Pond pump is killing my newts

[MrTuppit_1973]

Hi all , if you have this problem as above as I did ( had a couple of casualties but since I did this none ) then I just fabricated a bit of wire mesh over the water inlet ( where the water gets sucked in ) I used a cable tie to hold it in place , and then directly over the top of that , another piece of mesh . It did solve my problem of the newts dying but you do have to clean the mesh(s) regularly because occasionally you get algae and vegetation build up etc.

 

[yorkshire pudding]

hi, just be careful with what mesh you use if its metal it may rust and decay and leech into your pond. cheers mark

 

[j.w]

@MrTuppit_1973
I used fiberglass screen door material for my bathtub pond outlet hole. It's been in there for many years and holds up great! Used too old plastic film containers and cut the bottoms out and wrapped the mesh around them and shoved in the holes.

 

[poconojoe]

View attachment 140100@MrTuppit_1973
I used fiberglass screen door material for my bathtub pond outlet hole. It's been in there for many years and holds up great! Used too old plastic film containers and cut the bottoms out and wrapped the mesh around them and shoved in the holes.View attachment 140101

Novel idea using the film canisters!
I wish I would have kept more of those. They are very useful.

 

[brokensword]

hi, just be careful with what mesh you use if its metal it may rust and decay and leech into your pond. cheers mark

yeah but rust won't hurt anything; as a matter of fact, the plants can use the iron oxide. I have a well and there's a bit of iron for sure. That said, I'd use aluminum as it'll last longer (won't rust).

 

[MrTuppit_1973]

hi, just be careful with what mesh you use if its metal it may rust and decay and leech into your pond. cheers mark

thanks for your comment Mark I will bear that in mind will try to use aluminium which of course won’t rust

 

[GBBUDD]

Matala Pump Defender-9" ID- MPD-9 Green

 

[Lisak1]

Matala Pump Defender-9" ID- MPD-9 Green

That was going to be my suggestion - use a product designed for exactly this purpose. Matala is one choice, but you can buy lots of other varieties of the same idea. DIY is fine, too, but for those who prefer a quick fix with no effort, pump filters do exist!

 

[GBBUDD]

I used aquablock cut off and large rocks

 

[GBBUDD]

I did the same with bottom drain. I placed spacers under an aquablock about an inch tall then covered with gravel so the 8 inch round intake was now more like 18 inch x 30 inch

 

[MrTuppit_1973]

Hi all ,
I was in my shed one day and as I used to play badminton I came up with the idea of using a Shuttlecock instead of wire mesh over the water pump inlet , and as it’s plastic , it won’t rust , just have to clean out the debris at regular intervals good luck all .