Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Might be able to run it on a timer 15/45 on/off....

But that would be 6 hours per day?

So... what's a couple of hours between pumps...

You could always knock the timer off between 22:00-06:00... if you really had to...

Yeh, sounds like an option. What's the worst that can happen if I do run it for 6 hours daily, burnout the pump? Will seals break and all the fish get poisoned?

With all these discussions on pumps I thought I better take a look at the brand name on my aquarium pump that has run 8 years plus with zero problems. Well it a "rio" brand. A quick google found the latest release from rio ,, called the rio hyperflow is a very well designed unit with extremely low power usage and an excellent reputation for reliability. AND they are not overly expensive.

The other area I think people may be under estimating is the "head" , or resitance that the pump is under to push the water.
It is critical in selecting the correct pump to know the "head".

A surprising thing is head ( friction) from pipe , let alone bends. ( make sure all bends are smooth rounded NOT elbows)

Lets say you want to pump 50 litres a minute through a 26mm pipe perfectly horizontal ,5 metres long,, no rise , from tank to grow bed ,, many would think that is almost zero head ,, REALITY is it is 1 metre of head just from pipe/water friction. Add a realistic 1 metre RISE and an bend or two and you could easily be look at 2.5 metres head where you thought there was about 1.
This critically changes your pump selection. A correctly selected pump should have a maximum head rating at least double the head of your system.

"Yeh, sounds like an option. What's the worst that can happen if I do run it for 6 hours daily, burnout the pump? Will seals break and all the fish get poisoned?"

I think it has a thermal cutout ie if it gets too warm it stops. I would also imagine the manufacturer is being conservative for example what was the warrantee on that pump?

You know I have one of those harbor freight sump pumps rated 10% duty cycle(like everything made in china) and it has run with zero problems for almost 3 years now.

yeh, thanks everyone. I think I'll just give it a run with a couple of fish and see how it goes!

Prepare for system failure. Run two smaller pumps. If one burns out, the other should suffice until a repair/replacement can be made.

good call, will have a backup ready