Question: Water pumps trapping newts?

[Geoffrey]

Has anyone ever come across newts being traped the inlet vents of the water pumps.
This has now happened on two occasions it happened once I changed the pump and it has happened again. I am told that as the vents gradually silt up the water feeds in smaller areas under greater force and pulls the smaller weaker newts into the vent where they are unable to free themselves.True or false I know not but I am quite concerned. I will be interested to know if anyone else has ever experienced this problem. Small wildlife pond in Somerset UK and just plain ordinary newts.
Geoffrey

 

[Jennewt]

I have had this happen only once, and it was a juvenile that got caught in a small hole where the electrical cord comes out of the filter (not the main intake area).

Your theory is likely to be right; if the intake is partly clogged, it will suck harder in the parts that aren't clogged. If this appears to be happening in your filter, you may have to clean out the filter more often.

Could you use a lower-powered pump? Or cover the intake with a finer mesh material. I have 3 methods I have used for doing this (usually because I don't want to lose larvae into the filter). 1. Glue netting material over the intake using aquarium silicone. 2. Use an old pair of nylon hosiery and just pull it on over the filter. 3. Put a media filter bag over the intake.

 

[jclee]

2. Use an old pair of nylon hosiery and just pull it on over the filter.

I had some luck with this when an aquaclear filter kept sucking my fish up. Unfortunately, the pantyhose are so fine that they quickly become clogged. Eventually, I got a new filter. I suppose it depends on how patient you are. If you clean out the pantyhose often enough, it could work quite well.

 

[Lugubris]

If you cover the intake of the filter with a large, globe shaped mesh that is much larger in surface area than the stock mesh then the suction of the intake will be reduced considerably. For example, the filter pumps at 10 psi and has a intake cover that is 1 square inch then it has about 5 pounds of suction for every item that covers 1/2 square inch of the intake, but if you change the intake cover to be 5 square inches then an item that covers 1/2 square inch of the intake will only be held by approximately 1 pound of force.

 

[Otterwoman]

I have had newts that liked the "sucking" feeling and lay against it and they would die. I think it's bad for them. I no longer have any water pumps unless I need a strong current, then I surround them with a barrier.