Pond's losing water -- again!

[Fishfinder]

Just an idea have you tryed turning the output down on you pump,sometimes if you have the output to high to much water goes through and the waterfall can't get rid of it quick enough therefore you have a backfill or disperses over ect

I had no idea it could be controlled. All I ever to with the pump is clean leaves out of it.

It is the pump, filter, waterfall set up.

Meyer Jordan -- wow, now I really mystified by this leak and how to fix it. I thought lining under the waterfall was the answer.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

If you could post a photo of the waterfall in question it may help.

 

[indeskyze21]

Yea the are normally two switches one one the fountain pipe and one on the output which goes to the filter when it is line it is on full try turning it a quarter of way and see what that does I had a back fill in my filter box so the water was leaking out of that because it was trying give to much to the waterfall

 

[morewater]

I had no idea it could be controlled. All I ever to with the pump is clean leaves out of it.

Water flow from the pump can be controlled by two methods: 1) splitting one line into two lines, thus reducing the hose output by 50%, or 2) installing an in-line flow control valve (similar to the one pictured below)

 

[Fishfinder]

The smaller waterfall that's now leaking. This one started to leak this spring, I think.

The larger waterfall that has been the biggest pain in the you-know-what. That's the second photo. I shut it down in the fall becasue of the leaking. He had a big, heavy piece of....whatever that is in the background. I ask him to move that away, since I have to be able to get the waterfall to clean the filters.The big waterfall has been nothing but trouble. Leaking, leaking, leaking.

He had a bunch of rock sitting on the filter in the smaller waterfall, but I took all but one or two off that filter. It was crushing it.

When he was around last fall, I told him about the leak at the big waterfall. He adjusted it some and got the water flowing very well. The very next day, down went the flow.

To all you helpful experienced ponders, is this typical of a very bad job? Do you see this a lot?

Does this guy have any idea how to build a waterfall properly? I am ready to say, blank it, and find somebody new.

 

[morewater]

Have you thrown a level on the top of that waterfall reservoir? It should tilt ever-so-slightly forward, if not level. I 'd also advise removing all the stones from the interior, as their displacement could have the effect of your pump overwhelming the capacity of the reservoir, resulting in spill. Have you removed the stones from around the reservoir to check for moisture? If at some point in time (perhaps from freeze-thaw cycle), the reservoir has shifted, coupled with the displacement issue, this could be the source of your "leak". Just spitballin' here, but these are valid points.

I also don't see where there's any liner physically attached by means of a flange to the waterfall reservoir, or "filter" (if in fact it is a waterfall filter. I'm assuming that the in-flow line comes in from the back bottom. Have you checked the bulkhead fitting and the hose clamp where the in-flow line enters the waterfall reservoir?

Being unable to physically inspect it or to play with it for a while, I couldn't really say whether the builder is any good or not.

In any event, it doesn't seem to me to be a huge issue to fix. I'd tear it down to nothing and rebuild it rather than simply farting around with it and hoping for the best. "Fixing" other people's mistakes takes longer than taking it apart and rebuilding it.

 

[addy1]

^^ agree with removing the rocks, checking the level, That could be the issue. And all else typed

 

[Fishfinder]

Thanks very much for the suggestions. I'll inspect the box with a level and remove the few rocks in the spillbox.

I've got to watch a whole bunch of videos to become more familiar with pond equipment. Thanks so much for your help, everyone!