Water level control

[buco]

I recent ly installed new pumps for my waterfall and i cant seem to find a water level float at the hardware store any suggestions for a supplier . We recently had alot of rain and pond is very full.


Thank u anyone

 

[crsublette]

Normally, ponds are built so the water will overflow at a particular area. If you do not want your pond to get this full, then you can make your own overflow very easy if you have a skimmer or a preformed pond

I would not put a valve switch and pump in the pond. If something screwed up with the switch leaving the pump on, then it could drain your entire pond without your knowledge.

I have the Savio mini-skimmer and I installed a buklhead connector to the portion of the skimmer behind the filters. This is where the water is the calmest. For a preformed pond, install the connector where the water will be the calmest. I installed the bulkhead connector at the water level where I would want to maintain; so, when water reaches the bulkhead connector, I have a pvc pipe connected to the connector so it dumps into a seperate chamber. I dug a hole for the seperate chamber. I made the hole big enough to fit a plastic crate and set a valve box on top of the crate. I lined the hole with pond liner. The depth of the hole dependent upon the size of valve box and crate you want to put in there. To help ya calculate the gallons a hole will fill, I used the russell water gardens water volume calculator. I made the hole to match my pump so the pump wouldn't dump the water too fast nor too slow; this way I can kind of control how much it turns on and off by how fast the hole fills up with water and how fast it gets drained. I put my pump under the plastic crate and put my pump switch in the valve box. I connected a garden hose to the pump so I could choose wherever to place the drained water on a tree or somewhere else.

Ya can buy the bulkhead connector and valve boxes and plastic crates at most hardware stores; I posted the hyperlink to show what they look like.

I used one of those floating sump pump switches but it kept on screwing up on me and burnt up a pump by allowing the pump to run dry for too long. Then, I found there are some fountain pumps that can automatically turn off when the pump detects air being pumped. You can use a float switch or a continuity switch. After that floating pump switch screwed me, I got the HC6100 Hi-Lo Switch for outdoor location and I have not had any problems yet; this switch is a continuity switch. If you have really hard water, then over time calcium limestone deposits may cause the sensor on the continuity switch to fail; so be sure to pay attention every other month or so to check if any calcium limestone deposits have formed and clean it when it is present on the switch sensor.

Easy peasy. Welcome to the forums.

 

[Waterbug]

I recent ly installed new pumps for my waterfall and i cant seem to find a water level float at the hardware store any suggestions for a supplier . We recently had alot of rain and pond is very full.

A float valve to add water or turn a pump on and off?

 

[sissy]

I just used a storm grate on one side of my pond and lowered the liner a little in that spot with a pipe attached to the back of it I can let it go where ever it wants to go .Great thing it comes in green or black plastic and is heavy duty and comes in several sizes from 6 inch and up .The holes are small enough also so little fish don't get trapped and all I do is use the toilet bowl brush to clean it off once in awhile

 

[Josephluca]

Hi guys,

Thanks for sharing your valuable thought and topic, Water level controller circuit described here control the water level inside a tank. There two modes available with this water level controller circuit. The first mode is empty mode, when the controller will drain the tank if the water level reach the upper limit, The second mode of this water level controller is fill mode, Here the pump will be used to fill the tank with the water when the water level is drop below the lower limit, the pump will be activated until the water level reach the upper limit.

Thanks in advance
Josephluca

 

[Waterbug]

Online sources are best imo.

 

[j.w]

buco

 

[Bullfrog]

Self filling water troughs for livestock can be bought at any farm and ranch supply store. It's simply a float that when the level drops opens a valve to let water back in. when the water rises to the set level, the float rises and stops the flow of water. With very little fabrication, one could be used to keep the water level up to the desired height. http://www.keythorpe.co.uk/water_auto_drinker_trough.html

 

[crsublette]

If going the electric sensor approach, be sure to check the amp capacity of the water level system or auto top off system to be able to handle your pump's ampage. If your pump pulls to many amps through these circuits and the circuit's amp capacity is low, then the circuitry will become quite hot and likely blow a fuse in the circuitry, if it has a fuse. Most auto top off systems I have read have very low amp capacity to mainly manage aquarium pumps (2~5amp range); if ya want anything bigger, then you might want to look at those water level controller systems used for swimming pools. The sensor I linked above can handle up to 14 amps, but it is not an elaborate system that coordinates multiple pumps. I would much rather do a drip constant water change system to keep the water topped off then use an approach to deal with the overflow.