Pond Pumps

Pond pumps are an underwater devices that regularly circulate water through a pond, mixing the air and water to oxygenate it. The device such as a hy-drive pond pump is the heart of a fish pond, such as a koi pond, by providing much needed oxygen to the water and bio filter. The bio filter is made up of bacterial organisms that purify the water. If it gets no oxygen, there is no purification and fish deaths result. Pond pumps keep ponds clean, clear and healthy.

Without pond pumps, there will be no water movement, and that could result in unwanted pests such as mosquitoes breeding in it. Due to this application, they are designed for continuous duty operation.

Types of Pond Pumps

There are surface, or external, and submersible pumps, submersible being the more popular. Minimal plumbing or electrical skills are required to install a submersible pump. Voltage is low and it does not require priming. Maintenance is easy and minimal, simply remove it from the water and clean it when necessary. Submersible pond pumps are most commonly suited for smaller ponds. They are free of distracting noise and can even be used to drain your pond. Their highest flow rate is about 3600 gallons per hour. There are basically three types of submersible pumps, direct drive, magnetic drive, and statuary.

Direct drive pumps are best for pumping ponds with large waterfalls and streams, they have a powerful motor that pushes the pond water in one direction.

Magnetic drive pumps are more efficient than direct drive pumps but not as powerful. These use less electricity and work well to create moderately flowing waterfalls and streams.

Statuary pumps are the least powerful of the submersible pumps used to power stand alone pond ornaments, fountains and spitters.

As far as longevity goes however, external pond pumps are superior to submersible pumps because the external pumps do not sit in the water collecting debris. External pumps are designed to move larger volumes of water and have max. flow rates ranging from 2200 gallons per hour up to 9600 gallons per hour. External pumps are the ideal choice for very large ponds.

How to Choose Pond Pumps

When choosing which pump to purchase, consider the flow rate and water head, or pressure. Although it may sound obvious, get one with a 20′ cord length if you need it. The flow rate is the number of gallons it can pump in an hour. You should also view the flow chart for the model that you are interested in to see if it meets your needs. This is also called the pump output and tells you how powerful the pump is. The larger the pond, the more powerful a pump you are going to need. The pump must be able to handle the amount of water in the pond. However, you do not want to get a pump too powerful either because it could suck up sand and debris and make the water dirty. The water head is the height to which a pump is able to spray water. It is measured from the surface of the water to the top of the spraying water, also known as the head. You should note that the impellers are not covered under the manufacturer’s warranty mainly due to the abuse they take during usage. Therefore, it would be used to use a garden pond filter in your setup. If you expect to have debris in the water, get a solid handling pump which will allow an object to pass through and not damage the device.

You can purchase these at stores like Home Depot for a good price. There are also many websites where you can purchase pond pumps and all of your pond supplies.