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Pond Pumps
Pond pumps are extremely important for water garden ponds unless they do not have aquatic life, waterfalls or fountains. Pond pumps help in creating water movement that is essential for the healthy existence of the water garden. By circulating water, pond pumps also provide an easy way of aerating the pond water constantly providing pond life with much needed oxygen supply. Pond pumps can also be used to run pond filters, create waterfalls and pond fountains.
Things to Consider while Buying a Pond Pump
Given below are a few important factors that you need to consider before purchasing a pond pump:
Pump Flow Rate
Pump flow rate is the total volume of water a pump can circulate in a given period of time. Flow rates are expressed in gallons as GPH (gallons per hour) or GPM (gallons per minute).
The flow rate that you need is decided based on the gallons of water you intend to circulate in an hour. Generally the flow rate should be such that it is able to circulate your entire pond water in a maximum of two hours. So in-case your pond has 1000 gallons of water, you would need a flow rate of 500 GPH.
Maximum height the unit will pump
The second important factor that you got to consider while buying your pond pump is the 'head height' or simply put the maximum pumping height of the pump. This pumping height should be such that it is able to push the required gallons of water per hour from a height that you would be requiring. For instance, if your pond has 1000 gallons of water and is four feet deep, you will require a pump with a higher 'head height' or 'lift' as compared to a pond having 1000 gallons of water and two feet depth.
So before you set out to purchase a pump, make sure to collect information about the GPH you would be requiring and the maximum height at which the pump will have to displace water.
Operational Expense of the Pump
The best way to save power is to go for submersible pumps with the exact requirement in terms of GPH and head height. You can also decide to go for low voltage electric pond pumps in order to reduce electric shock accidents.
The cost of operating your garden pump can be calculated using the simple formulae given below:
Maximum Operating Cost of the Pump = Amps x Volts/1000 x Cost per Kilowatt Hour x 24 x 31 days
To get detailed explanation on how to estimate the type of pump you should be using, you can refer this informative five part article.
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