Keeping fish out of a pond pump?

[MoSinister]

Good morning. I was wondering what if anything does anyone do about covering their pond pump to guard against fish getting "sucked up" into the pump? I'm talking smaller goldfish. The pump has it's own grate, but it's not the best at keeping the smaller goldfish safe. I thought I'd lost one the other day and lo-and-behold, he was in the pump when I went to clean it.

[czcz]

Sponge prefilter would work. You can slip it over the grate or modify/widen one meant for another pump if necessary. Or another type of prefilter, like non-metallic windowscreen wrapped around the grate. Either option will require some cleaning/maintenence to keep flow rate high, however.

[MoSinister]

Hey, thanks Cz. That sounds smack-yer-forehead easy.

*smacks forehead*

[Menagerie]

Cheese cloth may also work--depending on how much pull the filter has will also affect how often the goldies are caught.

~moved to Pond Forum~