Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Fair comment re the "watts" I am just taking those figures directly off the specs in the manufacturers handbook... It does not specify how the watts are measured. Often I have found that pumps (eg, bilge pumps) are quoted incorrectly for watts/amps. The current draw is often measured without any load, which is just a little wrong !!! and misleading.
I would be surprised if these pumps are not as quoted, the Italians have a pretty good reputation as machinery manufacturers.
I have always taken the LPM or LPH as a guide to what I want in a pump, then , is the motor ignition protected and rated as continuous operation.....
Muzza

They must be good Murray. Would have to sell my car to buy one . Having said that it is important that one does not cheap out on a pump. Dead pump + dead fish & dead plants.

Very true VB, my mini pump for my grow bed is really starting to clog up now, i'm expecting immenent failure unless i get around to cleaning it.

I know what you're saying about the guard, murray! I was all stoked with 30mm particle size, then as i'm looking at the suction port of the pump i'm thinking.........half of my fish could fit through there! The "open face" impellor i think would almost "pump" them with out touching.......but having them stuck in pvc tubes would be no good!

Yes, I reckon I will have to "invent" some sort of guard that the pump sits in - Way back when I was killing fish regularly I noticed that if I had a sick fish, often I would find it stuck to the intake of the 12 volt bilge pump I was running at the time, dead.....
I also notice now that the fish often hang around the intake of the pump, it does not appear to be a problem for them, I think they are actually enjoying the water movement.... has anyone else made similar observations ???
I feel it is worth the money to get a good pump... I have gone off the idea of using 12 volt system. I have used 2 good Rule 12 volt pumps now over a period of 4 months and although they still run they are a bit sick, very noisy, not long to live. And there is the cost of the battery and charger. I have wrecked 1 charger , so it is really not that good.
I think I will copy exactly what EB has done. After stuffing around with 12 volts and "yang-chang" style pumps I could have bought a good 240 volt pump with the same money and it would still be in A1 condition.
For the rare time the mains power goes down I will get my 5000 watt petrol gen-set serviced and ready to go
Muzza

Now that you mention it murray, in my aquarium i've recently changes the orientation of my water outlet, now shooting straight across the tank instread of down. The fish LOVE to swim against the flow. If people have enough flow to "spare" then a little T piece just out of the riser from the pump with a cheap poly valve could be used to get some horizontal flow inside the tank......................

Just a note to people regarding flow rate VS head height

Most reasonable quality pumps will have a graph on the box or instructions detailing flow rate.

For example the pump murray has stocked (and that i will buy) from memory flows 110L/min at zero head (horizontal), then 80l/m at 2m high and i think 60L/min at 3M height.

Just be aware that pretty much all pump flow rates quoted on "blurbs" state the max flow. SO, if you need a pump to flow 100L/min but know you are going to have a 3 meter total rise from your tank, then you should really be buying something that states 200L/min.

Oh, also tied to this is the stated maximum head, if it states 6M head, then it will pump water to this height, but will not have any power left to actually FLOW any!

Just incase some people didn't know
Figures were just for an example.

Bad news about your fish, Joyce.

If your Pleco was the same thing we've got, it is a 'sucker' fish used for cleaning algae off glass and other surfaces.

If so, it was probably cleaning algae off of your pump when it got a bit too close to the suction side of the pump.....or, if your pump is not running all of the time, it probably decided to take a nap inside the pump and got caught when the pump kicked in.

Ours gets inside of everything.

I've never lost any fish to a pump! Though I have found fish stuck up agains the inlet of a pump this is only because they have died or become extremely weak before hand, then they have they have been sucked dead or almost dead, into the pump...

Good reminder Steve, some pumps have very low maximum heads... Anothger thing to keep in mind when it comes to pumping head is that the head is measured from the water surface, not from where the level that the pump is submerged in the water..

For a pump 'filter' get a plastic container cut a hole in it the size of your pumps inlet. Then drill 5 mm holes all over it till you have loads more space total drilled holes than the actual inlet. Voila!

You will still catch shrimp.

Nice one AA. The simple things in life...................

Joyce, must have missed the post about the bristle nose. I have one too, and i think AA is on the money, if your pumps is on a cycle then it would have mistook it for a nice napping place. I lost mine for days to find it hiding in a pipe i had put in the tank for the angels to spawn on they are quite content sitting still unlike other fish

I have with my barra... I have now put a small pump into the pond which creates a current - and they sit in the current slwly swiming against it...

like a treadmill for the fish! hehehehe, the fitness message must even be getting through to our fish

A TINY pump can move a fair amount of water when operating at "zero head', it would certainly help stir up any crud from the bottom for the main pump to "dispose" off.

a cheapo 5W or 10W tiny pump may be an option for those with a system pump that is "maxed out" already.

Steve

This little one was from a friends pattio water feature...its ont big, but does give them a good current like you said!

Before I added the plant pot to my indoor aquarium, the pump threw horizontally, and i always thought the fish looked a bit stressed swimming against the flow- maybe I read them wrong, now I have taken away their treadmill.