Is it possible to run a filter of a solar panel

[Ginge2010]

Hey is it possible to run a normal pond filter of a solar panel my pond is placed at the top of my garden and theres lots of sun around the pond i already have solar panel water fountain in there running with solar lighting to.
The pond is to far away from the house to run cables down and im really thinking about safety with my two young children and obviously costs aswell.

Any advice would be great

 

[dieselplower]

If you can run a pump for a fountain I imagine you could also run a pump for a filter. No difference really.

 

[HTH]

It will work if you have a tiny pond or lots of money. It takes a lot of solar panels to run a pump for anything but a small pond.

 

[Ginge2010]

My pond roughly works out just over 10 ft all together

 

[dieselplower]

Can you explain the size using lenght x width x depth or using gallons? I'm not clear on what 10' means. Knowing the size of gallons would help us recommend a pump size

 

[HTH]

Do you mean 10 cubic feet of water. A cubic foot is very close to 7.5 gallons so you would have a 75 gallon pond. Yup you could do that with solar. Be sure to get a setup with a battery that can run the pump at night.

 

[Ginge2010]

Ok just measured its 5ft W 5ft L and 3ft depth dont no were i got 10 ft from lol

 

[dieselplower]

No problem. That's about 187.5 gallons. I've never tried running a pump off solar so I have no facts but like I said before if it can run a waterfall, it can run a filter. In that size of a pond I would hope to have at least 400 gallons per hour of pump running with the filter and waterfall combined.

 

[Ginge2010]

Ok the only other option iv got is buying a two way outdoor plugsocket that has a spike going into the ground with a 5 metre cable see what i can work on from that as there is a utility room more closer to the pond than the house and i can work with that

 

[shakaho]

That pond is about 440 gallons. I makes much more sense to run an extension cord through a pipe to your pond. Or, better yet, have a electrician put an outlet there for you. Either procedure will be far cheaper than setting up a solar system, and from what I've heard, those don't work very well.

 

[Ginge2010]

Yeah the fountain iv got on solar only works when the sun is completely out any cloud and it doesn't

 

[jeffery]

your pond is 561 gallons if it is 5x5x3. what size pump are you running on it now ?
like HTH has stated its going to take a rather good solar panel to power the pump you need

 

[dieselplower]

No problem. That's about 187.5 gallons. I've never tried running a pump off solar so I have no facts but like I said before if it can run a waterfall, it can run a filter. In that size of a pond I would hope to have at least 400 gallons per hour of pump running with the filter and waterfall combined.

Ok wow I have no idea how I messed up that math using a calculator but yeah its closer to 560 gallons, as noted. I'd be shooting for 600 to 1000 gph.

Sorry for my bad math.

 

[Mmathis]

The only issue I see is that your pump would not run at night on solar power. Your pond's oxygen needs actually increase at night, especially if you have plants (and algae counts as "plants"), so you'd certainly WANT your pump running at night. (At night, plants USE oxygen, and give off carbon dioxide)

 

[HTH]

With the revised pond size I would say go for the outdoor outlet. Between the solar panels and batteries needed to run the pump for a pond your size is going to be too expensive. Furthermore they do not last forever. You will in time be replacing it or bits of it at a time.

Please use GFI.