How to Use Pond Pumps to Create Stand-Out Water Features

Ready to take your backyard pond to the next level? The most important tool you’ll need is a pond pump. Pond pumps power all sorts of water features like:

• Streams
• Waterfalls
• Fountains
• Spitters

But with dozens of pumps to choose from, how can you know which is best for your feature? While our pond supplies experts can help you find the right pump for your pond, you can get a good idea of what range you’ll be looking at by taking the following steps.

• Run a standard garden hose through your feature. The average 5/8” garden hose pumps between 850 and 900 gallons per hour (GPH). Running the hose through your feature will give you a good baseline to determine how much more or less power your pump will need to provide.

• Factor in head height. When browsing water pumps, you’ll notice GPH listings for different head heights. Head height refers to the number of feet of pipe the pump has to push water through. In head height, every vertical foot equals one foot, while every 10 horizontal feet equals one foot. So a pump that is located 20 feet from the feature and needs to push water four feet to the surface has a head height of six feet.

• Understand the feature. Most manufactured features like fountains and spitters list GPH recommendations. If you’re running water over a ledge to create a waterfall, however, the power depends on your taste. Most experts recommend pumping 100 GPH over every four inches of ledge for a trickle, two inches of ledge for medium flow and one inch of ledge for a dramatic effect.

Thinking about using a pump to liven up your pond this summer? Call one of our pond experts at (866) 766-3548 to narrow down your options.