I got tired of reading their site and couldn't even tell what kind of pump they have in that set. One hopes it is a mag drive pump for energy savings. I suspect that any reasonable quality pump would do. I have a 2400 Laguna pump that has held up perfectly for going on six years. Of course some others here have had pond much longer than I. I'm not sure if mag drives have been out long enough to have extensive longevity tests. I can say that my pump is easy to take apart for the occasional cleaning. Perhaps others are just as easy.

I hope you have noticed that your stream does a lot of cleaning for you. I have a similar length stream (without your higher drops) and have found that it does essentially all of my filtering for me. I don't have skimmer or UV or anything but the pump and so far my water has been clear.

Hi Chas045 thanks for your response.
I know that site is kind of hard to follow, but the pumps that comes with most of the kits are ShinMaywa Pumps. I don't know if they are good or not, which is why I am asking for other members opinions.

I know the stream does a lot of filtering, but it does nothing for string algae, plus I have some issues with leaves dropping into the pond and want a skimmer to keep them from building up on the bottom or clogging the pump.

Here is a link that might be useful: pumps

I hadn't heard of that company before, but that certainly doesn't disqualify them. It does appear that the 3300 gph pump and similar, are NOT mag drive pumps and I would suggest that you want a more efficient pump. To be honest, I don't have an amp meter to actually test my pump to validate that it only draws its stated power but if it is correct, it and other mag drive pumps would save lots of electricity. My 2400 gph is rated at 100 watts while your 3300 gph pump is rated 330 watts. Even with the greater flow, that's a huge energy waste.

I have never understood skimmers. I assume that most people have water lilies etc in their ponds. I do. Most plants don't sit right next to the waterfall and I suppose I could put a pump/skimmer near the falls, but that would prevent good water circulation. If I put it at the other end of the pond, then the plants are in the way and would block leaves from reaching the skimmer. My skimmer is a rake!!

I like string algae up to a point. I occasionally snag it out of the stream with gobs of crud. I call that pond cleaning. Right now, I have some down in the pond and I have snagged some of it and the fish will eat the rest.

My pond is small, so I'm not using a skimmer. I just installed a pondmaster submersible filter and 700gph pump, along with a waterfall filter with biomedia.

I've got a skimmer. My pump pulls from both skimmer box and pond bottom.
This forum suggested the external sequence series and I am very happy with my 4000! Its only 1/8 hp and is quiet.

settiano,
you said you're very happy with your 4000. Is there a name brand, is the "4000" the gph?

Jodi, I will answer for Settiano since she hasn't been on. The brand name is Sequence and 4000 is the series pump. The Sequence 4000 series comes in a number of flow rates so you can just pick what you like. Sequence Pumps are a very reliable, energy efficient and popular pump among Koi keepers.

I, too, have an external (not submersible) Sequence 750 series 4200 GPH pump. I did not like the constant cleaning involved with the in-the-pond pumps. Power usage is now much less. I also have a Savio skimmer that is the best move I made when I built the pond in 2004. Easy cleaning and very sturdy.

Dave

Thank you, settiano, cherokee and finnpond for your input. I don't want an external pump. I don't have room for it, and don't want to see or hear it. I realize submersibles use more energy, but using a skimmer with the pump inside make cleaning and removing the pump for winter (necessary up here in Minnesota) much easier.
I think I will go with the savio skimmer but still not sure about the pump.