Prevent Pump Hose From Clogging

[Ratsima]

It was a real chore getting the flex PVC through the old PVC tunnel through which the AC line and hose feed. It was pretty easy with the 5/8" hose. Eventually I will need to find a different route for the power cord.

I need to figure out how to hide the hose where it enters the pond. It's very stiff. Perhaps I can tie it to a brick or other heavy weight. (A couple of 2 kilo dive weights might do it.) As is, it sticks out like a sore thumb. (Night Blooming lily on the right.)

I haven't figure out the fountain yet. So, I've just coiled the excess hose until I do.

The volume of water is more than expected, even without removing the 5/8" barb on the pump fitting. It just barely avoids overwhelming the stream.

The flex PC is way too big for the bamboo. I may reduce it into a 30cm length of ½" PVC which will fit through the bamboo and reduce the water flow to a more reasonable rate..

I will leave everything as is for a week and see if the biofilm problem has been mitigated.

 

[poconojoe]

Another question: When attaching the 1" hose to the pump, should I remove the ½" (5/8"?) barb from the pump fitting, or just leave it on?

View attachment 151733

Absolutely. Cut off any smaller unused sections of the barb.

 

[poconojoe]

Can you bury the blue flex with soil or plants?
That's why I prefer black flex. It's less noticeable.

Can't wait for the results. I'm hoping the clogging issue has been resolved.

I have found a similar clogging problem with a couple of spitter statues I added.
I used 5/16" hose and fittings.
I tapped into a 1-1/2" PVC pipe with a brass 5/16" hose barb which has 1/4" threads.

After a few days the spitters slow down to almost nil. I turn off the pump for a few seconds in which I hear gurgling from the spitters, then turn it back on and the flow returns. I guess the gurgling backflowing water temporarily clears the clog.

So, the clogging is definitely due to the restriction of the small inner diameter.
It must be clogging at the fittings because I used clear vinyl hose and it looks perfectly clear.
I guess I have to use hose and fittings with a larger I.D.

 

[Ratsima]

Can you bury the blue flex with soil or plants?
That's why I prefer black flex. It's less noticeable.

I didn't have a lot of choices. I couldn't find any PVC Flex locally of any color. I could have ordered black from Amazon for a lot more money. The blue I got from RS Components. It was still expensive, but less than Amazon wanted for the hose, shipping and customs deposit. I can hide the blue flex above ground, but the stretch where it enters the pond will always be an eyesore. If it solves the clogging problem, it will have been worth it.

If it doesn't solve the clogging problem I'll go back to the 5/8" garden hose which is easier to hide and otherwise easier to deal with.

The next few days should tell the story.

 

[Ratsima]

I removed the pump hose adapter for the first time ever this morning in order to cut off the 5/8" barb. I was surprised to see how much sludge/biofilm/gunk buildup there was inside of the adapter. I've never cleaned this part, so what is there is what has built up over the past half year or so. The ID of what you see here is 1 ¼". I suppose that doesn't bode well for me new 1" hose.

 

[combatwombat]

I removed the pump hose adapter for the first time ever this morning in order to cut off the 5/8" barb. I was surprised to see how much sludge/biofilm/gunk buildup there was inside of the adapter. I've never cleaned this part, so what is there is what has built up over the past half year or so. The ID of what you see here is 1 ¼". I suppose that doesn't bode well for me new 1" hose.

View attachment 151777View attachment 151778

There’s a lot of crud in there, but still plenty of room for water…

 

[Ratsima]

There’s a lot of crud in there, but still plenty of room for water…

Which means that the level of crud in the old 5/8” hose must have been incredibly thick to reduce the flow to a trickle.

 

[poconojoe]

There’s a lot of crud in there, but still plenty of room for water…

I agree

 

[mrsclem]

Maybe try a foam prefilter on the pumps to cut back on the crud going thru the tube

 

[Ratsima]

I think it will be OK. After two days the pressure at the fountain end is about half what it was when I first installed the new hose. I'm still hoping it will level off at an acceptable rate of flow.

 

[poconojoe]

Maybe try a foam prefilter on the pumps to cut back on the crud going thru the tube

Maybe do this if the larger hose starts to clog.
You will be rinsing the foam instead of reaming the hose.

 

[Ratsima]

I have tried the foam pre-filters in the past. They clog up with the same biofilm very quickly and end up needing daily cleaning. There's never any big stuff in the foam, just the sludge. It's not a big deal to rinse them when I'm home, but when I'm away for a week (once a month) the foam gets so clogged that hardly any water can get to the pump. I figured if there was going to be a restriction in the flow, it's better to have it after the pump rather than before.

Is that correct?

 

[mrsclem]

That is correct. I'm just not understanding how you are getting that much sludge going into your pump.

 

[Ratsima]

That is correct. I'm just not understanding how you are getting that much sludge going into your pump.

I've never understood where it comes from. The pond water is always crystal clear and there is rarely any algae buildup anywhere in the pond. My guess is that the sludge that builds up in the foam pre-filter is formed there, just like the sludge in the hose doesn't come from anywhere, it forms inside the hose.

Clearly, something is feeding the bacteria and other organisms that create the biofilm, but I don't know what it is. There are no large fish in the pond. I have eliminated the Pistia (as advised in this thread). You would think that if there were excess nitrogen in the pond it would show up as cloudy water or algae build up. But it's not like that.

After all these years, it's still a mystery.

 

[Ratsima]

I finally remembered to test the pH of the pond. It appears to be 7.8. I also tested our tap water which is just the same. No surprise as the pond is constantly being kept full with ordinary tap water.