Hoses and Fittings
When you hear the word “hoses” you probably think about the garden hoses that you use to water your garden. In the world of water gardening, the word “hose” refers to the PVC piping that carries water from the pump to the filter or to the top of the waterfall or fountain. “Fittings” refer to the connectors and clips that join hoses to pump outlets and filters.
The most commonly used hoses are made of flexible PVC material, which is is durable, flexible and easy to work with. A real benefit to PVC hose is that it glues directly into PVC fittings, which eliminates the use of barbed fittings, which can be a real hassle to fit into a hose.
When selecting your materials it’s really quite straightforward: you just need to make sure you get the right diameter of hose for the volume of water you are trying to pump. This information on hose size should be included with t
he pump information.
The harder your pump has to work (e.g. if you are pumping a long distance or up great heights) the larger diameter your hose should be. This will allow more volume of water to pass through in a given minute. Like in any kind of plumbing, you want to try to keep your installation in straight runs (no elbows or angles) as much as possible. This will help keep your water pressure up as it travels the length of the pipe.
A popular hose for ponds is black corrugated plastic PVC. It comes in a variety of diameters and can be bent in a fairly tight circle without kinking. The one inch hose fits straight on to most pond pump outlets and filter and UV unit inlets. Look for brand-name hoses and fittings that have a good reputation. From my experience I can tell you that it just isn’t worth it to take a chance with cheap products that may not hold up to wear and tear.