Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I am in the early planning stages on a "duck"ponics system... and due to the mass of duck poo entering the pond, I need a pump that can handle soft masses (nothing is solid once it reaches the bottom, but its thicker than water for certain) regularly. Continuous would be better than intermittent use for my needs, but I will consider either.

Oh, and it needs to be available in the US.

Anyone have recommendations? Its hard to parse the info out of very long thread posts and articles.

I have used a washing machine pump on a worm bed for seven years and never blocked it up yet because they have a very open impella.The only problem that I can see is that they have to be below the water level to stay primed or you could put a one way valve on it but if that gets a bit of crap in it it may not seal properly .If you have a slope on your ground and the pond is up hill you could have the pump down hill from the pond.A washing machine pump has a head of about 1.5 metres and they shift a good volume of water and they are cheap ,I get mine from the tip .I have left them running for days sometimes and not hurt them.

What Don said.
It'll handle what solids you have, unless your ducks are prone to losing a sock now and then...

How would you go about protecting it since it will be outside? Are they vulnerable to moisture intrusion? I haven't looked into them yet, but I am very curious. I can imagine finding one very cheap.

Wade, yeah, you'll want to cover it well. You can get them for better than cheap, you can get them for free if you have a local dump you can dig through, or a local appliance repair shop that would donate a junk machine to you. (saves them a trip to the dump with it)

And if you get the whole washer like that, pull out the tub and put it to work as an outdoor fireplace, or "Chiminea" as they are called around here (when made of clay and costing many more $$). Prop it up at an angle and toss some logs in... but I digress.

This is how I covered mine.

Very nice! Thank you all for the input. As I sat here thinking about it, I realized that the house next door (lost to foreclosure and empty) has an old washer sitting in the yard. If it isn't totally rusted out, I might be able to recover the pump!