Water Movement

Waterfall Pumps

Once you have your waterfall you’ll need a pump to drive it. This will be a submersible pump that sits in the bottom of the pond, ideally as far from the waterfall as possible. If you do this then you will ensure maximum movement of the pond water and avoid any still patches where the water can go stagnant.

If you are going to filter your pond to keep it clean then you should buy a pump that will move a proportion of the total pond volume in a given period ( see our section on choosing a pump and filter for more information).

If you are not planning to filter your pond then you’ll just need a pump that will give you a big enough waterfall.

The size of pond pump that you need for a given waterfall varies with a few factors:

• The difference in height between the top of the pond and the top of the waterfall (sometimes called the head or operating head)
• The distance that the water will have to travel in the hose
• The width of the waterfall at its widest point

Most pumps will display information about their flow rate at a given head, usually 1 metre. If your waterfall is no higher than a metre then use these figures. If it is higher then you need to look closely at the pump’s flow rate at the height you are planning.

These will vary wildly; two pumps from different manufacturers which are both called ‘2000’ for example may produce totally different amounts of water at 1 metre and different again at 2 metres.

Here is a performance graph for two pumps rated as 2000

Pump A produces 2000 litres per hour (lph) at a head of zero metres, so that assumes no height change. For the same height, pump B only produces 1500 lph.

As the head height increases, the performance of each pump gets lower until pump A stops producing anything at around 1 metre of head. Pump B, on the other hand, is still pumping about a 1000 lph at that height.

So choosing a pond pump is not just about the model number, you need to find out a little more. We try to put as much product information as possible on our website, but if you need any more help don't hesitate to give us a call on 01904 698800. We will be glad to advise you.

Click here to buy a pond pump.

Now that you know more about waterfall pumps, why not take a look at one of our other guides:
Waterfalls
Fountains
Electrical supply to the pond
Pond Filters
Friendly Bacteria
Box Filters vs. Pressurised Filters
Connecting the Pond Pump and Pond Filter
What size of pond pump and filter do I need to buy?
Filter Maintenance
Adding fish to the pond

Or click here to see a list of all our pond building guides