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Pond Pumps and Aerators:
Pond pumps Aeratorsand are invaluable for moving water to accessories that clean, filter, or aerate these waters. They are typically used only in lined ponds as earthen bottoms would quickly clog the pump in take. New this year we are also offering small Alita Air Pumps suitable for adding aeration to a pond without adding a waterfall or fountain. For aerating earthen ponds see pond aerators. For help with selecting a pond pumps, what kind to get, the advantages of each type, how to figure out how much electric they will need, etc.: Scroll below the product listings.
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Pond pumps are used to:
Deliver water to the bio filter
Supply a waterfall
Supply a stream
Supply a fountain
Supply a skimmer
How to pick a pump?
Choosing the right pond pump depends on:
Which of the above uses are planned?
Where do you want the pump located: in or out of the pond?
Submersibles vs Centrifugals:
Submersible pond pumps sit on the bottom of the pond and pump water via visible piping up out of the pond to the filter, waterfall or stream.
We offer submersible pumps in sizes from 500 to 5500 GPH.
Submersible Pond Pumps are typically:
less expensive to buy,
much easier to install,
but are less efficient,
require electricity in the pond and
have a shorter life expectancy than centrifugal pumps.
If you already have a pond up to about 4000 gallons and you just want a plop and go pump, get a submersible.
Centrifugal Pumps are:
installed outside of the pond,
have a longer life span,
are more efficient (cheaper)to operate,
have no electricity in the water,
are available in larger more powerful sizes,
but usually require under pond plumbing,
are trickier to install and are more expensive to buy.
How much water you want to pump?
The amount of water you want to pump depends on the size and water requirements of the device you are powering.
For a filter, check the documentation with the unit, it will tell you the range of how much water is needed and can be accommodated.
In general, for koi and goldfish ponds, we recommend that you circulate your pond's water once each 1/2 hour to hour. This will assure that you have enough water movement to remove particulates and solids from your pond for retention in your filtration system.
Therefore, if you have a 3000 gallon pond, you will want to pump at least 3000 to 6000 gallons per hour. It will take a pump rated at considerably more than that to move that much water. (See static head and total head losses). Suffice it to say here that a pump rated at 3000 gallons is not big enough.
For really large ponds of 10,000 gallons or more, it may be necessary to circulate your water less often. Once you have determined the desired flow rate, we suggest that you consider reaching that flow with two or more pumps instead of one, for reliability and insurance reasons
What kind of electric service you have available?
Where practical, select a pump which operates at the voltage available at the location where it will be installed, usually 115 volts.
For ease of installation, select a pump which is wired for 115 volts with a cord ready to plug into an outlet.
Some larger pumps use single phase 230volts and these will use only half of the amperage as a similar pump with 115 volts. This however does not save electric costs.
How much does it cost to run a pump?
Electric is charged based wattage usage. And, wattage is volts X amps. So, using 4 amps at 115 volts costs the same as using 2amps at 230vlots.
GPA is a term often quoted to demonstrate electrical efficiency of a pump and to compare electric usage between different pumps. This term refers to Gallons Per Amp. It measures how many gallons of water the pump can pump for each amp of electric power used, at the same voltage. (If comparing a 115 volt pump to a 230v pump, just double the amps on pumps wired for 230).
When picking a pump, consider that a low speed, lowhead pump (1725 rpm vs 3450 rpm) will use less electricity than a high speed, high head, high pressure one. And, for large ponds, two smaller pumps will use less electricity than one large one, even though their flow is the same.
Actual electrical consumption costs are calculated by multiplying voltage by ampage, by the cost per kilowatt.
Example: a typical ¼ hp 115 volt pump using 4 amps =115 x 4 = 460 watts / hour x 1/1000 watts per kilo watt hour x (local electric rate, let’s assume $.12/kilowatt hour) x 24 hr/day x 30 days per month = monthly electrical costs of $39.74 per month of 24/7 operation.
NOTE: Some people think that they can save energy by wiring their pumps up to 230 volts since their amps are reduced by one half. Since actual energy consumption is based on kilowatt hours, and that is calculated by volts x amps, then when you double your volts to 230 volts, and thus decrease your amps by half, you still wind up with the same kilowatts and thus the same electrical bill.
The only way to decrease your costs is to decrease the amps at 115 volts as we have done with our high efficiency Superfalls pumps!
How high and how far do you have to pump the water?
What is static head?
Static head height is measured from the surface of the pond, to the height where the water is to be pumped to. In other words, even if your pump draws from the bottom of your pond, the water is only being moved a vertical distance from the surface of the pond to the new level where discharged.
There may be some additional head losses due to long horizontal runs, elbows, T's, etc. We recommend that you attempt to minimize the height, distance, and turns, elbows, etc. that your pump must move the water through.
A waterfall 10 ft high is a thing of beauty but has a higher static head and therefore will require a more powerful, more expensive to buy, more expensive to operate pump, than a 2 to 4 foot waterfall.
Our low head centrifugal pumps are good to use for heads up to 10 feet.
Our medium head centrifugal pumps are good to use for heads over 10 feet.
What are ‘head losses’ and how do you calculate them?
The total head losses are equal to the combination of the static head height (elevation in feet that the water must be pumped to above the pond's surface), and the line and hardware head losses (additional discharge pressure required of the pump to overcome long piping losses, or pressure filter losses, etc).
Together these will decide the pressure range that the pump must be able to put out, .ie. low head, medium head or high head. (keep in mind that the annual cost of operating a medium head or high head pump will greatly exceed it's initial purchase cost).
A low head pump operates best when the total head losses are less than 6-7 ft. If you are only pumping water from your pond to a filter or waterfall which is 2-4 foot above the surface of the pond, and your piping runs are not to long, are 2" or greater in diameter, you should plan on using a low head pump.
If your system requires a pump which can overcome 10 or more feet of total head losses, plan on using a medium head pump.
Note: Head losses may be reduced by use of :
larger diameter pipe (2-3"),
shorter lengths
and less turns in the pipe,
avoiding unnecessary heights, fittings, and any pressure filters.
Use only pumps with 2" inlets and outlets.
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