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  1. #1

    Cost to Run a Koi Pump

    Hi All,

    Brand new to keeping Koi and had a question about the electricity running costs for a pump for a small Koi pond. The pond in question has a small waterfall type arrangement. Using my electricity meter, I seem to be baselining this at about 93p per day which calculating backwards indicates the pump is running about 220W.

    Is this about average or is it possible to cut this running cost down with a more efficient pump?

    Many thanks!



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  3. #2
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Supreme Champion john1's Avatar
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    Hi mate,
    To me if it is a very small pump I would think it's high,what sort of pump is it,how big is the pond and what sort of filters have you?

    Sorry for all the questions but trying to see your system.

    Welcome to the forum.
    John

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  5. #3
    Thanks John...much appreciated, Having only just inherited the pond, I currently don't know! I will update when I can find out the details.

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  7. #4
    Seems alot to me too. I have two 10k litre an hour pumps one running 100% the other about 65% a 55watt UV and 2 air pumps running 24/7 and reckon it costs me about £20 a month.
    Jay

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  9. #5
    Senior Member Rank = Nanasai Big nige's Avatar
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    I agree sounds a lot, my pump is 12000 LTRs per hour and is 100w

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  11. #6
    Senior Member Rank = Adult Champion Twhitenosugar's Avatar
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    If you can get to the pump, the power consumption should be written on the pump itself.

    You might have other stuff running too like UV bulbs (prevents the water turning green) and air pumps that add to the cost.

    If it is just the pump, you probably can save money by buying a new pump.

    You can now buy variable pumps so you can adjust how much water it pumps.

    Like Jay, I have a 10,000 litre per hour variable pump, it cost me £115. It's minimum setting (30%) is only about 26 watts and I believe it uses about 80watts when turned up to 100%.

    You just need to ensure you buy the right sized/spec pump. Most tend to aim for a flow rate so that the entire volume of water in the pond is pumped through the filters each hour.

    When doing so just bear in mind that you lose flow when pumping water through pipework, so allow some extra for that.

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    Last edited by Twhitenosugar; 20-11-2020 at 04:55 PM.
    13,000L fibreglassed raised pond with window

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  13. #7
    Senior Member Rank = Rokusai Simon Fish's Avatar
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    What size is the pond?
    Newer pumps are more efficient.
    You can get an all ponds solutions 3000lt pump that only uses 10watts

  14. #8
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Supreme Champion Frimley Koi keeper's Avatar
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    I've got a 10000 lph variable speed pump on my QT system and that using nothing at all.

    One of these days I'll actually get my QT system finished and full of water

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  16. #9
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Supreme Champion john1's Avatar
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    Good sence of humour Frim.

    One day !!!!
    John

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    Nice one John

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  20. #11
    Looks like I’ve got a Filtoclear 6000, Pondclear Advantage UV25 and a Pontec PondoMax Eco but I’m not sure where the pump is located to find the model. I’ve also been given instructions for a Clarke Junior Hippo pump but they say it’s not a 24/7 pump so I assume that was for refilling?

    Does this sound like a typical set-up?

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    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Supreme Champion john1's Avatar
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    Ok b-triple still not much the wiser, have you dimensions of your pond?
    Ie length x width x depth and we can work out the gallon age.

    Dont go down the Clarke Hippo pump route as they are sump pumps and eat the electric.

    A variable pump is the way to go mate but need to know the pond dimension, these pumps are low on the electric which is what you want.

    https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Jebao-TSF...MAAOSw9wxehKGi

    This is just an example of what's out there,shop around for best deal but we need your pond dimensions to see what you need.
    John

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  24. #13
    Moderator Rank = Supreme Champion Feline's Avatar
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    If you have a filtoclear then chances are it came bundled with an Oase Aquamax pump.
    Its a pressure filter- which means it is running a much more power hungry pump than a non pressurised filter would, because it’s pumping hard against partially blocked foams all the time. The pump will be in the pond in a cage. That cage might need regular cleaning so it’s best to find out.

    Its not an unusual setup for a goldfish pond, but far from ideal for koi I’m afraid.
    Don’t rely on pumping the handle on the top to clean it by the way. You really need to open the thing up and rinse the foams in a bucket of pond water and also tip the media that’s in the base out to rinse the container itself. They can harbour all kinds of crud.

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  26. #14
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    I've got a Bioforce Revolution filter on my skimmer filter system which gets a quick clean of 10 turns on the handle one way then 10 the other way every day and still needs stripping and cleaning every weekend. I only used it as I thought it would be OK as a pre filter for a Tornado 2 protein skimmer which has to be pump fed.

    It takes about an hour to strip and clean the 2 filters on my skimmer filter system compared to about 20 minutes to clean the 3 filters on my main filter system and 10 minutes of that is using an air pump to boil the filter media in the Eazy Pod.

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  28. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by john1 View Post
    Ok b-triple still not much the wiser, have you dimensions of your pond?
    Ie length x width x depth and we can work out the gallon age.

    Dont go down the Clarke Hippo pump route as they are sump pumps and eat the electric.

    A variable pump is the way to go mate but need to know the pond dimension, these pumps are low on the electric which is what you want.

    https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Jebao-TSF...MAAOSw9wxehKGi

    This is just an example of what's out there,shop around for best deal but we need your pond dimensions to see what you need.
    I don't think those Hippo sump pumps are designed to run all day every day just for a few minutes or possibly upto an hour at a time as they are normally 500 watts and upwards. I have a 750 watt for my waste water removal and a 1700 watt in a water butt. You don't want to be running either of those for long unless you want a massive electric bill

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  30. #16
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Supreme Champion Frimley Koi keeper's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Feline View Post
    If you have a filtoclear then chances are it came bundled with an Oase Aquamax pump.
    Its a pressure filter- which means it is running a much more power hungry pump than a non pressurised filter would, because it’s pumping hard against partially blocked foams all the time. The pump will be in the pond in a cage. That cage might need regular cleaning so it’s best to find out.

    Its not an unusual setup for a goldfish pond, but far from ideal for koi I’m afraid.
    Don’t rely on pumping the handle on the top to clean it by the way. You really need to open the thing up and rinse the foams in a bucket of pond water and also tip the media that’s in the base out to rinse the container itself. They can harbour all kinds of crud.
    Agree, needs stripping and cleaning very very regularly if you have them on anything other than a low stocked pond of any kind.

    For about £200 you can get a good condition second hand Eazy Pod.

    If you do go down the Eazy Pod route if you get a standard one it can be converted from pump fed to gravity fed and back again should you need to?

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