Water level

[Bdun111]

I have a question about the water level in our pond and it's association with the upper tier areas that are connected to the waterfall pump system.
The pond has 4 level, with a total difference in elevation of approximately 4ft.
The pond consistently loses about 3-4" of water every three or four days, year around, without any noticeable leaks around pond.
There is an overflow drain and we try to keep the water about an inch or two below it.
The pond has 24/7 circulation through a submersible pump/external filter.
The waterfall has a bottom drain and external pump and is ran an average of two-three times a week. The pump fills two different upper tier compartments via 2" pvc which are on the bottom of each interior wall.

When we to the waterfall pump on, the two chambers are always empty, just below the pvc pipes, and it takes a few minutes for water to fill them up and start overflowing to other compartments.
At the same time, the pond level drops about 5", and we end up adding more water from hose.

After running, when we turn it off, the level in chambers goes back down, immediately.
I don't know if these are associated, but there are two external, vertical pvc pipes next to these chambers, opened top, and when I blow in them bubbles come up in one of the upper tiers and one next to it but lower, from the bottom of each.
I am attaching photos showing the compartments.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Although you state otherwise. it is likely that this water is being lost in pond overflow. Are you refilling the pond when you notice the water level being down? Are you doing this while the waterfall is active? If so, then it is definitely water loss due to overflow.

 

[MitchM]

If you're concerned about water loss, I would start diagnosing the problem by running your waterfall system 24/7 7days/week and measure water loss from the bottom chamber.
By turning the waterfall on and off every few days, you could be creating a temporary overflow situation that you could miss.

 

[DutchMuch]

(nice pond!)

 

[sissy]

plants and evaporation will be some of the loss .The drier it is the more the plants will use up during growing season .I loose water during fog as it captures moisture from my pond plus you add in wind and frogs jumping out of the pond .I get birds drinking water .

 

[Bdun111]

We do add water when we consider it to be lower than normal. If the waterfall was off and we filled the pond to overflowing, then waited for the level to become stable, this would be normal, for us. Typically we keep water about 2-3" below the overflow drain, picture attached will show square drain on side wall, without waterfall running. When we turn the waterfall on, it will drop an additional 3-4".

 

[Bdun111]

The wall overflow is by the green leaf.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

When we turn the waterfall on, it will drop an additional 3-4".

That is indicative of the volume of water in transit. This is all of the water between the outlet to the pump and where the waterfall hits the pond surface. Many people are amazed at how much water this can actually be. When that 3-4" water level drop is observed, immediately turning off the flow to the waterfall will return the water level to normal once all of the transit water has returned to the pond.
This is why it is usually suggested that if you have a waterfall then it should run 24/7/365.

 

[Lisak1]

I agree with @Meyer Jordan and would have said the same had he not beat me to it... or been better at explaining it than me!

Just curious - why don't you run your entire system all the time?

 

[Bdun111]

Thanks for all your help.
We currently run the submersible pump, used with pressurized filter, 24/7, for circulation, however, it only circulates the bottom main area, leaving 5-6 of areas stagnate.

The pump for the waterfall, which uses bottom drain, is ran for about 2 hours a day, 2-3 times a week, maybe, but does not go through pressurized filter, and does have a basket filter.

From what I just looked at, the amp, watts, kwh, for both pumps looks about the same, so which would be running 24/7, if you had to choose, or could we alternate? It's a cost thing with my step-father, and if they had less trees I would build a solar power for them.

Any idea what the exposed pvc pipes are, that I mentioned?

Thanks for all the help, again.

 

[Bdun111]

I will suggest it to my step-father again. Did that answer your question, lol

My mom and him probably think it cost an arm and leg to run it, but I really don't know if they have checked. Its not like they cant afford to.
The reason I am on here is because they travel a lot, so I watch their house while gone.

 

[Lisak1]

I will suggest it to my step-father again. Did that answer your question, lol

My mom and him probably think it cost an arm and leg to run it, but I really don't know if they have checked. Its not like they cant afford to.
The reason I am on here is because they travel a lot, so I watch their house while gone.

Yup! That summed it up! I would suggest to your parents that it's a matter of not just the cost, but keeping the pond functioning at it's best.

 

[EricV]

Alternating is not going to help. The minute you shut off the waterfall, that water ends up accumulating in the rest of the system and if there is not capacity to hold it, it will escape via the overflow.

I know I lose about 100 gallons doing my regular maintenance. I just bought a plug today so that I can plug my overflow when I shut the pumps down.

 

[tbendl]

I'm not sure what type of a pump you're running but I have 2 Laguna 1200 filters that run 24/7 and the increased cost has been negligible, I'd say maybe a few dollars a month.

 

[Bdun111]

Maybe I haven't been explaining the water loss correctly. The only time the water could possibly drain through the overflow is after a heavy rain.
We only add water because the water level dropped after a couple of days, and we fill to the desired level before running waterfall.
I understand that when the waterfall is turned on, it's going to pull water and it will lower level a bit, and when turned off, it will return to original level.