Inherited a pond - help with losing water!

[weathergirl]

Hi!

This is my first post, so forgive me . My husband and I inherited a pond with a house we just purchased. It was a big selling feature for us as we both love the outdoors! It contains about 10-12 fish and they seem to be doing okay. I believe it was built with an Aquascape pond kit and we have a 3000 GPH pump.

A few weeks ago, we noticed our pump would cut off on its own and through some investigation with a repair company, we had the check valve replaced and it has been running great! However, we have lost at least 2-3 inches of water in 4 days since having the pump and waterfall run constantly. Is this normal? We live in Northern Virginia just outside of DC and I wouldn't think to attribute the weather to this much evaporation, though I could be wrong. We tried to perform a leak test by filling the pond and letting it sit for 24 hours and we did not notice water loss at that time. The pond repair company said they did not detect any leaks (though I'm not sure how they tested this over just an hour or two).

How much water is normal to lose through running a waterfall filter box? Is this normal? We are going to have to top off the pond today so we can plug the pump back in and get it running before the frigid temperatures come through tonight!

Any other advice is GREATLY appreciated!

 

[Tula]

Welcome to the forum Most often the cause of water loss is the water fall. Since you did not lose any water while the pump was off, it definitely sounds like the waterfall.

 

[weathergirl]

Welcome to the forum Most often the cause of water loss is the water fall. Since you did not lose any water while the pump was off, it definitely sounds like the waterfall.

From a leak? Or just due to the fact we have a waterfall? Thanks!

 

[sissy]

welcome and could be a leak in a hose maybe or wind can disperse water when it splashes .Do you know how old the liner is .I live in southside VA near NC border and I have 2 filters that splash and loose some in the summer but in the winter I lose hardly any .Did they tell you how they tested for a leak .I have had moles chew hoses and chew holes in a liner .I blew up your pic and if that is your filter up above it looks like water may be leaving the sides by the rocks .Best way to check that is to put quilt batting in around the edges of both sides and if it gets wet then it is leaking out the sides of that filter tank.I know you are getting rain today .But you can turn off the pump and just put in an aerator to keep some oxygen in the pond .In the winter I turn my pumps off and keep my aerator and pond heater going

 

[sissy]

OH reason I think tank is 1 side looks unlevel .You can get a level at a dollar tree to see if the tank is sitting level .Not sure how far you liner goes up around the rocks .Check and make the water level in the filter and the pond and then you may figure out what is leaking .If it is not leaking any water from either after a day or 2 ,then it is either a hose or the filter tub

 

[Tula]

Check out what @sissy mentioned. Waterfalls are common sources of leaks for a variety of reasons .....rocks can shift and become un level, ice damns form and direct water out of the pond, sometimes liners aren't properly overlapped......to name a few reasons.

Since you mentioned that water level remained the same when your pumps were off, I focused on the waterfall. Of course it could also be a loose plumbing connection, or what sissy mentioned .

Are any areas around the pond obviously wet, or soft?

 

[weathergirl]

Check out what @sissy mentioned. Waterfalls are common sources of leaks for a variety of reasons .....rocks can shift and become un level, ice damns form and direct water out of the pond, sometimes liners aren't properly overlapped......to name a few reasons.

Since you mentioned that water level remained the same when your pumps were off, I focused on the waterfall. Of course it could also be a loose plumbing connection, or what sissy mentioned .

Are any areas around the pond obviously wet, or soft?

It's hard to tell because of the recent rain, but I haven't noticed anything major. I'm going to top it off tonight and double check that the pond liner is pulled up around the waterfall. I did notice a difference in how the waterfall was splashing after we had the pump fixed, but I will try to redirect the rocks and the flow to see if that helps.

 

[Tula]

It's hard to tell because of the recent rain, but I haven't noticed anything major. I'm going to top it off tonight and double check that the pond liner is pulled up around the waterfall. I did notice a difference in how the waterfall was splashing after we had the pump fixed, but I will try to redirect the rocks and the flow to see if that helps.

It could be that the pump is working better and splashing the surface of the pond harder, displacing water. On a positive note, it's not the liner since you don't lose water when your pump is off

 

[sissy]

But you never know .I thought I was not loosing water when I turned off the pump until I put a ruler in the pond with a mark on it and the realized I was loosing water even though it did not look like it .Turned out one of the grasses in the waterfall pond was wicking water up and over one of the rocks .The roots I guess had just started to grow between the rocks .My fault for not root trimming them .The before I took the grass out of the waterfall pond water hyacinth did not help because they hid the size of it

 

[poconojoe]

It's either your plumbing from the pump or water is escaping around the waterfall somewhere.

When adding water are you using well water or treated central water? If it's treated water you need to buy a bottle of dechlorinizer and use it according to it's instructions. The chlorine is bad for your fish. I use Tetra Pond Aqua Safe Water Conditioner. I just add it as it's coming out of the garden hose. I use a small cheap water meter device that screws onto my hose so I know how much water I'm adding.

 

[weathergirl]

It's either your plumbing from the pump or water is escaping around the waterfall somewhere.

When adding water are you using well water or treated central water? If it's treated water you need to buy a bottle of dechlorinizer and use it according to it's instructions. The chlorine is bad for your fish. I use Tetra Pond Aqua Safe Water Conditioner. I just add it as it's coming out of the garden hose. I use a small cheap water meter device that screws onto my hose so I know how much water I'm adding.

It's hose water but I have a water conditioner that I add. I put water in a 16 gallon container and fill it 3 times so I'm at ~50 gallons per the dosing instructions. I like the water meter idea, sounds a lot easier! Going to look into the waterfall escaping this weekend when it's not 25 degrees outside!

 

[poconojoe]

It's hose water but I have a water conditioner that I add. I put water in a 16 gallon container and fill it 3 times so I'm at ~50 gallons per the dosing instructions. I like the water meter idea, sounds a lot easier! Going to look into the waterfall escaping this weekend when it's not 25 degrees outside!

Great!

Since you said you were new at this, I just wanted to make sure you were aware of the chlorine.

 

[poconojoe]

That hose attachment is inexpensive. If you go on Amazon, type in "garden hose water meter" and several will come up. The cheapest is around $12. I think I paid like $15 for mine.
I just add the water conditioner into the water as it splashes into the pond. I'll put in 50 gallons worth of conditioner ( that's capful for the one I use ), then keep an eye on the meter.
No need to premix in a bucket.

 

[j.w]

@weathergirl

 

[weathergirl]

Did some digging this weekend and found a small tear in the liner off the side of the waterfall bucket where it looks like a rock poked through. Wasn’t in the main flow, and it was about 1/2 an inch wide. Would this small of a tear amount to 2-3 inches of loss over 4 days?