It got very loud and this summer started tripping the gfci and no longer works.

Overall they generally consume about 4x the of power of an external pump and don't last near as long. If you just want to get the pond going and upgrade later it will work. But I wouldn't plan on it for a long term solution.
Thank's, you never had any problems with it leaking oil like someone earlier mentioned.
 
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