How much water should be in a skimmer box?

[petedogg]

So here is the story, bought a house in December with a pond. The pond skimmer was sort of working (it would skim but not pump water to the waterfall). I replaced it with a new pump yesterday and the skimmer was skimming and the waterfall was falling. Today I opened up the skimmer box to make sure everything was ok and I found that there was only about 3 inches of water in the box, where as yesterday the box was mostly filled up. I know the skimmer box is not leaking as it sat all winter with no loss in water level. Is this normal for a skimmer box? Should I be worried that the new pump I bought will burn out if the skimmer box runs out of water?

I have attached two pictures to hopefully help the situation, one of the pond and one of the skimmer box:

ninja edit: you can see the previous waterline in the skimmer box from yesterday.

 

[fishin4cars]

Looks like the water level has dropped in the pond, It may be from the extra water it takes for the water fall and filter fall used while running, But it could be a leak somewhere between the pump and the water fall where it enters back in the pond. I would add declorinator. if needed and slowly fill the pond until the skimmer box is working and full again and monitor how long it takes before the pump starts running dry again. If it's less than 24 hours start looking for wet spots outside the water fall first. this is the most likely place water will escape. Second most likely spot will be in the plumbing connections. Once you find the correct water level for your pond to run you should be able to go at least a few days if not longer without the pump running dry.

 

[anitapond]

When this happens to my pump, it's usually because the filter mat is clogged and the water has a hard time going through.

 

[mtpond]

Ditto on that anitapond, that's when the water in my skimmer goes down.

 

[petedogg]

Ok I will try that. Do you guys have recommendations on declorinator and filter media to replace mine with? And possibly a good place to buy pond supplies?

Thanks

Pete

 

[jupiter1]

Ok I will try that. Do you guys have recommendations on declorinator and filter media to replace mine with? And possibly a good place to buy pond supplies?

Thanks

Pete

Never had to use declorinator . As for filter media high end , matala http://www.webbsonline.com/index.ph...dsearchp&ecom--prodsearch--string=matala+half
low end quilt batting ,http://www.walmart.com/search/searc...batting&ic=16_0&Find=Find&search_constraint=0

 

[studiovette]

I just turned mine on for the 1st time and noticed it's doing same thing. The good news is my waterfall was flowing nicely.
I just bought the house a few months back and starting pond up for the 1st time. I have a new skimmer filter in with a net infront of the filter but I think I placed it to close to the weir. I noticed yours is set back in the middle giving the water a chance to come in. I tried to get it in but didn't want to force it. I will try again when I get home and hopefully that works. .

 

[petedogg]

I am still leaking from somewhere, probably from the waterfall. Problem is I do not see any water in the area of the waterfall. More to investigate this weekend.

 

[studiovette]

I am still leaking from somewhere, probably from the waterfall. Problem is I do not see any water in the area of the waterfall. More to investigate this weekend.

Same here. Been running my skimmer on a Timer to limit the water loss issue for now. Adding water every other day for about 15 min. Its annoying but wil have to do until I have time to take apart falls. Good thing is my filter pump runs the center section my falls so I have plenty of water movement .