How The Right Waterfall Pond Pump Can Save You Money ... Avoid Sump Pumps
Save On Electricity ... Backyard Pond Waterfall Pumps Need A Powerful Pump
Backyard Pond Waterfalls and other water features require large volumes of pond water to be pumped to them, resulting in fairly high electricity costs, unless you choose the right pond waterfall pump. Under no circumstances use a sump pump. This will be explained later in this article.
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A backyard waterfall pump is not the same as your average submersible fish pond pump because they are a lot more powerful. A good waterfall pump will run 24/7 without incurring high energy consumption ... beware however that a bad choice will end up costing you an arm and a leg to operate.
From a practical running point of view pond waterfall pumps operate in much the same way as submersible pond pumps and external centrifugal pumps (powerful pumps used for large Koi ponds). You will need to understand and determine the waterfall pump head, as described in other articles on this site. Thankfully many modern water fall pumps do not contain sponges, previously used to trap debris from entering the internal workings of the pump. This means that you can achieve higher water flow rates without as much pump flow restriction.
When deciding which waterfall pump to choose you will need to be aware of the following:
Calculate the width and height of the waterfall.
For every inch of waterfall lip width, you need to allow for 50 gallons of pond water flow over that lip. If your waterfall has more than one lip, then you need to combine the lip widths together to get a total.
Tip! Should your chosen waterfall pump be under powered you can always try the following trick: place small pebbles close to the waterfall overflow. This reduces the overall lip width. You may find this How to calculate flow rate for waterfall pumps article helpful ...
Another good idea is to use two pumps in your backyard pond; one to supply oxygenated water to the biological pond filter and another one to power water to the top of the waterfall or water feature. This will allow you to switch off the waterfall pump when no longer needed without having to switch off the pump supplying your biofilter. Remember that a fish pond pump supplying the biofilter needs to run 24/7 ... read Why your pond pump must run 24/7 for a better understanding of why this is the case ...
By utilizing a separate waterfall pump and pond biofilter pump you will save a considerable amount of electricity costs over the length of a year. Another advantage is that you have also got a spare pond pump in case of an emergency ...
Save Money And Do Not Use A Sump Pump As A Waterfall Pump ...
Some Koi pond keepers use a sump pump, also known as a basement pump as a means to power water to the top of a waterfall. While a sump pump certainly can generate the relevant power and flow rate required it is at a cost ...
Sump pumps have the following disadvantages:
Sump pumps will leave you with a large hole in your pocket! They are expensive to run in terms of electricity costs.
They are extremely noisy and will not only upset your neighbors but will also ruin the ambience of your pond.
Sump pumps are definitely over kill for the majority of small to medium sized backyard ponds. They are also difficult to install compared with your average waterfall pump or submergible garden pond pump.
Instead of using a sump pump or swimming pool pump as a means to power your waterfall why not consider one of the industry recognized, energy efficient waterfall pond pumps models reviewed on this site ...
Click here for unbeatable money saving offers on USA Pond Supplies and Pond Keeping Equipment in the UK, Guaranteed.
