Years ago the prescribed flow rate of a chosen Pond Pump was to be able to circulate the pond at least once every two hours. More on Sizing a Pond Pump & Waterfall Pump At 'Max Head' a Pump only produces a thin stream or even drops of water (depending on Pump size). Any horizontal/diagonal flow is then measured by its length and 1' of 'Head' added per 10' of horizontal/diagonal distance. The 'Head' is measured straight up from the water level of the pond. The top height the pump can lift the water up to is called 'Maximum Head' or 'Max Head'. Pond Pumps are rated by the gallons per hour (gph) or per minute (gpm) produced at various heights. How Pond Pumps and Waterfall Pumps are Sized and Maximum HeadĪnother consideration is the size of the Pond Pump needed to power the water feature of the Pond. Hybrid pond pumps utilize magnetic technology with a cupped impeller, therefore, delivering large volumes of water efficiently at low, medium, and semi-high head heights. Direct Drive pumpsare better able to lift water to higher elevations and pump very large volumes, but their energy efficiency tends to be lower. Recently, some manufacturer's have designed a new breed of 'hybrid' Pond Pumps that utilize the best of the magnet and direct drive to improve both lift and energy efficiency. Magnetic drive Pond Pumpsare often a good choice because they are energy efficient, compact and durable - but they are not very good at lifting higher than 4 or 5 feet. See below for previously published articles on this subject. Occasionally, depending on the type of filter being used, the pump needed for a waterfall is too large for the pond filter and a second smaller pump may be needed to power the pond filter separately. In most cases, if a pump is sized for a waterfall it will also be strong enough to circulate the water at a rate that keeps the pond clean. This is defined as 'max head' or 'total dynamic head' and is explained in detail below.

Selecting a Waterfall Pump is based on not only the flow rate, but consideration must be given to the pump strength needed to deliver the flow rate to the elevation needed.Įxample: if the waterfall is 3 feet above the pond surface (measured straight up), and there are 20 feet of tubing in the line, then, the pump will need to deliver the prescribed flow rate at 5 feet.ġ foot of height has to be added to the elevation of the waterfall for every 10 feet of tubing that is in the system.These numbers can be adjusted for any waterfall size. For a gentler Waterfall, use a 900-1800 gallon per hour Pump and for a more aggressive flow use a 2400-3600 gph Pump. For example: if the Waterfall is 18 inches wide, an 1800 gallon per hour pump is suited nicely.Select a less powerful Pond Pump for gentle waterfalls and for aggressive waterfalls use a more powerful pond pump. A good rule of thumb is to choose a Waterfall Pump that moves 100 gallons per hour for every inch of Waterfall width.Sizing a pump for a waterfall involves determining the width the waterfall is, how high up from the pond surface the waterfall starts, and how many feet of tubing will be between the waterfall and pond pump.A Pump for powering a Waterfall and/or Waterfall Filter as well as circulating the Pond adequately: Calculate pond volume using the following equation: length x width x depth x 7.5 = gallons. If the pump will be chosen to circulate pond water only, then choose a pump that circulates the pond volume at least once per hour.

Pond waterfall