Pumps at Lowe's OK in a pinch?

Willz · Feb 20, 2012

My power went off last night and when it came back on today my water pump didn't. I tried taking it apart etc, but it's toast. The only shop in town that has pumps is closed Monday and Tuesday, so I was wondering if I could by a cheap garden pump from Lowe's just to keep things rolling until I can get a better one on Wednesday?

Thanks!
w

greg0385 · Feb 20, 2012

Be aware of oils and metals that might be in the pump, i try to borrow one from a local club memeber

Willz · Feb 20, 2012

Unfortunately there isn't a club in town

I was going to get one for ornamental pond use, hopefully that won't have crud in it. Maybe I'll run it a little in a bucket of water to make sure it's clean. Thanks!

luke33 · Feb 20, 2012

Most of those pump's are not saltwater safe, meaning they will corrode over time. Are there any hydroponics shows around you? They always carry mag pump's.

Luisra · Feb 20, 2012

I don't know what brand Lowe's carries, but if they are the Beckett pumps you are good to go. I use them for the bio pellet reactor and for mixing salt & RO/DI water; after 2+ years of use they don't have any rust.

bige · Feb 20, 2012

The one by me has mag drives. Try looking in the pond section. They might have some there.

Reef Breeders · Feb 20, 2012

The guy on LA fish guys uses one, I'm pretty sure that is what lowes carries.

Willz · Feb 20, 2012

Thanks everyone. The one near me doesn't carry the Mag drive pumps and I don't know where any hydroponic places are around here. I wound up getting a Smartpond brand 500GPH pump for $50. I don't have any coral yet so I think I should be OK for a couple of days until I can get a SW safe one on Wednesday. I just didn't want my sump sitting there for 3 days with no circulation. All the live rock in the refugium would become ripe rock and the girlfriend would hit the ceiling.

We are in the process of buying a house and I just can't wait to have a fish room with a jenny sitting outside so I can laugh at power outages. Until then I feel like an idiot living in an apartment with $2000 worth of fish that are 2 days without power away from being dead..... I'm hoping this little snow squall was the last of the season here.