Pump Question And Terminology?

[shadowspar]

im looking to get a new pump for my pond to pull water up for a waterfall. the waterfalls top is about 4ft from the water level and its a 300g pond. i found a beckett pump that says 250g per hour at 1ft height, and maximum lift if 4ft. what exactly does that mean? is the lift what i am suppose to be looking at or is the the height? they all seem to have a 1 ft height but different maximum lift. please help me!!!

 

[shadowspar]

ok i actually went out and measured how high the top of the waterfall would be from the water and its actually 2.5 ft so i should be able to use a cheaper pump so i just found another beckett pump that is 130gph at 1ft lift and lift capacity of up to 4ft.
would that 1 be better?

 

[chr15_8]

depends what filtration you've got already.

At 2.5ft head i would expect around 1/3 of what the 2 pumps you've chosen say

so the bigger one would be around 83gph and the smaller pump will be around 43gph. you might get more you might get less, i would go bigger if its too fast than it can always be turned down

 

[shadowspar]

ill probably get the big 1. also would it be wise to put like a foam piece around the pump so it doesnt drag in debree and clog? or are they made to not clog?