Let it run or shut it down?

[BlueCrystalMan]

Not sure if anyone has a setup like mine, but my pond n falls are right outside my sunroom, adjacent to the patio. I have a timer on the falls, fountain, lights, and UV. It comes on at 7 AM and goes off at 11 PM.

What does everybody else do? Do you let it run all night n day? Shut it down? Does it matter either way?

I'm wondering now if the eight hour shutdown is the cause of the brown algae in my streams...

 

[RogerMcAllen]

I run my pond 24 hours a day. I have my lights on a photsensor.

 

[SquishyFish]

There are two reasons to leave the falls running 24/7.

1. Pond plants change from producing oxygen during the day, to consuming it at night. Your fish and Plants are competing for oxygen

2. The warmer the water, the less oxygen it holds. So, during the day, it warms up, and at night, the plants start sucking up the 02. It can keep the o2 levels low perpetually.

Squishy

 

[Guest]

Squishy is dead-on correct, just one more reason. You do have your filtration built into the waterfall/circualtion, yes? Assuming that's the case, you certainly want it running 24/7. The filter bacteria need to do their work all the time. In addition, if you keep it going all the time, your waterfall becomes part of the biofilter. the same good nitrifying bacteria that grow in your filter quickly colonize all surfaces that are continuously wet. With your waterfall drying out at night, you are eliminating a lot of surface area for those bacteria to live and do their work.

My lights are on a timer, and the pump runs all the time.

 

[pondmom]

I leave my pond up and running 24-7 too.
The only time I shut the falls down is when I do a waterchange.
The water level goes below the skimmer so therefore I must shut it off.