Does filter need to run 24/7?

[cuesport]

I have a 1000 gal. pond and I'm running a 1200 gph pump through a 30 gal. skippy filter into a waterfall. Is it necessary to run the pump constantly? The water quality is good and the water is clear. I'm wondering if I'm wasting electricity and can turn it off at night. My primary concern is the health of my fish. I don't want to jepardize their health to save a few bucks.
Interested in what you guys do.

 

[koiguy1969]

yes..absolutely it needs to run 24/7 if not the beneficial (aerobic) bacteria will die off, and thats what does the toxin removal in your water.

 

[DrCase]

When i first started ponding ,i had a small pump and worried about the power it used
But now i just dont care what i plug in..:banghead3:...24/7

 

[koikeepr]

I have a 1000 gal. pond and I'm running a 1200 gph pump through a 30 gal. skippy filter into a waterfall. Is it necessary to run the pump constantly? The water quality is good and the water is clear. I'm wondering if I'm wasting electricity and can turn it off at night. My primary concern is the health of my fish. I don't want to jepardize their health to save a few bucks.
Interested in what you guys do.

what pump do you have? We can look up the wattage on it and tell you if you've got a wattage hog.

 

[koiguy1969]

a 1200 gph pump no matter the brand isnt going to use that much energy .. it doesnt take long for the bacterial colony to start dying off... once that happens your water quality will suffer, and therefore your fish will too! plus the oxygenating of the pond will stop while its off also!! leave it running!!

 

[koikeepr]

ditto what koi guy said. You can't shut off your filter...must stay on always.

I don't' think pumps are created equal, and you can have a 1200 gph pump that is more of an energy consumer than another. I've seen differences of 100 watts and more.

But, yes, at the end of the day, you need your pump cranking 24/7.

 

[newday3000]

If you do the math, electricity doesn't cost much. I have 85 watts (2 x 600Gph pumps, plus 9 watt UV) 24/7 for 5 months the pond is open costs me $18. Not worth caring about in my mind. Running the pumps less would save me a couple of dollars.

The air conditioning!!!! that costs me $100's of dollars to run in the summer.

 

[DrDave]

If the water flow is off 5 hours or more, the anerobic bacteria will die. So if you wanted to conserve energy and be safe at the same time, do not cycle it off more than 2 hours and make sure you have a check valve to keep the bad water from being siphoned back into the pond.

2 hr on and 2 hrs off 24/7 will save you 50% if you are that concerned about cost.

I like the expression that if you have to ask the cost, you cannot afford the product.

Most people waste more money on cigarettes, booze, movies, going out to eat, cell phones etc in 1 week than the cost of running a filter all year. You have to set your priorities. What gives you the most pleasure out of life?

 

[koikeepr]

If you do the math, electricity doesn't cost much. I have 85 watts (2 x 600Gph pumps, plus 9 watt UV) 24/7 for 5 months the pond is open costs me $18. Not worth caring about in my mind. Running the pumps less would save me a couple of dollars.

The air conditioning!!!! that costs me $100's of dollars to run in the summer.

Newday, I think your statement is way off. That all depends on where you live and what else you've got running. 85 watts is great and it could be inexpensive based on the cost per kilowatt in your area. Someone else coul dbuy similar sized pumps that utilize two or three times the wattage amound then your equipment because a) they didn't make good choices on their particular equip and/or B) the electicity is expensive in their area.

You have to run your filtration and equipment 24/7. I agree with that. But you can bring your costs down with lower wattage equipment.

 

[cuesport]

Thanks for all the good advice. The cost really isn't the issue. I read somewhere that you don't need to run a UV filter very often, I was just curious about the pump. My daughter loves going to sleep and waking up to the sound of the waterfall (right outside her windows). That alone makes it worthwhile. I wish I had one when I was a kid. We're trying to get her to switch rooms with us. Not having much luck.

 

[koiguy1969]

yeah.. about the u.v i only run mine for a week or so early in the season, i let my pond start going green then run the u.v untill it clears and a few extra days.. remove it clean it and put it away.

 

[newday3000]

Newday, I think your statement is way off. That all depends on where you live and what else you've got running. QUOTE]

To put it in perspective, my pond consumes less than 1% of my yearly electric bill. My air conditioning is close to 50%. If I really care about saving dollars I would raise the temp in my house 1 degree and save big dollars. I don't think it matters where you live for that to stand true.

 

[oldmarine]

For all of the reasons noted above, I purchased a identical water pump for my pond as a back up. Murphies law has reared it's ugly head one to many times when things could go wrong, and they did right at the most inconvenient time.

I enjoy my pond and critters in it to much to let something like a water pump failure threaten the life in my pond.