Which Pond Pump Do I Need? | Which Fish Pond Biofilter Should I Choose?

Many of my newsletter subscribers are curious to know about the problems and issues other fish pond owners have or are simply wanting to build up a knowledge base just in case a similar situation arises in their own ponds.

I received a very nice email from a lady by the name of Marjory Harris who lives in California in the USA.

Marjory was looking for some advice regarding fish pond pump selection and which fish pond biofilter was her best bet for reliability, effectiveness and value for money.

Marjory' email ...

"Sean, I bought the pond book (The Complete Pond Solver) from you and greatly value your advice. I am unsure what to buy for my two ponds, both of which have goldfish, some bullfrog tadpoles, and lots of plants.

I live in Southern California, it gets hot, but with low humidity. My concern is quality equipment and ease of cleaning and servicing.

For my 530-gallon pond ("large pond"), I have heard that Fishmate Gravity Filters + UV are a good choice. Which pump would work with it? or which pond pump do I need?

Currently there is no pump or waterfall in this pond, just lots of plants and goldfish (the photo is from some months ago before 4 water lilies and other plants were added).

 

Pictures of the small and large Pond

The small pond has a pump and a small waterfall coming out of a cowbell at the top of a big rock. There is no place to put an external filter so I need something to submerse in the pond. The small pond is less than half the size of the large pond , probably around 175 gallons.

Would you agree that Fishmate Gravity Filters are a good choice and have you any ideas on what to purchase? It should be easy to take care of and last a long time. I am disabled and the garden and ponds are what keep me going during bleak bedridden days.

Many thanks!

Marjory Harris"

My Response ...

"Hi Marjory,

Hope you are well and thanks for your email and for buying the book. I envy you living in sunny California. I live in the North West of England, near to Manchester. Today it is raining for a change.

Your choice of biofilter is a very good one. Fishmate Gravity Filters come as standard with Fishmate Supra pond filter media. The best in my opinion when it comes to low cost biological filter media. It is known as Alfagrog in the UK.

Water Pond Pump Selection

The first thing to look for when it comes to fish pond pump selection is the gph (gallons per hour) figure and the pond pump energy usage (electricity consumption); usually shown in watts. The lower the better when comparing like with like.

Trust me when I say that Pond pump energy usage is an extremely important factor to consider when it comes to fish pond pump selection.

What Size Pond Pump Do I Need? ...

A pump needs to turn the volume of the pond over at once every 2 hours so in your case you would need a pump that has a gallon per hour throughput of 260gph - 270gph.

So if you see a pump that says 400gph then it has been designed for use in a pond that is approx 800 gallons in volume.

The initial price of the pump falls into insignificance if you choose a pump that costs a lot to run. Remember that a pond pump needs to run 24/7/365 days so that the bacteria living in your pond filter convert ammonia and nitrite into harmless nitrate. These bacteria need lots of oxygen to do there job properly. The process is known as the Nitrogen Cycle...

Personally however I would go for a slightly more powerful pump because then you have some power in reserve should you want to power water up to a waterfall or fountain etc.

I would recommend that you buy a Laguna Powerjet 600 GPH 32 Watt Submersible Fountain Pump.

NOTE: My initial recommendation was the Hozelock Cascade Pump but it is no longer distributed in the USA and hasn't been for the past couple of years. I have since updated this site to reflect that.

Another good pump is the Oase Nautilus Pump. These pumps are more powerful and have been designed to power water to the top of a waterfall. They have higher running costs but come with an excellent 5 year warranty. Oase are a German company and the world's leading water gardening brand. They do a 400gph model.

Choice of Fish Pond Biofilter for Small Pond

The choice of fish pond biofilter model is not as important as the choice of pond biofilter media. A small filter with a great pond filter media such as Fishmate Supra Biofilter Media will easily out perform a larger filter using plastic coils as the pond biofilter media.

Without trying to get to technical it is all about the Specific Surface Area (SSA) i.e. the amount of space for nitrifying bacteria to live on that determines how effective the filter will be. Fishmate Supra biofilter media is definitely the best biofilter media if you are looking for a cheap biofilter media that works.

Having looked through my site to find a filter that would be suitable for use in your small pond I'm struggling because the supplier whose models I advertise have been designed for use in larger ponds (400 gallons plus).

Having a submersible pond filter that has been designed for a larger pond isn't a problem in itself but the pump needed to circulate the water would need to be powerful enough to carry out the job.

My advice would be to opt for a pond filter and pump combo such as the Danner Pondmaster 190. It is one of the best rated pond pump and filter combo units around.

The Danner Pondmaster 190 Submersible Pond Filter Kit is probably the best pond pump and filter combo. It includes a pump along with a biological filter and mechanical filter.

Please also take a look at these Pond Pump Articles. They will help to give you a clearer idea, hopefully.

Regards

Sean"

For those of you who are interested in knowing the correct fish stocking density or volume of your pond, please take a look at my FREE pond calculators by clicking the link .... save a copy for yourself.