Aquagarden Barracuda Pond Pump

The Aquagarden Barracuda is a filtration type pump. It is great for fish pond filters, especially in dirty water. The cage at the front doesn't have any sponge, so all the particles that are big enough to fit will go through and not get caught up or damage the pump. Because pond pumps sit at the bottom of the pond they get exposed to all sorts of debris, anything from insects to branches and leaves, and this setup – the big wide grill without a sponge – will require less maintenance overall, because it is easier for these materials to simply go through. It can, in fact, handle particles of up to 6 mm in size. This pump can be both submerged and run in line outside of the pond. These characteristics make it ideal for use in polluted water – if you are not experienced and/or had bad contractors and your pond ended up being quite a mess, this pump can help bring it back to life, giving you another chance to create a truly beautiful pond.

The Baracuda uses non-corosive ceramic bearings that ensure a flawless operation over a longer period of time, and has a high quality Vortex impeller. There is a threaded inlet and a threaded outlet on top of which sits another component that adds a lot to the overall efficiency, a ball joint for adjusting the outlet of the hose to various positions without getting a 90o turn that would slow down the flow of water. The next part are the hose tails, they are made to fit different sized hoses and are easily attached to the ball joint. The way they work is quite simple, there are several widths, starting from the narrowest and cascading to the widest – looking sort of like a wedding cake – and if you have a hose that is a little wider, you can simply take a saw and hack off the narrower parts, leaving you with the perfect size hole. All of these components (the cage, ball joint and hose tails) can be removed by unscrewing a screw, making disassembly and maintenance an incredibly easy task to perform. Four screws at the back hold the impeller cover, so from time to time in addition to scrubbing of the cage and cleaning out the tubes, you can take the cover off and give it a more thorough cleaning, although this is not something you will need to do often. The impeller behind this cover is an open type impeller, which means that it doesn't have sharp edged blades and is able to pass larger pieces of debris without them clinging to it – so additional clean up will rarely be needed, but it is easy to do should the need arise.

Regular maintenance is essential for any machine to keep functioning properly, so you should make a mental note to clean up your pond pump from time to time. For the first few days the pump will be working at optimal levels and you will be able to get a feel of how everything looks when it’s running at 100%, so after a few weeks or a month if you look at your pond and you get the feeling that it’s getting dirtier, you will know it’s time to do some cleaning.

The Baracuda pond pump is also equipped with a thermal safety overload switch. You see, what usually happens if you haven’t been cleaning your pump regularly is it gets clogged up, the water flow will slow down, the pump will start heating up, and at a certain point it will burn out. This means you now have to replace your pump. With the Baracuda once the temperature gets too high it will automatically shut down to protect itself, just like a computer that is overheating. The models range from 3600 lph to 25000 lph, so the time it would take an unattended pump to heat up and shut down will vary depending on the model.

The sight of a dirty pond can leave a bad impression of you to your neighbors and visitors – you wouldn't want your colleagues to think you are some kind of swamp monster when you invite them over for a dinner. That is why you need a good, sturdy pond pump that will get the job done and require as little maintenance as possible no matter how dirty the water, and the Barracuda has got your back on this one.

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Garden Pond Filters 101

An indispensable element of sustaining a healthy ponds is by utilizing garden pond filters to keep pond water clear and sanitized. There are multiple factors continuously doing their best to turn your pond into a murky bed of debris. These factors include decaying grass, sticks, and leaves; fish excrement, and detrimental compounds like ammonia.

A dirty pond is not a pleasing sight, and if there are plants, Koi and other creatures trying to survive in there, hygienic water is vital to their continued existence and health. The best way of guaranteeing sanitary water is by using a verified garden-pond filter, or a number of pond filters together.

Now that you understand how important it is to have a superb working pond filter, you must decide which type of filter suits your pond best. Making the right choice may seem a bit perplexing; however, pond filters are classified into several key groups. First, we will decipher how to select your garden pond filter.

-Garden Pond Filter Shopping Tips

1. First, you must consider how much water needs to be filtered. If your filter is not large enough, you will inevitably have to worry about algae problems, which can turn the water environment of your pond into a hazard for the creatures living there.

2. Check vigilantly for the capacity the filter can cope with. You will find volume-measuring devices that are available through the Internet or at your local pond equipment shop to decide what size is most appropriate.

3. In essence, it is better to have a garden-pond filter that is too large than one that is too small, so if you become a bit confused always select the larger one.

-Different Types of Garden Pond Filters

Pond Skimmers
Skimmers are garden pond filters, also known as mechanical filters that require some type of screen, basket, or net to trap waste. Skimmers are normally installed around the surface of a garden-pond and drags in the top-layer of water, filtering-out floating waste like grass, sticks, and leaves. Skimmers are vital for preventing free flowing debris from ultimately plummeting to the floor of a garden-pond and putrefying. The amount of debris floating within a pond will establish how frequently the filter will be detached-from the skimmer to get rid of debris.

Biological Filters
Biological filters consist of useful bacteria inside the actual filter that sanitizes the pond water at a molecular level. In order to decompose ammonia within the fish-excrement, a biological-filter will be required. Biological filters metamorphoses destructive ammonia into nitrates, that then turns into a form of food for vegetation inside the pond.

-Summary

Mechanical filters with a pond skimmer are quite efficient; however, it must be installed on the exterior of the garden-pond because it can occupy such a wide area. Therefore it is best suited for large garden-ponds. Many people prefer a combination of mechanical and biological filters. The best thing to do is to consider where you have space to install your garden pond filter and how you want the outcome to appear.


If you want to find out more, check out our pond filtration guide:
http://www.pondquip.com.au/pages/Pond-Filtration-Guide.html

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