Cost of runnign a pump/filter - do they need to run24/7?

A 1000gph pump uses about 200w of electricity so costs about £200 a year to run - and that's before leccy prices go up again. If I needed 2000gph that's £400/year and as for 4000gph...

Is it necessary to run them 24/7? If not I could have a timer and PIR so it only runs when I'm in the garden which would probably slash that to £20/year (ish)

 

my college have a pond in the glasshouse and they just turn the filter on when it gets too dirty to see the fish :D

 

If it's used through a biological filter it needs to run all the time, cann't understand why you have a high rated pump I purchased one 2weeks ago chosen for its cheap running costs here's its specification High efficiency pump turbine handles solids to 5mm (3/16”) and ensures low running costs - approx 67p a week (Costs are based on London Energy general purpose charge @ 7.02p per Kilowatt hour as of July 2004. The savings will vary depending on your local rates.
This will be on 24/7 going through a seperate biological filter and a u/v light, it's guaranteed for 3years. Pumping rate 835 gallons/hr

 

If you are going to be keeping fish in the pond then you will need the filter running all the time.

 

why do you need a filter running all the time? (never kept fish before)

 

Well id say its to keep the water clean for the fish and so you can see them :D also it should improve the oxagen in the water

 

That depends on the brand of pump. as its for a filter may i suggest an Oase aquamax (have a look on that well known auction site, there are several up for auction, take your pick)

acording to this an aquamax 5500 uses only 75 watts which is less than half of your 200 watts

Switching on / off a pond filter is a very bad thing to do. Filters become more efficant when the bacteria multiply, they do this by living on the "stuff" and the oxygen fed to them by the pump, switching a filter off kills the good bacteria.

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Did you have to put this picture on the internet somewhere and then put a link to it or can you post pictures that are on your PC?

I'm thinking something like these http://www.waterfeatures.co.uk/nw.html so not deep enough for fish though I want the water to be clear.

 

yep the pic is on www.photobucket.com and its my gramps koi

 

which picture?

you can post it on here if its on photo bucket

 

Sorry bit of thread hyjackage

but

What pump would you recommend for for a water feature that has no fish?

not entirely sure about output GPH but lets say roughly like a kitchen tap on half speed

 

depends how big the water feature is.
If i said x pump, you buy it and its too small you would be none too happy.

 

Nelly http://www.waterfeatures.co.uk/nw.html gives many flowrates for the water features there so is worth a look - or turn you kitchen tap on to the amount you want and time how long it takes to fill 1 litre (or 2 litres whatever) and then you can look for a pump with the same flowrate.
I think the guy that does the features professionally fit's a tap to a big pump so he can tune the perfect amount of water...

 

would it not be easier / better to not link to the index page but the actual page you mean?

and i have to disagree with the reasons of you theory.

Yes, timing how long it takes to fill a known container (say 1 litre) will give the flow rate of what ever (tap in your case) but that is of no use for a water feature.


As I previously said

Suppose for the sake of argument he finds he has a flow rate of 5 Litres / minute

He buys a pump with a flow rate of 5 litres / minute.

connects this pump to feature, he only gets a dribble. why?

It depends on the size of the water feature. not only its width, but its height.

all pumps come with a flow graph on the box.

This will show how much water a pump will deliver at a given height, so yes at say (again for sake of argument) 2 feet it delivers 5 LPM but if his feature is (again for the sake of argument) 3 foot tall the pump will deliver less (since at 2 feet it delivers 5 LPM)

When choosing a pump you should always look at the flow graph to see will it deliver the required amount of water to the required height.

As the bloke on the other website says, (some thing like) "there really is more to building a water feature than meets the eye" (don't know if he says it, but) Pump choice is also one of them.

that website says

it says it here

you can actually calculate the water flow required, you then choose a pump which is suitable acording to the flow graph. The trouble doing it his way, is you could end up using a pump that is far too powerfull, since it may have been turned down lower than the next size of pump down.

he also says (same page)

which is not very helpful for the diy person, but then, thats not what his website appears to be aimed at