On Tue, 3 May 2005 09:23:40 -0500, "Reel McKoi" invalid@invalid
wrote:


"Pond Skater" wrote in message
...

Hi everyone -

I'm a newbie so please be gentle! I built my small wildlife pond last
summer. It is only about 4ft x 3ft and is about 2ft at the deepest
point. It's doing really well and wildlife is flourishing.... except
for the problem!

I have a Hozelock Cascade low voltage pump, situated out of the pond,
which takes water to a waterfall. The main reason I chose this pump is
that it did not have to be in the pond itself - the pond is small enough
without having a pump taking up half the floor space!

I originally wedged the pump intake pipe under a large stone, and
covered the end of the pipe with a piece of netting to prevent any
wildlife from gettng sucked in. This was OK - I needed to scrape the
leaves and debris off the netting every day but not too onerous...
until I found a lovely little newt, stuck to the netting, waving his
legs, unable to drag himself off. After that, I re-sited the intake
under a large planting basket (cut a hole for the pipe) and weighed in
down with a large stone. That worked really well - didn't get clogged
up at all and no loss of flow on the waterfall for weeks.

Yesterday, to my considerable distress, I discovered that the newt had
found his way into the planting basket and had been sucked up the pipe.
I will not describe the situation any further, suffice to say that I
was in tears for most of the day, as I had become very fond of him. I
even forgave him for eating my tadpoles. Cannot bring myself to tell
the kids what has happened.

Pump is now switched off. I would be grateful for any ideas on how I
get set up my pond and pump in a way which is safe for the wildlife
which I am trying to attract. I see no point in attracting wildlife if
my setup is going to kill it.

Apologies for length of post, but thought it best to explain the
situation fully. Many thanks in advance for any constructive advice!
=====================
I use those black plastic pond plant pots wired together like clamshells.
They make excellent intake (or pump) guards. So far only the smallest fish
have gotten past this setup. Make sure you jam polyfilter around the hole
where the intake enters your "basket" or whatever is on the end of the
intake. Don't leave any openings large enough for small critters to get
past.....

Hello PondSkater,

I have been conceptually wrestling with this problem for about six
months now, for a pond I am attempting to design for small tropical
fish. The solution I have about settled on, (I think g), is
something like Reel McKoi's above, except with concentric spherical
screens. Maybe three of them. The outermost would (of course) be the
largest diameter, and therefore would have the least suction per
square inch. It would also have the largest grid size, to stop the
largest debris, e.g., leaves. If trapped against the screen, small
fish, newts, etc. should be able to swim back away because the suction
per surface area will be minimal.

The next inner spherical screen would be (of course) smaller diameter,
and would have a smaller grid size, so smaller debris would be trapped
against it. And even though the suction per area would be greater,
any smaller fish that made it that far should still be able to swim
back out.

The next, and probably final spherical screen would be a smaller
diameter yet, with a smaller grid size. This should trap the smallest
debris. And any fish, etc., that are small enough to make it that
far; well, life just isn't perfect...

In that regard, depending on the expected critter size and the level
of proprietor's worry, one could experiment with the spherical screen
diameters, and with the grid sizes of each spherical screen. Maybe
even add a fourth screen(?)

Also, I suppose one could turn the pump off periodically to allow any
stuck ones to escape. (I imagine that this would provide a real
learning experience for anyone caught, and I doubt that they would be
keen to repeat the adventure.) (And if they do, then maybe you don't
want them to remain in your gene pool anyway. g)

Since I haven't implemented this concept yet, I would be happy for any
of you more knowledgeable folks to take potshots at it. One clear
issue in my mind will be the complication of trapping and plugging
with algae. However, that issue has to be faced anyway.

Best regards, David