Mary:

The reason you are not getting a response is that most of us who have tried have discovered solar pumps are not good for much.

If you want to filter your pond, set up a skippy and a submersible pump that can pump 50% to 200% of your pond volume per hour. Low if you have few fish, high if you have many.

Are people using solar collectors that are too small to supply enough power? Pumps too small? Is this the problem with solar?

If you buy something that is called a solar pump it will be a toy. If you want to go solar you need to buy a solar battery generating system. You can find them at RV supply places. You will also need to buy abattery. After you have the proper system to keep a 12 volt automobile battery charged (a two battery system would be better because you can have one charging and one powering the pump at all times.) then you can look for a 12 volt pump. They are available in marine supply places as sump pumps or live bait circulating pumps.

Hi
Here is my experience with solar pumps. Quit working at night ,cloudy, rain, shade, and if the screen got dirty.
Mostly it just didn't work.lol. Ones powerful enough to work well need storage banks and obviously must be located in full sun. These tend to be expensive .
For a table fountain even a small waterfall with limited lift and low flow.maybe
If you want the pump for usual uses.filters lifts , go with standard electric.
The only advantage to solar is no connections as the cost of running a comparable electric pump is negligible.
maybe somebody with good experiences will chime in??? lol gary

Swiss Apls Tx has a good response to this question. Try this link:

Here is a link that might be useful: Solar Pump Question

Thank you so much! This link was extremely helpful. I do appreciate you taking the time to help me with my question!
take care,
MaryMargaret

The technology and marketing for solar pump has changed quite a lot along with the time passing by. The cost for solar panels has dropped significantly since the year of 2012.
Chinese solar panel manufacturers are accused of dumping their products, so that USA has imposed higher tariff on Chinese solar panel import, while the sanction does not affect the solar pump import since solar pump is more of a pump than a solar panel.
The good side of this matter is that the solar pump manufacturer in China can purchase much cheaper solar panel due to the over productivity of Chinese solar panels, therefore the Chinese solar pump manufacturer can sell their solar pump at a much favorable price.

We are a manufacturer in China specializing in solar pond/fountain pump kits for water feature, waterfall, fountain and drip irrigation, solar pond air pump kits for pond oxygenation, filters for pond water filtration and associated battery backups.
Compared with mains power, solar power is environmentally friendly, easier to install and has no operating cost, but perhaps even more importantly, it is much safer for kids.
We have exported our products world wide for more than nine years, mostly to Europe, USA and Australia etc. and established a good reputation. Moreover, all of our products are CE and RoHS certified.
If you are interested in our products, we could be your trustworthy supplier.
To know more about our company and our products, please come to our web site at http://www.solarever.com.
If you need any help, Please contact Mr. Larry Li at larry@solarever.com.
Thank you very much for your time.

Best Regards,
Larry Li,
Hangzhou Gene Solar Industries Co., Ltd.
T: +86 0571 85020097-801 : F: +86 0571 85020097-806
E: larry@solarever.com
W: http://www.solarever.com

Here is a link that might be useful: Hangzhou Gene Solar