Pumps and mulm

[Guppysnail]

I bought two pumps in October. One clean water fill one siphoned old water. I still gravel vac into a bucket and carry the bucket out. Can I send the funky mulm water through the pump without harming the pump or will the mulm gunk and destroy my pump?
Thanks 

[BuzzDaddy21]

On 12/17/2021 at 9:29 AM, Guppysnail said:

I send the funky mulm water through the pump without harming the pump

I have had a lot of different kinds of pumps not just for aquariums...

The only trouble I`ve had was with is rocks or twigs. (Items that would damage the impeller usually made of rubber.)

[lefty o]

mulm and soft crud shouldnt hurt the pump. agree with the above, solid objects are what will jamm it up.

[Scothson]

I agree from my experience with several types of pumps mulm should be soft enough to pass through the pump with no issue, the only issue would be hard items like rocks twigs ect. I have seen situations where the influent port on the pump will get restricted but just monitor the pump if you start to see a reduction in the effluent flow check the Intake for some partial obstruction.

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

You can always put some course foam over the intake area to trap bigger bits and then wring that out after use. On the inside of the pump they often have some coarse sponge as well so between those two things should protect the pump. 

[Torrey]

I run pumps in most of my tanks because I like waterfalls. 😁

The biggest problem I have had, is once a quarter I need to clean the snails out of the pump to maintain optimal pressure. If you put a course sponge over the intake, you would have the benefit of a seeded sponge always being available, as long as you kept the sponge submerged in aerated water. 

 

My pumps have all been from Harbor Freight and are used 24/7, 365. After several years, I had my first pump failures this year. One of the HF equivalents to your pump (had been running non-stop for over 2 years) and my B2TR pump failed (running non-stop since 2019). My other 4  pumps are running strong, and I broke down and cleaned 4 pico tanks before surgery, including their pumps. At least one of those pumps is about a decade or so old. It's been used inside and outside, and I have replaced one impeller after the pump sucked in a piece of gravel when we were using the pump to drain the pond.