waterfall on timer - okay to do?

[Larry]

My waterfall feeds into a 90 gal. tank/pond. So far I have it going
off at 12am and on a 7am. Am I prolonging the life of the pump(I'm
sure it's a small one and not overly expensive) or is this just a myth
and should I just let it rip 24/7?

Any thoughts?

All the best,

Larry
Southern Ontario

[Ka30P]

Larry wrote << Am I prolonging the life of the pump(I'm
sure it's a small one and not overly expensive) or is this just a myth
and should I just let it rip 24/7? >>

Not sure about the life of the pump, one of the technical genies will have to
answer that.
But as for leaving it on 24/7 - all depends on if you have fish in the pond and
if the pump is running a filter.

The benefical bacteria in the filter need the running water to stay alive. If
the pump is turned off eventually they start to die, especially in the hot
summer months.

Running water also helps keep oxygen in the water. At night the plants in the
pond stop producing oxygen and start using it up. Fish can run into trouble in
a heavily planted pond, or a small pond. Running water ensures that they get
the oxygen they need. Interestingly you can see this happen if you observe a
pond in trouble just before dawn. The fish will be gasping at the surface. Sun
comes up and they go back below the water.





kathy :-)
algae primer
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html

[Crashj]

On Fri, 20 Aug 2004 16:48:04 -0400, Larry > wrote:

>My waterfall feeds into a 90 gal. tank/pond. So far I have it going
>off at 12am and on a 7am. Am I prolonging the life of the pump(I'm
>sure it's a small one and not overly expensive) or is this just a myth
>and should I just let it rip 24/7?
>
>Any thoughts?

TITAS.
Oh, wait, you mean about the pump cycling?
Probably the only significant effect you will have is to save a little
power.
--
Crashj
BTW, I am trying forte agent newsreader. Can anyone see this post?

[Ka30P]

<< Crashj wrote >>
BTW, I am trying forte agent newsreader. Can anyone see this post? >>

I see you, Crash.





kathy :-)
algae primer
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html

[Roy]

Considering all the points about why you should let the pump run, it
is common practice in industry and commercial business to let motors
run 24/7 even though they may burn a bit more power as a motor is more
prone to kicking the bucket at startup than when its actually running.
It takes a surge of power to overcome the pumps resitnece and its at
this time the amerage is highest, and also when a motor is most prone
to smoking. Small as a water gardens pump is it still has design
limitations and is just as prone to start up failure as it is to
failing any other time the same as any other motor is. Ever notice
when you may have turned off a light. The the next time you turn it on
and it blows the bulb almost imediately....it was the initial surge of
power that took the bulb out, and odds are if it was left on 24/7 it
would still be burning. Ever see light bulb average life shown on
packages..Light bulbs are no different than a motor, in regards to
utilizing the element for resistence or (windings in the pump motor
does the same thing in a different manner) and the life expectency is
say 2000 hours.........if you did some checking on how they determine
that its with a bulb turned on and never turned off, and timed until
it eventually fails. If it was cycled on and off it won't even last
half that amount of hours.

Leave the pump on 24/7 it don;t consume that much power and your ot
gaining anything out of it, buy putting it on a timer.
Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com
Opinions expressed are those of my wife,
I had no input whatsoever.
Remove "nospam" from email addy.

[Bill Stock]

"Larry" > wrote in message
...
> My waterfall feeds into a 90 gal. tank/pond. So far I have it going
> off at 12am and on a 7am. Am I prolonging the life of the pump(I'm
> sure it's a small one and not overly expensive) or is this just a myth
> and should I just let it rip 24/7?
>
> Any thoughts?
>
> All the best,
>
> Larry
> Southern Ontario
>

Your fish need to breathe 24/7. So leave it on, assuming you don't have any
other aeration.

Although I find mine kind of annoying at night with the windows open. It
gets really bad if I let the pond level drop an inch or two. I'm surprised
one of the neighbours hasn't shot me yet. :)

[Crashj]

On 20 Aug 2004 22:18:24 GMT, (Ka30P) wrote:

><< Crashj wrote >>
>BTW, I am trying forte agent newsreader. Can anyone see this post? >>
>
>I see you, Crash.

Thanks. This is so new to me but I am sick of OE.
--
Crashj

[Larry]

>
>Although I find mine kind of annoying at night with the windows open. It
>gets really bad if I let the pond level drop an inch or two. I'm surprised
>one of the neighbours hasn't shot me yet. :)
>
>

Hi Bill,

Some of your neighbors probably find it relaxing.
Just like camping.

All the best,

Larry
Southern Ontario

[W Dale]

I LOVE to hear my waterfalls at night! When winter sets in and the
windows are closed, it takes me a few night to adjust to not having that
wonderful sound putting me to sleep!

