Pond Pumps
Article 3 - Pond Pumps

The Importance of the Pond Pump

No fish pond can exist without a pond pump, this is not a pumpous saying, it is a simple truth. Pond pumps are the heart of the fish pond, whether it is a small backyard pond, or a large commercial Koi growing pond. Installing a pump too small for the pond will always result in murky waters, which leads to sickness and bad smells.

The pump only gets the water moving, and your pond filter is what will do the work of cleaning along with the natural cleaning of microorganizs in your water garden. Of course these will only happen if the water is moving. Into the filter, and around the pond.

There are two types of pond pumps, submersible pond pumps, and external pond pumps. The submersible pond pumps are suited to the small to medium sized ponds, with up to 800 gallons of water, typically pumping around 300 gallons per hour. For waterfalls there are larger submersible pond pumps, pumping around  4000 gallons per hour. These pumps easily connect to the many existing submersible pond filter models.

As a rule of thumb, it is recommended to have a pump rate the size of your pond, so that every hour all the water in your pond is passed through this pump. If you have a 250 gallon pond, you should use a 250 GPH (gallon per hour) pump.

External pond pumps are designed to work well with most biological filters, helping nature help you, so that you have a crystal clear pond, with almost no hassle. The same rule of thumb exists for external pond pumps, as for submersible pond pumps. You should have a pump with the rate the size of your pond. So for a 2500 gallong pond, use a 2500 GPH pump.