Help! Water level ran low

[Lawsoll]

 

[Lawsoll]

I just bought a house with a koi pond and waterfall. I haven’t moved in yet and so it went a couple of days without me putting water in it. When I checked on the house today the skimmer box had ran dry. I added water today but I can’t get the pump to turn back on. Am I just out of luck? I’m not sure if the pump burned out or if there is something I can try. All I know is it is an Aquascape pump.

 

[Lisak1]

Depending on how long the pump was running dry it could indeed be burned out.

 

[addy1]

You need to add water get the pond full, have nothing running see if it holds the water. If it does than it might be piping, the water fall etc causing the leak.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[CometKeith]

I just bought a house with a koi pond and waterfall. I haven’t moved in yet and so it went a couple of days without me putting water in it. When I checked on the house today the skimmer box had ran dry. I added water today but I can’t get the pump to turn back on. Am I just out of luck? I’m not sure if the pump burned out or if there is something I can try. All I know is it is an Aquascape pump.

It looks really nice. I have had pumps stop working in the winter and they start back up later on when they unfreeze so it’s rare a good pump will burn out. I‘m guessing you have submersible pump. You can try unplugging it and take off the plastic cage around the pump. Usually you just need a flat head screw driver to make a half turn at each connection to release them. Check to see if there are any blockages like a rock that is blocking the pump propeller from working. More than 90 percent of the time it’s something simple to get a pump to work again. Also it’s always good to have a backup pump in case of emergency so it’s not a bad idea to order one and try to fix this in the meantime. I prefer Laguna pumps because of their low energy consumption but Aquascape makes good products too. Good luck!

 

[poconojoe]

Not sure about the pump. It could have burnt out if it ran dry for a long period of time.

You have a bigger, more elusive problem of finding where the water is escaping.

It might be difficult finding where the water is escaping without knowing all the particulars of how the whole system was constructed.

Leaks can be difficult to locate unless you find an obvious wet area outside of the pond.

Oftentimes the culprit can be plumbing, waterfall or stream related. I'm not sure, but it looks like you might have a stream.

I would start by filling the pond and letting it sit without any pump running. If it still leaks, you might be able to discount the plumbing, waterfall and stream. You may have a leak in the pond liner. That would seem to make sense as long as you don't have any plumbing penetrations in your liner for something like a bottom drain or a skimmer.

 

[j.w]

and welcome @Lawsoll

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome!

When you fill it, does it immediately start losing water?

 

[SarahT]

Welcome!

 

[WaterXscapes]

You can pull the pump and test it in a bucket of water or something if you want to check it without filling the pond.

Did the pond have water in it during your acquisition of the property? Like, was it running perfect before getting the house?

 

[Mmathis]

@Lawsoll Are you still out there?