Pond Pump Info
Pond Pumps...
The heart of your pond and essential for healthy life, both for plant and fish. With so many options now on the market its hard to know which is the pump for you.
That's why we've created this special page within the site to advise on how to pick the right pond pump for your needs.
A
good reliable pond pump is essential for the well being of your ponds
water. Healthy water means healthy fish and other wildlife that makes
use of your pond. Finding the right pump to suit your needs can be a
little daunting for the amateur so here's some of your options
explained.
An external pond pump is as you have probably already guessed, installed on the outside. This is your choice if you have a medium to large pond as they can handle up to 10,000 gallons per hour. That amount of work though requires regular maintenance which is why its the right choice for large ponds. Because they don't live under in water they don't need to be encased in rubber. This means access to the parts is possible and easily replaced. This gives a longer life but gives you the problem of hiding it.
The submersible pond pump are at the bottom of the pond so don't need to be hidden. These are usually designed for small ponds and water features. Another benefit to this type of pump is that the water muffles the motor so there is very little noise. The downsides are obvious when it comes time to clean the pump. Its a dirty, usually smelly job but essential if it is to keep running smoothly.
The air Pond Pump does not provide any water flow. It simply draws air into the pump and then disperses it in the form of small bubbles. An air pond pump is generally used for winterization as it provides oxygenation without the water flow caused by one of the other types of pond pump.
The direct drive pond pump is the one you need for the heavy lifting, getting water up and over a waterfall for instance. These types are available in both external and submersible. If you purchase the submersible version be sure its an oil free motor as a leak can cause havoc with the fish population as well as plant life.
The Magnetic Dive Pond Pump is usually designed as a submersible as most are unable to draw water into them. Their power is created through an electromagnetic field which turns the impeller. The main benefit is their energy efficiency and a longer life. Also, Mag Drive pond pumps are usually easy to repair as typically all that is needed for a repair job is either a magnetic shaft, the impeller or both.
The downside to this type of pond pump is that it cannot provide sufficient water flow for high head applications and they will cost you a bit more than direct drive pond pumps. Having said, the magnetic drive pond pump is the best choice if you do not have a high head requirement because it will last far longer.
Why
do we need to bother with pond pumps and filters for our small garden
Koi pond?
After all, that big pond in the wood doesn't have a pump or a filer system. And what about the lakes teaming with fish, they seem to be happy enough without a pump?
The problem is that relative to a lake or pond, the garden pond with just a few Koi is positively over crowded. Your garden pond Koi have to live, sleep, eat and excrete in that one small body of water.
Certain bacteria thrive on the ammonia within the bodily waste of fish which helps to clear it so is good.
The trouble is that bacteria converts the ammonia into nitrites which is harmful to your fish so we are back to square one.
Then along comes another form of bacteria that loves nitrites and converts it into nitrates which are completely harmless to fish so everyone is happy again.
It is this bio system that is full of bacteria that keeps the lakes and wild ponds clean and healthy enough for the fish and its this cycle we need to replicate with the help of pond pumps and filters.
Pond pumps will force the water through a biological filter that bacteria will grow on. The bacteria are microscopic, so we don't actually see them, but they gradually grow into a colony that loves ammonia and other toxins.
These bacteria, plus some others in the pond, will neutralize the toxins that the fish produce. This is how we use filtration and pond pumps to make a healthy Koi pond.
So if you are planning on keeping fish in your pond and unless you are lucky enough to measure your ponds diameter in feet rather than acres you do need circulation and filtering equipment.
While ever your fish are eating, the system will need to be running and this is something you should consider when pricing up your pond.
Koi fish are not cheap and the last thing you will want is to lose them to ill health because of the accessive cost of pond pumps and filtration systems.
Make sure you are aware of the capacity of your pond and the amount of fish you will be keeping before purchasing any pond pumps and filtration systems.
Solar
powered pond pumps are becoming very popular as we all look for ways to
save money, do our bit to save energy or more likely a bit of
both.
Now the technology is available its certainly worth your while looking into your options. Pond pumps - especially the larger ones - can use up a lot of power.
If you already have a pump set up that runs off the mains then the good news is you can buy a solar kit to convert it. You must make sure the kit is suitable though as pond pumps vary a lot in power and capacity.
While saving you money is a bonus and not having to bury cable makes the job of installing a lot quicker, there are some downsides that you should be aware of.
Pond pumps can have a relatively short life because they need to run constantly. If it breaks down your pond is in trouble fairly quickly if it goes unnoticed. Modern technology means this is now a rare occurance in mains powered pumps as the manufacturers such as Becketts and Sunterra have had years to perfect their designs.
When running solar powered pond pumps you must keep checking that the panels are clean and free of debris. You also have to make sure the panels are in a postion that gets sunlight for as long as possible.
This might mean you have to re-position them through the year to get maximum power to the battery chargers. Many gardeners position the panels on a shed roof out of site and run the cable down to the pumps power base.
Because they must run constantly, solar powered pond pumps come with a battery pack which gets charged during the day and used at night. These rechargeable batteries are very expensive but with the right use and care should last a while.
If you decide to go the solar powered route then make sure you get one with a corrosion resistant panel and that the batteries - having been fully charged during the day - will last at least 4 hours into the night.
You read the manufacturers instructions fully to make sure you get full value from your purchase. If you have to replace it after a year or two its hardly going to be a money saver is it?
Now
you know the type of pond pump you need all that's left is to work out
the size.
If you require your pump for a standard pond with no water features then you just require one to handle what's known as fitration and recirculation. For this purpose you need your pump to be able move the entire content of your pond within not less than an hour but not more than two.
So lets say your pond holds 4000 gallons of water when full. Your ideal pump size will be 4000 GPH (gallons per hour) and certainly should not be less than 2000 GPH.
Its advisable to play it safe and go for one that can move the water in 1 hour as you can always slow a pump down if need be but you can't speed one up.
Getting the right sized pond pump for a water feature is a lit harder to work out. The first thing you need to work out is the amount of water flow required at the point it discharges from the feature. As an example a waterfall needs a minimum of 100 GPH and no more than 150GPH so if your waterfall is a foot wide you need anywhere between 1000 and 1800GPH.
Next you need to calculate the head height. Head height refers to the approximation of the vertical and horizontal distance the water must travel from the pump to the top of the waterfall. Horizontal distance is calculated at a 10:1 ratio, while vertical distance is calculated at a 1:1 ratio.
For example, if the horizontal distance from the pond pump to the waterfall is 30', this equates to 3' of head height. If the vertical distance from the pump to the top of the waterfall is 7', this equates to 7' of head height. Therefore, the total head height for this application is 10'.
The last step is to review the manufacturer's power curve for the type of pump you have selected to determine the appropriate pump size. Let's use the Cal Pump Mag Drive as an example. The PWM3900 model is rated at 4,100 GPH of water flow at the pump discharge, but is rated at 2,280 GPH of water flow at a 10' head height. This would be a good choice for this particular example. Remember, it is always better to go with a pond pump on the high end of the GPH range rather than low as this will put less strain on the motor.