Alpine Corporation3100 GPH Submersible Water Pump with 33 FT Cord for Ponds, Fountains, Waterfalls & Water Circulation – Energy-Efficient, Quiet Operation, Vertical/Horizontal Use

This pump is a powerhouse, putting out a real 3100GPH. Has more power than a typical sump pump and a little smaller in size. It is so powerful that I used a dimmer switch to make a variable control for it and it works great.* I use it to power a waterfall of about 8ft height and 25ft from the small pond (about 250gal) where it is submerged. This pump is as good as pumps twice the price. As with all outdoor pumps, be sure to use a bag filter with a thick media mesh inside. Most only have a top hole like the one I have, but I just cut an outlet hole on the side near the bottom so the pump can sit upright (intake on bottom). Also of course you need to take any pump out in the winter when the water can freeze as any residual water in it will also freeze and destroy it. I highly recommend this Alpine Cyclone pump.Calculating the Flow Rate you need for a Waterfall:To calculate the flow rate you need multiply the number of feet wide your waterfall is by 1500 and that will give you the gph (gallons/hour) flow rate you need. Then find a pump that has a similar flow rate at the height of your waterfall outlet (vertical distance between the pump and the waterfall outlet. For example, if you look at the chart I attached, you will see that this pump has a flow rate of 2251gph at 5' and 1390 at 10' and using the graph I made (under the chart), you will see that at 8' the flow rate is ~1800gph. While this is a little more than what I needed, it is better to be high than low as you can always decrease the flow rate by using a smaller tubing or by regulating the power to the pump.* Hope this has helped!*I'm sure you can by a variable speed control somewhere but I just took a light dimmer switch and spliced it into a 3-prong outdoor extension cord so I can plug it into the outlet and then plug the pump into the other end. Just make sure that the switch can handle the watts. Most light dimmers have a 600W or1000W max rating but your pump's watts should be less than 75% of the dimmer's rating. For instance, looking at the attached chart you will see that this pump uses 2.3A at 120VAC which is 276W (W=VxA) so there is no problem using a 600w dimmer but if you had a PAL8000 which uses 540W, you would need to use a 1000W dimmer since it is over 75% of a 600W max dimmer (75% of 600W is 450W).

The media could not be loaded. Pump is working well. (Note: The hose size reducer only goes down to 1" so I had to add reducers to get it down to my 1/2" hose).I am pumping water 25 ft from the bottom, center of my pond to my water fall.

We built a small 1,500 gallon pond for our backyard and were referred by a friend to use the Alpine Cyclone pump. The first one we bought was fantastic and lasted almost 4 years. The amount of water this pushes through our 3-ft tall cascade is awesome, and it's really easy to set up and clean. We house our pump at the bottom of our skimmer, so it runs constantly day and night except for when we turn it off for routine cleaning.When our first pump finally died, we liked it so well that we bought a second one. Unfortunately, the impeller on the inside was defective and the pump broke down after a few months. We reached out to Alpine's customer service through their website because the pump has a warranty, and the representative Judy was great! She got our problem resolved immediately and our pond was back up and running within a matter of days. I feel like I'm writing this review just as much for the excellent customer service we received as I am for the great pond pump; it's just great to see a company back up their product the way Alpine did for us. We'll be customers for life.

We added a second and third pond over the hill from our original 1996 main pond, connecting them with a stream bed. We needed a pump that would be able to pump 25' length and at a 4' elevation. This pump did the job well, providing the perfect amount of flow to the stream.We decided to buy a second pump for a new main pond K1 media filtration system. My calculations for the water volume should have been correct between filter unit 1 and 2 using 1" input and 1-1/2" pvc output. However, the water volume supplied by the pump quickly overwhelmed unit 1 with spillover. I actually had to design a two-way splitter with 1" valves. 50% of the pond water flows through filtration and 50% gets sent directly back into the pond. No fault of the pump necessarily as my flow rate calculations may have been off.I like the way this pump is designed. Its top output port works well for our deep main pond. I am going to add a 90° silicone elbow to the original pump to help conceal the hose better. The pond is a bit too shallow to conceal the hose coming straight up.

I purchased this pump for my backyard waterfall feature. When first plugged in the pump, it would not start. I dissembled and found that the impeller was frozen and o ring disfigured, I was upset as I had just finished plumbing and filling my catch basin. I called the customer service number on the instruction sheet planning on spending a day on a phone tree, then explaining to various people what the problem was if I was ever connected! To my surprise a friendly voice answered immediately (NOT a recording!) I explained my problem briefly expecting to be transferred and was again surprised by the comment "I can help you". I walked Irene through my issue and she sent me an email to include some photos of the problem. I sent those back and a free replacement was shipped to me within two days. When I received the new pump I tested it immediately. It is powerful, quiet, comes with a long power cord and comes with various plumbing attachments. Needless to say I am impressed and highly recommend Alpine Pumps!