At a wildlife rehab society I volunteer for, we have two artificial
duck/goose ponds (about 2,000 gal ea) and are using a submersible sump pump
to recirculate the water and to pump out the ponds for cleaning. Trouble
is, the ducks & geese eat grass which is later "ejected" into the water
which then tends to plug the pump inlet screen and impeller. I have looked
into submersible *sewage* pumps which appear to be less prone to plugging
and in fact don't have an inlet screen as all the crud is supposedly passed
through.

"Waterfall" pumps have also been recommended but I am afraid their inlet
filter will also be a continual maintenance item. They are however rated
for continuous duty which, I understand, the submersible pumps typically are
not.

Was wondering if anyone had any comment or additional ideas regarding this
application?

TIA for any help...

Laurie Forbes

"Waterfall" pumps have also been recommended but I am afraid their inlet
filter will also be a continual maintenance item. They are however rated
for continuous duty which, I understand, the submersible pumps typically are
not.

One of the accessories pond stores sometimes sell is a prefilter, or
"pump filter bag" (google search on both terms for more info).
Supposed
to help with leaves, at least.
--Glenn Lyford

Rather than suck debris off the bottom of the pond, it helps to pipe
the intake to about a foot below the water surface. The intake screen
should be vertical or slanted toward the pond bottom so most of the
debris will fall off when the pump is momentarily stopped. A simple
timer can be used to automatically cycle the pump and clear the screen.
This should greatly reduce the maintenance for you.
Bugs

you want an electric trash pump. low pressure, runs big chunks through.

"Doug" wrote in message
oups.com...
you want an electric trash pump. low pressure, runs big chunks through.

Thanks everyone for your suggestions.

We decided to go with a sewage pump ("trash" pump?) capable of passing 2"
lumps. The one we chose is at:
http://www.lgpc.com/Product/ItemDeta...?ProductID=428 if anyone is
interested.

We wanted to keep away from an inlet screen if possible to avoid having to
clean it and not having to
remove it whenever the pump is used to empty the ponds for cleaning. Will
be trying it out tomorrow.......

Laurie Forbes

Laurie Forbes wrote:
At a wildlife rehab society I volunteer for, we have two artificial
duck/goose ponds (about 2,000 gal ea) and are using a submersible sump pump
to recirculate the water and to pump out the ponds for cleaning. Trouble
is, the ducks & geese eat grass which is later "ejected" into the water
which then tends to plug the pump inlet screen and impeller. I have looked
into submersible *sewage* pumps which appear to be less prone to plugging
and in fact don't have an inlet screen as all the crud is supposedly passed
through.

"Waterfall" pumps have also been recommended but I am afraid their inlet
filter will also be a continual maintenance item. They are however rated
for continuous duty which, I understand, the submersible pumps typically are
not.

Was wondering if anyone had any comment or additional ideas regarding this
application?

TIA for any help...

Laurie Forbes


Harbor Freight has a "Dirty Water" submersible pump on salt for $34.95
Go here.....
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=45020

Pat