Garden Pond Pumps: How to Choose The Best Pump for your Pond

Pond pumps are vital for the wellbeing and health of your garden pond. That’s why we’ve put together this fully comprehensive guide to answer all those frequently asked questions you might have regarding pond pumps and whether you need one.

From how they work to helping you choose the best type for your pond, this guide should tell you everything you need to know!

What Does A Pond Pump Do?

Pond pumps are designed to move, circulate and flow water around your pond; this helps push it through your filter system, to oxygenate the water and to avoid any issues that may arise from stagnant water. 

Natural pools will have a stream of water, whereas your garden pond does not – meaning they can end up being stagnant and unhealthy. A pond pump simulates this flow of water to avoid any issues for your garden pond, disturbing the water and introducing more oxygen.

What Are The Benefits Of Having A Garden Pond Pump?

If you know that some pond plants add oxygen to your pond, then you may be wondering: do I need a pond pump if I have pond plants? The answer is still yes. Compared to the movement of water, the pond pump creates, pond plants provide a reduced amount of oxygen. 

Other benefits of installing a pond pump include:

• Pond pumps help to balance your pond’s eco-balance.
• Pushes water through your pond’s filter system to help keep the water clean and well-balanced.
• Infuses the water with additional oxygen that will keep the livestock thriving.

How To Choose A Pond Pump

The options of pond pumps can seem overwhelming so you might be wondering where to start on choosing the right pump for your garden pond. Different factors such as the size of your pond, whether you have water features and the filter system you have can have an effect on the pond pump you might need.

Submersible Pond Pump

Most pond pumps are submersible pond pumps which means they work from within the pond water rather than outside of it. Submersible pond pumps are ideal for smaller ponds – making them a practical choice for your garden pond.

Out of sight and aesthetically pleasing, the submersible pond offers a quieter form of pond pump that can effectively circulate the water of a small pond. Another significant advantage of the submersible pond pump is that it is easily installed, simply plug it in and pop it into the water.

External Pond Pump

External pond pumps, as we are sure you’ve guessed, sit outside of the pond’s water. Visible at all times and installed away from the water, external pond pumps can be less hassle to maintain than submersible as they are both easier and dryer to see if you have any problems.

Better for larger ponds, the external pond pump is designed to push large amounts of water which is why they often have more expensive upfront costs than the submersible options. 

What Kind of Pond Pump Do I Need?

Filter Pump

The main pond pump you’ll need is a filter pump – this is the pond pump that will drive the pond water through the filter system 24/7. These pond pumps can handle solid waste and debris to make sure it gets filtered out of the water and can deal with running at all times. 

As the filter pump does work a lot to get the water through the filter system, it can come with some high running costs that you may need to consider. 

Combined Pond Pump and Filter

Helping to eliminate the need for multiple devices, the combined pond pump and filter provides all the goodness of both in one machine. Perfect for smaller ponds, these combined pumps and filters can provide a convenient pump option.

Fountain Pump

Fountain pumps help to push pond water into two directions; this can be to a filter and a fountain feature. However, they do have their downfalls! The holes within the device don’t allow solid pieces of debris to flow through them, and this can create blockages, which will eventually stop the pump from working effectively.

Water Feature Pump

Water features also require water to be circulated through them. Water feature pumps can only handle a small amount of water and, as a water feature is not expected to have much waste within it, they also cannot help in filtering out solids from the water.

What Size Pond Pump Do I Need?

Generally speaking, those with smaller ponds are better off looking at submersible pond pump choices, whilst those with larger ponds should be considering external pond pumps. Now you know what type of pond pump how do you know what size?

Luckily, we’ve already helped you with this step too! Our blog, What Size Pump Do I Need? Helps to break down the maths side of choosing your pond pump to make sure you choose a pond pump big enough to handle the full capacity of your garden pond.

Hopefully, we’ve helped answer some of your questions regarding all the pond pump options available to you when you’re setting up your pond. Make sure to take a good look at the full range of pond pumps we have on offer here at Pond Planet.