How To Choose A Fountain Pump
A small fountain pump is used in pond environments where generally a spray effect only is required.
The action of sprinkling water into fine droplets allows a lot of oxygen to be captured from the air. The fountain pump is designed to generate lots of fountains droplets to aid this process.
A fountain pump tends to be a smaller version of a pond pump although there are powerful pond fountain pumps available.
Typical small fountain pump flow rates are 2000 litres per hour (say 500 gph). Running cost of a small fountain pump should be very low. Take a look above at the types of spray patterns available using Oase pond fountain pumps …
In a small garden fish pond up to about 1000 litres (250 gallons) with no waterfall then a fountain pump is an excellent choices. A small fountain pump supplied with a range of fittings and fountain heads does a basic job of oxygenating a small pond. It also adds attraction and sound. A small fountain pump is low cost and uses little power.
Where one or two goldfish are kept in a small pond then a small fountain pump will provide all the oxygen required by the inhabitants.
A disadvantage of a small fountain pump is the need to frequently clean the sponges of the fountain pump.
Inquire Here
Even when a small fountain pump is placed away from the pond bottom this sponge blocks very quickly even in an apparently clean pond. Despite this always place the fountain pump off the bottom of the pond by placing on top of a brick for example.
Very little is required in terms of specifying a correct fountain pump in situations where no waterfall is required. The basic (not cast in stone) requirement of a small fountain pump is that the pond volume should pumped around the circuit every 2 hours – ie the flow rate should be equal to half the pond’s volume every hour.
Oase pump range for a fountain is excellent.
The table below will give an indication of the water flow through different sized fountain pump nozzles to assist fountain pump selection – but please treat this with caution because not all nozzles are the same.
A fountain water pump of the foaming type can add a great deal of oxygen to the pond water. These however generally need larger and more powerful fountain water pumps.
Better Suggestion
If all you want is a simple water fountain pump then choose a pump that comes complete with the water fountain included The nozzles shown in the picture above are fountain pump nozzles that come with some of the Oase fountain pump ranges such as the Nautilus fountain pump series, and/or the Aquarius fountain pumps.
Types of fountain pump nozzles
Different water fountain pump manufacturers use different names for the fountains produced … names like foam jets, tulip jets, umbrella jets and so on. Choose the water fountain jet appearance you like when you buy the fountain pump. To create high fountains you need more powerful fountain pumps and this is why it is always best to buy a fountain pump that comes with a range of fountains included in the price. You’ll then know that these fountain pumps will produce the desired fountain effect.
If you choose a water fountain pump with high jets make sure that your pond width is enough to prevent all the water being blown away on a windy day.
As examples the Nautilus water fountain pump series from Oase can produce 3 tier water fountains up to 4ft high (115 cm) and with a fountain diameter of almost 2 feet (55cm).
The Aquarius pond and fountain pump series also made by Oase produce water fountains up to 4 feet high (120cm) and 3 feet diamter(100cm).
If you find that your fountain pump is a bit too strong divert some water back into pond by adjusting the valve that comes attached with most good fountain pumps.