Waterfall nightmare

[Nova]

It started with a phone call at work, "Mom the waterfall has stopped and the pump is making a funny noise." My response turn OFF the pump! When I got home the water was down 6 inches. I could not see a leak but knew there was one. I found it at the edge of the waterfall. Not sure how it started, guessing the dirt settled and dropped one edge far enough to let water to slowly leak out. I never saw a water level drop. Well the little drip turned into a small flow and turned the dirt under the waterfall into a muddy soup.

I could visibly see the upper spillway had dropped lower so I started there, lifting and shoring it up with more dirt and rocks. Then I worked on the lower spill. What a mess, I was covered in mud up to my elbows.

I think I got it fixed but it will take weeks to completely dry out. I told my daughter to keep an eye on it tomorrow. I am sure I will keep getting up all night to peak out my window.

 

[addy1]

Has happened to a lot of us nova, some have put in a float that shuts off the pump if it drops to a certain level.

I have had my share of shifting liner leaks............lol

Glad you caught it in time, well you kid did.

 

[max384]

I just noticed that my water level in my new pond dropped two inches. I found the culprit to also be settling dirt. Fortunately, my liner overlaps the pond about a foot on all sides, so the leaking water didn't exacerbate the problem. However, I've still got to shore up the side. I noticed it tonight as it was getting dark. I'll guess I'll have to get to it tomorrow.

 

[fishin4cars]

Nova, one thing I would recommend, at least making sure that the pump is not sitting directly on the bottom of the pond. If you place the pump up ( milk crate, plant shelf, rocks, etc.) about a foot off of the bottom of the pond and this happens at least it will leave some water in the pond for the fish until you can get home and fix the issue. Float valves do work great too! I learned the hard way as I had a hose come loose on a pond and came home to about 1" of water and all the fish dead. That's not something I wish anyone else to experience.

 

[Nova]

The pump is in the skimmer so there was over a foot and half of water in the pond left. I was afraid the pump had burned out but after a couple tries it started and is working just fine.

A float valve is a good idea.

 

[addy1]

Great to hear nova!

 

[SE18]

you said you were afraid the pump burned out. You need added protection as mentioned earlier in this post, using a toilet-style thing that automatically shuts off the pump when water level is low. I don't use one, however.

My pump has a built-in thermal cutoff switch that detects when it is overheating; but I don't rely on that and have additional backup protection in the form of a diaphram that detects low levels of water and electrically shuts off the pump

You shouldn't have to go through the worries you did

Dave

 

[Nova]

How do you hook up a shut off valve?

 

[addy1]

Here is one for a submersible pump

http://www.aquaticponds.com/Little-Giant-Low-Water-Auto-Cut-Off-Switch-_p_13.html

 

[SE18]

Hi Nova, the one addy1 posted looks similar to the one I'm using. It comes with an outlet where the pump's plug is plugged in to. I found that you need to have at least about 18" of water or it doesn't work as it operates on water pressure which pushes the diaphram in. When pressure is too low (thus low water), the diaphram expands, triggering a shutoff electric switch. When I first installed it, there was about a 1 minute delay before the pump turned on. It's pretty neat passive device to use.

You know, peace of mind.

Good luck!