need help with pond pump

[nickt6494]

hi i am new to the whole pond thing lol. i built a pond last year it is about 4 foot by 3 foot it was just a kit i found and thought it would look good in my wifes garden. any way i wont to put some small fish in it but the i have not been able to get the pump to work. i think the name of the pump is sunterra. Everytime i hook the pump up it trips the gfi plug, it runs for about a minute and then cuts out. if i hook it into a regular plug that isnt gfi protected it runs fine. Any thoughts on what is wrong would be greatly appreciated. and any ideas on fish for a small pond would help to. thanks guys.

 

[DrDave]

Is the pump clogged? Have you tried plugging it into another circuit without the GFCI?

 

[undrtkr_00]

Sounds like there is probably a short. Is the pump brand new? Can you return it?

 

[lovinglife]

I had this happen to me, my electrician told me it was a faulty seal or something that let water into places it was not supposed to be, that would trip the GFI. We finally gave up on it and took the pump out and the cord looked funny so we cut it off and sure enough it was dripping water, from INSIDE the power cord! So, if you are tripping GFI, don't use the pump.

 

[DrDave]

Get an extension cord that is not plugged into the GFCI and test it for a few minutes. Don't put your hand in the water, feel the cord to see if it is getting warm.
Chances are the pump is faulty. Sometimes the GFCI is.