Why It Is Important That Your Fish Pond Water Pump Runs Continuously 24/7
Prevent Ammonia Build Up And Run Your Pond Water Pump 24/7 ...
Never switch off your fish pond pump for more than a few minutes, whether that be a large Koi pond external pump or a smaller submersible pump system if you want to keep your Koi and goldfish alive. A garden pond pump serves several functions within the majority of garden ponds, including: the circulation of pond water, driving a waterfall and/or water feature. These are all secondary purposes compared the major function of any fish pond pump. The primary purpose is to supply oxygenated pond water to the Nitrosomonas and Nitrobacter bacteria living on the pond filter media. These bacteria are responsible for breaking down toxic ammonia into nitrites and then into nitrates , in what is known as the Nitrogen Cycle or Nitrification process.
Click here for unbeatable money saving offers on USA Pond Supplies and Pond Keeping Equipment in the UK, Guaranteed.
The water chemistry involved in maintaining healthy pure pond water is a somewhat complicated issue and beyond the scope of this article. What I will do however is to point out some of the processes taking place in the pond water and how they interact ...
At the interface between water and atmospheric air, oxygen is absorbed into the water. The amount of oxygen absorbed believe it or not is affected by the temperature of the water; warmer water does not absorb oxygen as easily as cold water. Have you ever noticed that on hot sunny days Koi and goldfish will often be seen gasping at the surface for air? If so this is the reason why.
Here are a few other facts about your pond water to consider: Cold pond water can also hold more oxygen than warm water and when there is turbulence at the interface, oxygen is more readily absorbed; windy days for example make it easier for your pond to absorb oxygen from the atmosphere. At night there is less oxygen in the pond than there is during the day; this is to a large extent caused by the behavior of aquatic pond plants, which absorb carbon dioxide, to produce oxygen during the day. At night however the opposite is true and they use up oxygen and produce carbon dioxide ... read Biological garden pond filters require plenty of oxygen for further information ...
A waterfall and a fountain are extremely useful in a pond because they increase that interface between water and air (small droplets have large area) which allows for more air to be absorbed.
The vast majority of people realize that oxygen is needed by pond fish to breathe but what they do not realize is that it is critically important to the breakdown of ammonia by the nitrifying bacteria, living on the pond filter media.
In practice the nitrifying bacteria sit waiting for a food source (ammonia). When ammonia is present they convert the ammonia using chemical processes into nitrates; a source of fertilizer for pond plants. In order to convert ammonia there has to be a ready supply of ammonia and oxygen present. You will be astounded by the amount of oxygen needed for these chemical reactions to take place ... click Avoid fish fatalities in garden ponds control ammonia levels for further information ...
From the above statement it can be seen that water before entry to the pond filter is high in oxygen, which is used up resulting in the water leaving the biofilter, having a low oxygen content. The nitrifying bacteria in addition need a constant supply of oxygen. If they do not receive oxygen they will be totally wiped out after about 6 hours.
For this reason it is essential that your pond water pump runs continuously 24/7 ...
Here is a little known fact about fish ponds and garden pond pumps!
Running 2 pond pumps is nearly always better than running a single pond pump and often cheaper to run also ... Click Save money by running 2 fish pond pumps? for further information ...
All biofilters benefit from adding extra air directly into the active biological area inside the biofilter. Without extra air over-designed static bed biofilters can in fact create anaerobic filter areas.
Top Tip! The choice of pond hose and fittings used will have a tremendous amount of influence on the performance of your fish pond pump. Try to use ribbed pond tubing to connect your pond pump, pond filter and other pond keeping equipment ... Whenever possible use ribbed piping as it doesn't restrict your fish pond pump's flow when bent to form curves or bends.
Always go for a slightly more powerful pump than you need as this reduces the workload and will more often than not increase the longevity of the fish pond pump ... Click Pond pump reviews to see a list of the filter pumps, fountain pumps, solar pumps, submersible pumps and professional centrifugal external pumps for professional Koi ponds on this site.
Click here for unbeatable money saving offers on USA Pond Supplies and Pond Keeping Equipment in the UK, Guaranteed.
