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.

Read More

OASE Aquamax Eco Pond Pump

OASE has been making the Aquamax range for about almost two decades now, and their products have only become increasingly efficient over the years. They are great at displacing the dirt and muck, and this really is their  main task - sucking muck from the pond and displacing it from the pump into the filter. The Aquamax Eco pump has a big, semi-globular cage with some generously sized holes – each hole is about 10mm in diameter. Anything getting sucked in there will get pumped up to the filter with ease.

Because it draws from such a large area, there is no place on the cage where the pump sucks very forcefully, therefore wildlife tend not to get sucked into this particular design – which means it is good for the environment as well.

This design has two pipes, an inlet and an outlet. The pump sucks from the surface of the domed cage, as well as from the inlet pipe, which allows it to draw from two locations at the same time, while remaining situated at the bottom of your pond. There is also an optional smaller cage that attaches to the inlet via pipe, so that you can then set the inlet to draw with varying degrees of power, leaving the big cage with the smaller percentage of draw power, or disabling the suction on one end entirely. This can be useful in the winter, when the water at the bottom is relatively warm, you can set the part attached to the skimmer to draw at full power, drawing of the surface, so that the water at the bottom of the pond stays pretty much at the same temperature.

The double suction feature especially comes in handy if you have a crescent moon shaped or elongated pond – like a sort of canal, because you can draw from both ends (by attaching a length of a hose to the inlet pipe and draw it out to the desired area while the main apparatus remains on the other end). The inlet can also be attached to the skimmer, so you can actually suck water from the top of your pond, sucking away all the filth and muck, the dead leaves, dead bugs, small twigs and other materials that eventually accumulate on the surface, while at the same time drawing from the bottom of your pond as well. So by setting it fifty-fifty, you can maintain a steady suction on both the surface and the bottom.

As far as what pipework to attach to the inlet and outlet of your pond pump, using a big hose is recommended, so that you have the maximum amount of water being pumped out without pressure. Ultimately you will get more water coming down your cascade or more water being pushed through your filter.

            The Aqua Max range carries a 5 year guarantee, and you can be sure that you will still be using them for years after the warranty has expired. Most of the time, when people experience a problem with one of these pumps it is simply neglected. They install the pump and then just leave it laying at the bottom for years, without ever giving it a second thought, so it eventually gets all clogged up. Periodical cleaning of the Aquamax Eco will ensure that the sturdy little pond pump keeps on chugging along, as good as new, for years and years.

            The running costs on these pumps are really low, even the Aquamax ECO 16000, which pumps 16000 liters an hour, runs at only 170 watts. Eco models 12000 and 16000 also have “Seasonal Flow Control” (SFC) that adapts all year round to the relevant seasonal changes within the pond, and enables a circulation that is dependent on the water temperature.

They are not cheap to buy, their price range is from $900 to $1150, but in the long run they will save you a lot of money on running costs (since they will last for years with little maintenance you can expect great savings over time), and you don’t have to buy a new one every few years like some of the cheap models found in hardware stores.

So in conclusion, you get a very functional, high quality garden pond pump, with enhanced sucking capabilities, that is also very eco-friendly and saves you a ton of money in the long run. These Aquamax pumps are just one of those things for which you might have to save up and carefully plan to purchase in between various everyday expenses, but then ten years from the time of purchase you will look at the good job it’s still performing and mutter to yourself that it was money well spent.

Read More