SettingsSettings for this calculationUS
The total water volume held in the fountain or water feature basin.
Include all water in the recirculating system's basin/reservoir, not just the visible pool at the surface — include any hidden sump or reservoir tank.
How many hours the pump should take to circulate the full basin volume once.
Shorter turnover times produce more active water movement and better filtration/clarity, but require a larger, more powerful (and more expensive to run) pump.
Required pump flow rate
11 gal/min
Target turnover time varies by water feature type and desired visual effect (a display fountain jet may need a much higher instantaneous flow than this average turnover rate suggests) — this is a baseline recirculation sizing check, not a substitute for the fountain nozzle/jet manufacturer's specific flow and pressure requirements.
- Flow rate
- 660 gal/hr
They open the calculator with your figures already in it
Decorative Water Feature Pump Flow & Turnover Calculator: 11 gal/min — shown in imperial, US market. The link sets both, so the result they see is the one on your screen.
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How this was calculated
Formula source(s)
- Required pump flow rate = Basin Volume ÷ Target Turnover Time — the standard method for sizing a recirculating pump for a fountain, pond, or decorative water feature, analogous to pool/spa turnover-rate sizing.
Inputs used
- Basin/Water Feature Volume
- 1320 gal
- Target Turnover Time (Hours)
- 2
Intermediate steps
- Flow rate
- 660 gal/hr
Confidence note: Target turnover time varies by water feature type and desired visual effect (a display fountain jet may need a much higher instantaneous flow than this average turnover rate suggests) — this is a baseline recirculation sizing check, not a substitute for the fountain nozzle/jet manufacturer's specific flow and pressure requirements.
What this calculation does not cover
- Flow is only half of a pump selection, and head is the half never asked for. A pump's headline flow is its output at zero lift, and it falls away as water is pushed higher and through more pipe, fittings and filter — so a pump advertised at the rate shown here can deliver a fraction of it once it is lifting into a raised bowl through a long, undersized line. Add the static lift to the friction losses and read the flow off the pump's curve at that total head.
- The volume being turned over is not the volume that has to be in the basin. A feature loses water continuously to evaporation and to wind carrying spray off the display, and the reserve that keeps the pump submerged between top-ups is a separate quantity from the turnover volume. A pump that gulps air because the sump has dropped an inch is the most common way a fountain fails, and it usually takes the pump with it.
- Turnover only buys clarity if something is filtering. This is the rate at which water passes the pump, not a rate any filter can handle — push more through a filter than it is rated for and debris goes straight past it while the head loss climbs. On a filtered feature it is often the filter's rated flow, not the turnover target, that caps the pump.
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This result is a specification — 11 gal/min — not a quantity. Put the thing it sizes into your project: how many, what you call it, and your supplier’s price.
Computed in your browser — nothing you enter is uploaded. Presented in US customary units and US trade terminology. Where a formula follows a published standard, that standard and its edition are cited beside it on this page; where none governs, the page says so. Local amendments override model codes — verify against the code in force where you build.
Sources checked 2026-09-06 · in the site-wide review of 2026-09-06 · v1.0.1
Regulatory standards & verification citations1
- Required pump flow rate = Basin Volume ÷ Target Turnover Time — the standard method for sizing a recirculating pump for a fountain, pond, or decorative water feature, analogous to pool/spa turnover-rate sizing.
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