It can be a daunting and confusing task choosing good pond pumps due to the variety of manufacturers, styles and sizes available. This is a breakdown of the various pumps available and how they are generally used.

Fountain pumps are the most common pumps available. They are designed to give a fountain effect to the centre of your water feature, pond or pool. Fountain pumps come complete with variety of jet and fountain jet extensions.

Fountain Pump Hint: Avoid using a fountain pond pump to power a filtration system; this will lead to issues with water clarity.

Filter pond pumps can pump free floating debris from the pool and then pass it to a filter system (solids handling). This keeps the pond clear and free of debris. Most of these pumps can pump particles such as plant matter, leaves, pebbles, blanket weed, fish waste up to 8mm in diameter.

The maintenance of these pumps can be reduced to a minimum due to this solids handling capability as they won’t block up often.

Filter Pump Hint: If you want a fountain and filter system in your pond then add a fountain pump and a filter pump. The filter pump will remove the free floating debris to a filter , therefore the fountain pump shouldn’t block up.

Garden water features can be all kinds of shapes, sizes and designs including custom made sculptures to a simple converted watering can. Feature pumps usually have a high pumping pressure while being small in design so are ideal pumps for water features. These are hardy pond pumps and can be positioned dry or in shallow waters.

Water Feature Pump Tip: The pipe size you run the water through to the top of your water feature will have a deciding factor on which size pump to use. The wider the pipe the less restriction on the pumps flow rates. Narrow tubing will require a larger pump which will cost more.