How To Maintain A Pond - Water Loss And Water Flow Problems

Evaporation is caused by the water in your pond turning into vapor. The amount of water loss due to evaporation varies by the area of the country and the season. Ponds in areas with moderate temperatures can generally expect to see a couple inches of water loss per week during the spring and summer, if there is no rainfall.

The size of your waterfall and stream will also affect water loss due to evaporation. A small pond with a waterfall and a long stream may lose a couple of inches or more every day - splashing and moving water has greater exposure to evaporation than the still water in the pond itself. This is normal. If your pond is losing water faster than that, you just may have a leak.

Waterfall and stream loss As the ground around the stream or waterfall settles, you may notice low spots that cause water to escape over the edge of the liner. Look for muddy areas around the edge of your pond, and if you find a low spot, simply lift the liner up and push some soil under it to raise the edge. Water may also be splashing out at your waterfall. To fix a splash loss, adjust a few of the rocks under and around your waterfall to contain or redirect the splash and stop the loss.

If you've checked around the edge of your pond, stream and waterfall but find you're still losing water faster than you expected, it's time to do a little more detective work. Fill your pond, shut off the pump for a day then check the water level. If the water level of your pond is the same, then the leak is not in the pond itself. Check all of your plumbing, including the fittings and pump connections for leaks. However, if the water level has dropped you do have a leak. To find it, let the water level to continue to drop - the level where the water stops dropping is the level where the liner is leaking. (You may have to temporarily remove your fish and plants if the water continues to drop to dangerously low levels) Carefully check for some sort of hole in the liner, then patch it using single-sided tape and lap sealant. Remember that for proper adhesion the liner must be clean and dry, and several hours will be needed for the sealant to completely dry before contact with water.

Pumps should work for years with very little maintenance, so chances are your pump is fine. Do the following to quickly find and fix the problem when the pump appears to be malfunctioning.

  If your problem occurs at startup, the pond may be too small for the waterfall and stream above it. Ponds that are too small may not
    be able to supply enough water to start the waterfall. This can starve the pump of water at startup. Once the pump is started, you
    may simply need to add water to the pond in order to account for the water used to feed the waterfall and plumbing.
  Is the pump getting enough water? It's not an uncommon problem. Water evaporates, and if not replaced low water levels can affect
    the operation of the pump. If this happens the pump may actually be running but just not getting enough water. The pump will make
    a gurgling sound when this is happening.
  Make sure nothing blocks the flow of water to the pump. Debris may block the filter and reduce the flow of water. If you use a
    skimmer, make sure the water level is within 3/4" of the top of the skimmer opening. If your water level is lower than this, the pump
    may suck the skimmer dry and trip the thermal shut-off.
  At times debris may become lodged in the housing of the pump, which may keep the impeller from turning. Pull the pump and
    inspect the intake and impeller for any lodged debris. Plug the pump in after inspecting it and make sure the impeller spins.
  If an air bubble gets trapped in the pump it will be vapor locked. When this happens the impeller turns, but water is not being
    pushed. Listen to see if you hear the hum of the pump. A vapor lock can be corrected by tilting the pump and allowing the air bubble
    to escape from the intake.
  Check the curcuit breaker to see if the ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI) has tripped. By design, GFCIs are very sensitive and
    may trip during a thunderstorm or a power surge. Make sure the electrical outlet for the pond is dedicated to the pond. If other
    outlets are connected to the same GFCI, the combination of the pump running and someone using a device plugged into a shared
    outlet can overload the GFCI and trip the breaker.
  If the pump has been out of operation for a period of time, the impeller may fail to start. With the pump unplugged, try moving the
    impeller manually. When the impeller begins to turn, plug the pump back in. The impeller should now spin.

If you still have problems, plug the pump into another outlet that contains a GFCI breaker and see if the pump works. If the pump trips the GFCI, then there is probably something wrong with the pump. If the pump runs without a problem, you'll need to have an electrician check the pond's electrical setup.