How to get my small pond to run on Solar Panels?

Well as Space says, you'll need a good sized panel ("photo voltaic") to run it but you will also need a device called an "inverter / charger" and a sizable battery - like a car battery. The inverter / charger makes sure the battery gets a good, regulated charge and then converts the battery's DC current to AC which the pump can use. Using a DC pump is an option but AC pumps are much more common and I believe that they are more efficient. The battery stores the current so the pump can run at night - when there is no sun. This is why you need a large photo-voltaic panel. It needs to provide enough current to both run the pump and charge the battery.

Hey Palladini, I don't have a pond, so the question is a bit nebulous for me, "How to make a pond run." I assume you have an airation pump of some kind? Does it normally plug into your homes power supply? If so then it runs on AC power. They have pond aeration kits in Real Goods Catalog, with a pump and attached solar panel, they are quite expensive. What works well is a boat type bilge pump, and an appropriate sized panel. Anytime the sun is shining, the pump comes on and runs until it gets cloudy or dark. Then the output from the pump is simply sent through some kind of sprinkler head that sprays the water up in the air.

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You say you have a small pump, but the size is not important, how much power it uses is. If it were me, I would look for a 500 - 600 GPH 12 volt bilge pump at a marine supply place, or online. Then see how many amps it runs on. A 600 usually takes about 4 amps. Then just shop for a panel that has an Imax rating (max amps) just a bit higher than that. Most panels are optimized for 12 volts, so they have a max voltage of 18 VDC. Simply multiply this by the amps you need, say 5 amps, so 18 X 5 = 90. A 90 watt panel would be about perfect, but anything between 70 and 100 would work. Then simply attach the panel output to the pump wires, making sure positive goes to positive, put the pump in a bucket of water and the panel in the sun and watch it work. It it runs good, then install it in you pond.

A panel that size might cost you $ 100 USD, and a model 600 pump probably another $25. Rule is a good brand, but there are others. Here is a link to a Rule model 500 pump at West Marine, costs $30, uses 1.9 amps running, so you only need a 30 - 45 watt panel for it. Make sure you do not get an "automatic" bilge pump, they cost more and the sensing circuit won't get along with the panels variable output. You want a "non-automatic" model.

http://www.westmarine.com/buy/rule-industries--non...

Here is a workable panel for that pump:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/30-W-Watts-12V-Polycrystal...

This panel has an Imax of 1.93, and normal amperage of 1.75, about perfect for that 500 pump. Good luck, and take care, Rudydoo

A basic method is to find the power requirement for the pump... how many watts it draws while running. That is your baseline for the solar panel(s) you need. If the pump draws 15 watts (which would be a very small pump) then you need a panel capable of providing at least 15 watts. This would only run the pump while the sun is shining. With partly cloudy or overcast skies, it will either run slowly or not at all.

The proper method is as described by Monitor... a panel, a charge regulator, a battery, and an inverter if you are using an AC pump, or not if using a DC pump. The panel should be about twice the required wattage of the pump, to allow the battery to charge while running the pump.

You can probably find this whole rig in a large home improvement store, either separately or as a kit.

I have a very small pond, with a very small pump, I do not how many solar panels or what else is needed to get this done

You'll need a pretty big solar panel to run a pond pump.

Have a local solar energy expert advise you.

Just so you'll know...

Solar panels don't do any good at night.

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