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