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Pond Pumps

One of the most important aspects of building a water feature is determinining the correct size and type of pump. Typically the best choice is a submersible pump, but if you have extra space and a creative imagination, you could definitely use a non-sumbersible pump. The biggest mistake people commit is they purchase a pump based on price rather than efficiency. Cheap pumps may work fine pumping out your basement or boat, but are not designed for continuous operation. Not only will they not last as long, but they are not near as efficient. Most sump pumps are designed for short term use. They will be much less expensive to purchase, but will eat up your electric bill if ran continuously. Most cheap sump pumps pull at least twice the amperage for the same sized quality built pond pump.

Choosing the correct size pump:

Pumps are rated in gph (gallons per hour) or gpm (gallons per minute) @ 5' of head. For example if a pump is rated at 2,500 gph @ 5' of head, it will have a flow rate of 2,500 gallons per hour when pumping water five feet high (from water level to height of waterfall). As a rule of thumb, a nice looking waterfall or stream has at least 1,800 gph for every 1' of width. To determine how many gallons per hour of water you need for a paticular width of waterfall, simply multiply the width in ft. x 1800.

Example: Say I want to know the amount of gph needed for a 4 foot wide waterfall that is 5 ft. high, simply multiply:

4 ft. x 1800 = 7,200 gph

So I would need a pump that is at least rated at 7,200 gph @ 5' of head.

Another aspect that is often overlooked is the size of pipe needed. You never want to restrict your pump by having too small of a hose on your pump. We recommend using flexible PVC pipe which eliminates most fittings, because each fitting in your plumbing system creates resistance and can slow your flow rate. Here is the maximum amount of water that can flow through specific sized diameter sized piping.

Diameter of pipe	max gallons/hour
1.5"	2200 gph
2"	4800 gph
3"	10,500 gph