Pump became disconnected issue

[Javert]

Good afternoon all - I have a pond at my house which was inherited from the previous owner when we moved in about 8 years ago.

The filter and air system was running mostly fine for all that time with just some regular unblocking and a bit of routine maintenance. However I am by no means a pond expert and know very little about it.

There is one large Koi (there were originally 3 but 2 died over the years) and we also have put some smaller fish in over the years so there's probably a dozen or so smaller fish in there.

I have an issue today that the pump became blocked by weeds and when I lifted it out to clean it, the hose that goes from the pump, out of the pond and to the filter system has become detached so it is now just pumping water nowhere back into the pond!

Being a bit silly I never even bothered to check exactly where the hose goes into the pond as it goes underground from the filter box to the pond. The pond is very murky now that I've messed about pulling the pump out so I cannot see nor feel where things are supposed to be connected.

Any ideas how to troubleshoot this issue and what I need to fix it? Perhaps I need to find a professional to take a look.

Also - is it better not to disturb the fish too much in the middle of winter and leave it until Spring to try and repair this?

I have attempted to attach an illustrative photo....

 

[j.w]

@Javert
Somehow you will have to get in there and find where the thing is supposed to be attached to filter. I would wait till the weather warms up. How deep is your pond? Might have to scuba dive to get down there or drain the pond only partially if it's really deep. Otherwise you can just walk around in there w/a plastic rake or net w/long handle and feel around for objects. Once you find the filter you should tie a rope on it so if it ever becomes detached again you can pull it out easier.

 

[Javert]

Thanks @j.w Well actually I am qualified to scuba dive although I don't think it would be necessary in this case - the pond is max 3 foot deep and it's not very big as you can see from the photo.

I have already tried to feel all around where I think the hose should go out of the pond with large pond gloves on but I didn't find anything so far - I have a nasty feeling that the hose has actually broken or snapped some distance inside the tunnel through the ground hence why I cannot find anything protruding into the pond.

I do know that the fish were left for nearly a year without the filter running before we moved in and they all survived so I think it's ok to wait until the weather warms up a bit. My wife has a friend whose husband has a much larger pond than me who lives nearby so I will contact him and ask for some advice as well.

 

[Tula]

"I have an issue today that the pump became blocked by weeds and when I lifted it out to clean it, the hose that goes from the pump, out of the pond and to the filter system has become detached so it is now just pumping water nowhere back into the pond!"

Do you know where the filter system is located?

 

[Beercan31]

tough challenge. anything you do at this point will disturb debris and inhibit you ability to see what your doing. if you have an old pillow case you might try to secure it to the hose on the pump and let it run. its a lame make shift filter that would help clear the water.

looking at your photo on the upper far right it lookes like there might be a waterfall of some sort. (hard to tell)
you might want to start there.

 

[addy1]

Welcome to the forum!

I would wait until spring, the fish will be fine. I turn off my pump for the winter, 4-5 months. The fish all live.

 

[Javert]

"I have an issue today that the pump became blocked by weeds and when I lifted it out to clean it, the hose that goes from the pump, out of the pond and to the filter system has become detached so it is now just pumping water nowhere back into the pond!"

Do you know where the filter system is located?

Yes it's in the green box at the top of the photo. The hose that goes from the pump to the filter, normally ran under the ground from the side of the pond and comes up inside that green box.

 

[Javert]

tough challenge. anything you do at this point will disturb debris and inhibit you ability to see what your doing. if you have an old pillow case you might try to secure it to the hose on the pump and let it run. its a lame make shift filter that would help clear the water.

looking at your photo on the upper far right it lookes like there might be a waterfall of some sort. (hard to tell)
you might want to start there.

Yes that is the waterfall where the water from the pump that went through the filter goes back into the pond (obviously not working now which is what alerted me to the issue).

There is also another waterfall not in the photo fed by another pump - that one is also out of action due to a leaky hose but not as big an issue as it's not filtering.

 

[Javert]

Welcome to the forum!

I would wait until spring, the fish will be fine. I turn off my pump for the winter, 4-5 months. The fish all live.

Thank you and yes that's what I might do.

I'm thinking I can use the pump to partially empty the pond in the spring and then see what's going on - there is a neighbour a couple of streets away who has a much larger setup than me so I will also ask him for some advice.

 

[poconojoe]

That hose looks like it might be that standard corregated pond hose. Tetra makes hose like that and although I like Tetra products, that hose is terrible. It tends to leak, crack, split, etc. It doesn't last very long.
Once you figure everything out, replace it with schedule 40 flex PVC. It will be the last hose you buy. You can get it in white or black. I like the black to help hide it in the water.