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Pond Pumps Tips

Author: Pets Parade Team

First decide the function you need the pump to do. If you need to operate a filter or a large water feature a solids handling pump sometimes called a filter pump is best as it will allow fish waste to go straight into the filter and will not clog too easily. If you want a fountain as well, you can run two functions from the Amphibious pumps and similar pumps, but they are more prone to clogging than a specialist filter pump. You can reduce the amount of cleaning required to an Amphibious pump by using one of the new Blagdon pump cages. You may opt to use one pump for your filter and a separate smaller pump to run the fountain this will probably give the best performance overall but is obviously more expensive.

Next, calculate the volume of water you need to move. Then choose a pump that will circulate that amount of water at the height your filter or feature is situated at. The figures on the descriptions section in the shop catologue show the flow rates at different heights (head) in gallons per hour (GPH) and Litres (LPH). Remember the maximum flow rate is how much the pump will circulate without any head or pipe work restriction. The higher you lift the water and the longer the pipe work the more the flow will drop, if in doubt choose a slightly larger pump.

Compare the running costs for different pumps, as some cheap pumps are high wattage and will cost more to run. Models such as the Aquamax range from Oase have a slightly higher initial cost but are amongst the cheapest pumps to run. Also compare the flow rates at different heights, the flow rates on some pumps drop dramatically for cheap running costs, if required to lift more than a few feet, there is a trade off of low wattage, i.e. low running costs for less lifting power. However the Hozelock Titan range delivers a good flow rate at height whilst still being cheap to run.

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