Pond pump guide - which one

This  pond pump guide is for general information only, you do not have to have a pump for a pond you may want it to look "natural" but what if you do want a pump, what benefit will it bring what choices are there?

Benefit

A pump is really the "heart" of any pond. It can be used not only to make it look attractive with a fountain it can also supply water to the filter 

What is available

The choice of pump is up to you, but you should take a few things into consideration.  If you want a fountain and filter will the pump be strong enough to run both? also may we suggest that you have two separate pumps, one for each," WHY" you ask well suppose your choice of fountain is noisy, (Also do not forget at night the general ambient noise level is quieter than daylight) so what may be a pleasant "tinkle" becomes a "gushing" noise at night which may upset your neighbours so if you have two pumps you can turn the fountain pump off when it gets late, or better still fit a timer.

Also if you plan on having a waterfall you will need quite a lot of water flow to make it look good.  

Another thing to be considered is how much will it cost to run? a cheap pump may be cheaper to purchase but what about its running costs a "cellar" pump is fine for its intended purpose but will it be able to run 24/7 ? also most we have seen are "power hungry" but that is ok for its intended purpose, pumping out a pool or cellar when it will not be running for that long but a pump for a filter should be running 24/7

Mains or low voltage?

Low voltage pumps still require mains but the transformer is usually some distance away from the pump enabling you to run the cable to the pump buried "as it is" under ground with no worry of electric shock should the cable be damaged. There are several capacities available but for big fountains mains operated is better.

Since this was originally written, low voltage pumps seem to be vary rare

Mains pumps are better for big displays and filters since they are capable of higher flow rates, but the cables for them should NEVER be buried directly in the ground and should always be fitted with an R.C.D

Solar pumps

If there is no electricity supply available you can use a solar pump. They mostly come in two varieties. "island" and "separate"

Island solar fountains are so called because they float on the pool with their solar cells built in pointing upward, looking like an island. As they are usually small they need a great deal of sunshine to work and where does the water go? over the solar cells eventually leaving mineral deposits on the cells obscuring them from much needed light, so they need cleaning regularly. Also the water cools the solar cell down making them even less efficient.

Separate solar fountains are just that, they have a separate solar cell or cells which can be positioned away from the pond pointing towards the sun and the pump is sitting in the pond. As most separate solar fountains have big solar cells they can run much more powerful pumps giving a better display, we have even seen some which have a "battery pack" to run the pump at night. Also because they have bigger solar cells they need much less light to start working and as the solar cells are not under water they need cleaning less often.

As with most things in this industry you get what you pay for, Island solar fountains are fairly inexpensive and if they get damaged you throw them away but separates you can replace the broken part.

I was having a "google" when i came across some solar pump reviews, I guess some one else said what I was thinking.

In general the solar waterfountain works well. But after a couple of months use, it occasionally stops workin completely and makes a buzzing sound as though a bearing had gone or had slipped. I seem to be able to re-start it by disconnecting it, shaking the pump, and then re-connecting it At the moment it is still working 3-days after I first noticed, but if it stops again I will have to ask for a replacement or my money back

Another one

only works in very bright sun and then with poor flow rate

And another

I found this unit to be utter rubbish i am afraid. It works adequately when there is strong sun directly on the solar panel but the jet dies away very quickly if there is not and any slight clouding means the unit will not function at all. Even on a glorious hot sunny day (increasingly rare) this works well for only about 3 hours (until the sun moves away from its optimal angle with the panel). Definitely not for the UK.

Yes I chose all the truthful reviews, but the last one is what I thought to be the best. If you want to see the reviews for yourself click here *

*It would seem since I wrote this article the people who supply this pump have had too many complaints about it, as if you follow the link, it now says the pump is no longer available. I wonder why.

Once you have decided on which pump how can you know for sure it will really be suitable? we have been sent this link by Fredrik Jacobson, Thanks Fredrik

 Back to pond advice

  see here