Larry wrote:

>>Although I find mine kind of annoying at night with the windows open. It
>>gets really bad if I let the pond level drop an inch or two. I'm surprised
>>one of the neighbours hasn't shot me yet. :)
>>
>>
>>
>>
>
>Hi Bill,
>
>Some of your neighbors probably find it relaxing.
>Just like camping.
>
>All the best,
>
>Larry
>Southern Ontario
>
>
>
>
>

[Larry]

On Sat, 21 Aug 2004 02:45:13 GMT, Crashj
> wrote:

>On 20 Aug 2004 22:18:24 GMT, (Ka30P) wrote:
>
>><< Crashj wrote >>
>>BTW, I am trying forte agent newsreader. Can anyone see this post? >>
>>
>>I see you, Crash.
>
>Thanks. This is so new to me but I am sick of OE.

Tried to email you Crashj but wasn't sure how much to delete from your
addy. Maybe it got through I'm not sure. Need any help with find out
about some of the neat functions such as crosspost checking and the
killfile, let me know.

All the best,

Larry
Southern Ontario

[Crashj]

On Sun, 22 Aug 2004 21:32:54 -0400, Larry > wrote:

>On Sat, 21 Aug 2004 02:45:13 GMT, Crashj
> wrote:
<>
>>>BTW, I am trying forte agent newsreader. Can anyone see this post? >>
<>
>Tried to email you Crashj but wasn't sure how much to delete from your
>addy. Maybe it got through I'm not sure. Need any help with find out
>about some of the neat functions such as crosspost checking and the
>killfile, let me know.

You can't get there from here. The isp is correct and the user name
should be obvious.
Right now I have been just trying to get comfortable with reading
using it and have not gotten to the exciting parts.
Once I read a message I have trouble backing up to it to check it
again. Eventually I should figure it out. Thanks for the offer, I'll
keep you in mind.
--
Crashj

[~ jan JJsPond.us]

>On Sat, 21 Aug 2004 02:08:40 GMT, "Bill Stock" > wrote:

>Although I find mine kind of annoying at night with the windows open. It
>gets really bad if I let the pond level drop an inch or two. I'm surprised
>one of the neighbours hasn't shot me yet. :)

Do tell? You find your waterfall annoying?!! That's like uttering blasphemy
in here, isn't it? ;o) I use a kiddy monitor so I can hear mine in the back
of the house, or when the windows are shut. ~ jan


~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~

[Roy]

On Mon, 23 Aug 2004 12:32:57 -0700, ~ jan JJsPond.us
> wrote:

snip

>===<> I use a kiddy monitor so I can hear mine in the back
>===<>of the house, or when the windows are shut. ~ jan
>===<>

Now thats what I call a dedicated ponder!

I can set for hours on end listening to the fountain or the water
trickling on my water fall at the pond. I can even listen to the water
falling from the spout of the hand pump on the wifes new 1/2 barrel
setup, but 5 minutes of hearing the water fall in our hot tub drives
me crazy and I have to shut it off.

Has anyone ever checked out some of the setups hot tub manufactuers
use to provide a water fall. The one on our hot tube is pretty darn
slick, even though I do not like it. It uses a ball type valve to
adjust flow, but the fall itself is two pieces of plastic with ridges
that keep the top and bottom seperated. The distance between top and
bottom in the center is less than at the ends, and it makes a perfect
looking falls when in operation. Most falls require a pretty decent
amount of water and flow to get effect, but this fall is nice from a
slow flow to a full blown Niagra Falls look.....and I would think it
would work fine with a small pump setup, having minmal water flow.
As pretty as it is, its noise still drives me crazy!
Visit my website: http://www.frugalmachinist.com
Opinions expressed are those of my wife,
I had no input whatsoever.
Remove "nospam" from email addy.

[Ka30P]

jan wrote >>You find your waterfall annoying?!! <<

Youngest son has a 25 gallon tank in his room filled with anacharis, hornwort
and a couple other underwater plants. For the longest time only snails have
lived in there. The tank has one airstone going in it. Since the two goldfish
were liberated to the pond (at the earliest of spring) I thought, well it's
time to take it down. But he loves the sound of bubbling water
so it stays up. The other night I was in his room talking to him and looking at
the tank and darned if there wasn't a tiny fish swimming around in there! Just
one. Don't know what it is, where it came from but will keep an eye on it.
Hasn't been fed, has survived some direct fillings of water from the tap
with no dechlor. One tough little fish.


kathy :-)
algae primer
http://hometown.aol.com/ka30p/myhomepage/garden.html