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Old 15-06-2006, 12:56 AM
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Default Anyone with experience of pump cage?

Hi, new here, my first post and I'm looking for a bit of advice with something we're unfamiliar with. We've had a 1000 gallon pond with orfe, GF, etc since we moved here 9 years ago. We have a Blagdon pump (operating waterfall and small fountain, filter box, and UV.

A couple of weeks ago our pump packed up, so we bought a new one direct from Blagdon. It came with a free plastic "pump cage" which the pump fits inside and is supposed to reduce maintenance. Our old pump slotted inside a large square sponge filter, which caught lots of sludge and had to be cleaned out weekly/fortnightly depending on the time of year.

We have not had very clear water yet this year (usually it's really clear) and assume it's because the old pump wasn't working properly before it packed up. We installed the new pump, put a new bulb in the UV and thought we would be clear within days.

However about 5 days later, we are no clearer. There seems to be gunge in a suspension in the water, which is not clearing. The filter box, which hardly ever needed cleaning got so gunged up it pushed the lid off and started leaking.

Is this a sort of run-in period for the pump with the cage? Does the cage mean that the silt/waste etc is pumped into and trapped in the filter box, instead of being trapped in the square sponge filter as it was previously. Will the water, does anyone think, clear, or does using the cage instead of the old sponge filter mean less maintenance, but murkier water? Is the muck being pumped back into the pond at the other end - is that why it's not clearing? If so, we still have the option to ditch the cage and go back to using the sponge filter. But I note that the newest Blagdon pumps (we bought an old model as it was what we were familiar with) are actually encased in cages - I can't see a new product giving an inferior performance as far as water clarity is concerned - even if it does mean less cleaning.

I don't know whether to persevere longer (how long?) with the cage, or revert to the sponge filter. I'd be grateful for advice from anyone with similar experiences.
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Old 28-06-2006, 10:54 AM posted to alt.garden.pond.chat
Nick Byford
 
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Default Anyone with experience of pump cage?

Hi Jan,

We have inherited a pond and after a year, created a new one. This is now
about four years old and is working a treat. It's bigger than yours, but
the principals are the same.

We have problems with filtration everytime I get in the pond (in waders. I
look like Wallace in the wrong trousers!) and thin out the canadian pond
weed.

We started with a biozorb outfit and an Oase 10000 pump. This required
cleaning daily to begin with (the full story is at www.pennix.co.uk), hence
creating the current pond (3000-3500 gals). We now have a biotec 10 (Oase)
and bought it for £400 including a new Oase 10000 pump.

This year, I have cleaned the filters once and it seems to be working fine.

In our opinion, pump cages just reduce the flow through the pump and cause
the pump to work much harder. That's why we went for the Oase pump, which
can allow most of the gunk to pass through and be removed by the filtration
system.

We had on-board filters on the original pumps left by the previous owner of
the property and they were absolutely knackered. We also bought a Blagdon
(£80) pump for a small fountain and it lasted about two weeks before it too
clogged. We wouldn't touch Blagdon now, because we feel that the impellor
pump operated by Oase is a much more appropriate design and does not clog -
or hasn't in the last three years.

"Jan-I" wrote in message
...

Hi, new here, my first post and I'm looking for a bit of advice with
something we're unfamiliar with. We've had a 1000 gallon pond with
orfe, GF, etc since we moved here 9 years ago. We have a Blagdon pump
(operating waterfall and small fountain, filter box, and UV.

A couple of weeks ago our pump packed up, so we bought a new one direct
from Blagdon. It came with a free plastic "pump cage" which the pump
fits inside and is supposed to reduce maintenance. Our old pump slotted
inside a large square sponge filter, which caught lots of sludge and had
to be cleaned out weekly/fortnightly depending on the time of year.

We have not had very clear water yet this year (usually it's really
clear) and assume it's because the old pump wasn't working properly
before it packed up. We installed the new pump, put a new bulb in the
UV and thought we would be clear within days.

However about 5 days later, we are no clearer. There seems to be gunge
in a suspension in the water, which is not clearing. The filter box,
which hardly ever needed cleaning got so gunged up it pushed the lid
off and started leaking.

Is this a sort of run-in period for the pump with the cage? Does the
cage mean that the silt/waste etc is pumped into and trapped in the
filter box, instead of being trapped in the square sponge filter as it
was previously. Will the water, does anyone think, clear, or does
using the cage instead of the old sponge filter mean less maintenance,
but murkier water? Is the muck being pumped back into the pond at the
other end - is that why it's not clearing? If so, we still have the
option to ditch the cage and go back to using the sponge filter. But I
note that the newest Blagdon pumps (we bought an old model as it was
what we were familiar with) are actually encased in cages - I can't see
a new product giving an inferior performance as far as water clarity is
concerned - even if it does mean less cleaning.

I don't know whether to persevere longer (how long?) with the cage, or
revert to the sponge filter. I'd be grateful for advice from anyone
with similar experiences.


--
Jan-I



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Old 05-07-2006, 05:27 PM posted to alt.garden.pond.chat
WHAtkinsJR
 
Posts: n/a
Default Anyone with experience of pump cage?


With a sponge being used water flow ois reduced whicxh allows UVC
light to do a better job. Without spinge there is no restrictin so you
have higher water flow and too fast of flow with a UVC does not work
as well. Forget the sponge prefilter crap, use the cage, and put a
valve on the outlet to slow down the water flow.....unless you like to
clean a sponge.
In short, the water is flowing too fast for the UV to do its job
properly


On Wed, 14 Jun 2006 22:56:23 +0000, Jan-I
wrote:


Hi, new here, my first post and I'm looking for a bit of advice with
something we're unfamiliar with. We've had a 1000 gallon pond with
orfe, GF, etc since we moved here 9 years ago. We have a Blagdon pump
(operating waterfall and small fountain, filter box, and UV.

A couple of weeks ago our pump packed up, so we bought a new one direct
from Blagdon. It came with a free plastic "pump cage" which the pump
fits inside and is supposed to reduce maintenance. Our old pump slotted
inside a large square sponge filter, which caught lots of sludge and had
to be cleaned out weekly/fortnightly depending on the time of year.

We have not had very clear water yet this year (usually it's really
clear) and assume it's because the old pump wasn't working properly
before it packed up. We installed the new pump, put a new bulb in the
UV and thought we would be clear within days.

However about 5 days later, we are no clearer. There seems to be gunge
in a suspension in the water, which is not clearing. The filter box,
which hardly ever needed cleaning got so gunged up it pushed the lid
off and started leaking.

Is this a sort of run-in period for the pump with the cage? Does the
cage mean that the silt/waste etc is pumped into and trapped in the
filter box, instead of being trapped in the square sponge filter as it
was previously. Will the water, does anyone think, clear, or does
using the cage instead of the old sponge filter mean less maintenance,
but murkier water? Is the muck being pumped back into the pond at the
other end - is that why it's not clearing? If so, we still have the
option to ditch the cage and go back to using the sponge filter. But I
note that the newest Blagdon pumps (we bought an old model as it was
what we were familiar with) are actually encased in cages - I can't see
a new product giving an inferior performance as far as water clarity is
concerned - even if it does mean less cleaning.

I don't know whether to persevere longer (how long?) with the cage, or
revert to the sponge filter. I'd be grateful for advice from anyone
with similar experiences.


You can reach -Ed Alston at

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