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I seem to be having the worst luck with pumps and was hoping you all might have some suggestions or advice. I've had my pond for 2 years and have gone through 5 pumps. One managed to suck up a twig and died, one pump never worked and had to be returned, one pump worked for most of the 2 years but didn't start up again this spring so I believe that was my fault for not running it occasionally during the winter.

What frustrates me though is I've had 2 pumps fail just this month. I bought the first one on 5/3/08 and it worked fine until 5/15/08. I shut it off to change the filter and when I plugged it back in...nothing. No sputtering, no vibration, absolutely no signs of life. I checked all the connections and everything was still squeaky clean, no debris had gotten inside the pump. I even brought it in the house and plugged it in to make sure it wasn't the outlet. Still nothing. I returned it to the store and got a new one. The new pump worked from 5/15/08 to today 5/17/08. It was working fine until I went to do some work on the pond. I unplugged it and when I plugged it back in...again nothing. I brought it back to the store to ask them about my problem. They plugged it in, nothing. Then they whacked it a few times and it started back up so they sent me home.

It's in the pond now and it's working but I'm worried that I may be doing something wrong to cause this. My pond is about 400-500 gallons and the pump is 500gph. It's attached to a filtration system so no debris should be making it's way into the pump and as I said, I've checked everything and found no debris. The girl at the store mentioned algae as a possible culprit. I don't think I have an algae problem. There is the normal algae along the walls of the pond and a bit around the base of some of my plants after being dropped in the pond over the winter. The algae seems a tad bit thicker this year versus last year but the weather has been so strange.

If anybody has any ideas or suggestions, I'm all ears. I'm clueless.

Destani
Are you running your pump on extension cords? Also, what kind of pump is it?

Vanessa

No extension cord. The outdoor outlet is on the porch right next to the pond so the cord from the pump reaches it with plenty of slack.

I'm using the Pondmaster Magnetic Drive pump like in this link: http://www.pondmaster.com/products/product.asp?catalog%5Fname=All+Products&category%5Fname=Pond+Pumps&product%5Fid=02512&cookie%5Ftest=1

My personal experience with that brand of pumps is they do not last. We used to run them in our stock tanks of fish and they never lasted very long.

They have a great warranty but after returning the same pump 4 times in less than a year, I changed brands.

One other thing, they do not pump near as many gallons of water as the manufacturer claims.


I don't sell pumps either and so is my personal opinion of the mag drive pumps and my use of them.

Perhaps some one here can recommend a good brand of pump for her?

Bonnie

I have been using an Eheim in my S/W tank and as a overflow pump in my pond. I have never had a problem with either. Drs Foster and Smith carry them.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... catid=4604

Thank you! It's a bit of a relief to know I'm not necessarily responsible for all the problems I've been having. The Pondmaster pumps are the only ones sold locally so that's why I kept buying them. The internet just had too many options...it made my head spin. So I really appreciate the suggestion. That helps narrow it down a lot. And I buy from Drs. Foster and Smith pretty regularly for my dog and cat so I trust them.

check your mag drive pump rotor too. It is possible to get algea behind the pump and jam it

Algae or pieces of plants can cause a problem as suggested.

The problem I have is we were using those pumps in stock tanks of fish we sell and those tanks have no plants and no string algae and they still kept dying.

Bonnie

The pumps I buy from the Borg last 1 - 2 years. They are cheap (relatively) and easy to acquire so I use them for testing and in a pinch.
Once I decide what I really need (flow rates and total head pressures) I have had great luck with William Lim's pumps. They are very efficient as well which helps on the electricity bill. ps its usually cheaper to purchase from one of his reps...
John-Paul