Rio Plus Pumps; For Aquarium, Fountains, Sump

Rio (Taam) has revamped their design of the Rio Powerhead Water Pump line for Aquariums, Fountains and small Ponds.
This new update is why the line now goes by the name of "Rio Plus Pumps".

While Rio was/is well established as the innovator of this type of powerful but small submersible water pump that can also be used in many applications including as a power head (for Sponge Filters or undergravel filters), the Rio line of pump had a few minor flaws in their impeller design that had allowed other submersible pumps to take their "crown"

However these problems have been corrected (as well as other improvements) with a very durable impeller that is second to none in their class of submersible aquarium, fountain and sump pumps. In fact the revamped Rio Plus Pumps are clearly the best pump in their class as of this articles posting.

If you are in need of a good priced/value submersible pump, especially with the excellent Via Aqua line impossible to obtain for "political" (as of this articles posting), the Taam Rio Plus line of pumps is worth a look!

Rio HF Pumps

Another excellent/unique and patented pump is the Rio HF (High Flow) Pump by Taam

Rio Pumps (by Taam of California) have been an industry standard for some time now with many innovative products.

While in my experience and testing their sister company (Via Aqua/Commodity Axis of California) has passed up the basic Rio Pumps in price, reliability & innovation, the newer HF line of Rio Pumps is second to no other product in terms of innovation with these patented high flow/ pressure water pumps that are designed specifically for the high flow needs of a deep aquarium sump or pond that has to lift greater distances to water features.
• Vortex Rotor Blade
• High Flow Rate, especially for deep/high water features
• More Gallons flow per watt power
• Energy efficient design
• Rare Earth Magnet
• Low heat emittance
• Titanium Shaft with Ceramic Bearing
• Multi Purpose; Ideal for high flow, high pressure Salt/Freshwater/Pond
• Heavy duty three prong grounded cord
• Excellent for use in pond applications where more lift is required or more devices such as UV Sterilizers are added in-line (as a side note, please make sure you change your UV Bulb every six months in warm climate ponds or annually in cooler climate ponds so as to keep your UV Sterilizer functioning properly)

See: Rio High Flow Pumps

ReSun Pump

One of the newer generation in Aquarium or Pond power head pumps is the ReSun. The ReSun follows the design of the Via Aqua & Rio (which are still an industry leaders), but goes one further. The ReSun power head pumps have a stainless steel coating on the impellers of their # 2 and larger pumps along with the ceramic shaft. The impeller housing is even stronger than the Via Aqua, which lessens the chance over heating melt down in the housing. I have been in this industry many years (decades) and have used most of the pumps in real world applications in my service business.
The Hagen power heads were king in the 1980s, the Rio improved on the Hagen by a wide margin, and then the Via Aqua (same designer as the Rio) improved on the Rio with a more durable impeller and general design than the Rio. Now this designer has stepped it up one more notch with the ReSun.

I will note that The King 5 & 6 have few equals in my opinion for large pumps (1500 gph +) for the quality, head pressure and the price, although the Via Aqua 8000 does compare favorably with the King 6 with a lower price and comparable gallons per hour of 2200, hour the ReSun 5 has better head pressure (which means it will retain a higher gph for applications requiring more “uphill” pump or more devices in-line).

Via Aqua Pump

Via Aqua is still a great pump that I would recommend and has these features:

Starting with the Via Aqua Economy Pumps Series (VA 80, 305), they are an economical sump, fountain, pond, or aquarium pump. Their design is both simple and efficient.
They compare with most water pumps currently available (Hagen Aqua Clear, Becket, etc.) except their price is a better value.

We have used this series on our aquarium and pond maintenance route for years now and find them far more durable than most of their competition (Laguna, Pond Masters), Not that the others are poor quality pumps, we have had better results with Via Aqua. The Powerhead series has a self cleaning-heavy duty impeller head, and a ceramic shaft for less heat production and a longer life.


The Powerhead series (as with their sister Rio Plus Pumps)also come with multiple attachments for many different applications such as: Under gravel filter powerhead, Internal circulation pump, sump pump for reef tanks, in-line pump for cooling applications. In-line pump for pond waterfall and circulation applications, and many other applications.