How To Select The Right Sized Pump

• A pump may have an electrical power rating in amps or watts. However, you need to look at the gallons of water per hour a pump will put out in relation to the height, called the head.
• You’ll need to find out the volume of your water feature to figure out which pump you need. You can do this mathematically or by taking a meter read after you’ve dug and lined your pit. Take a water meter reading right before you fill your pond or pool. Then fill up your water feature, and take another reading. You should have a figure in cubic feet. Take the amount of water used and multiply it by 7.48 for the volume.
• Determine the pump size you need by using this rule of thumb: select a pump that can move out half the volume of the water feature in a half an hour’s time. For a 200 gallon pond, you’ll need a pump that can deliver 100 gallons per hour.
• Remember that water features with moving streams and waterfalls require more power because the water needs to head uphill and adjust your needs accordingly.