Hi,

I woke up this morning to find the pond with only 1/3 of its normal water, and all because there was a very small leak in the pipe that feeds the water from the filter back into the pond. This was an actual tiny hole in the pipe, not a leaking joint. My only guess right now is that some animal or other either walked over it, chewed it or did something to weaken it.

I only had time this morning to turn off the pump and elevate the leaking pipe so that it doesnt continue to drain water away, and plan to replace the pipe tonight after work.

I think I was lucky this time, the leak was tiny so it didn't completely drain the pond overnight. Any ideas how I can try and stop this from happening again, or to stop the effects being potentially so drastic?

One idea is to raise the pump up enough so that it will not be able to pump ?a few? inches of water so that the there will at least be some water in there that the pump cant remove. The pond isnt that deep though, (2.5/3 ft?), and I wonder if this would leave a layer of bad water at the bottom of the pond? And how little water can keep the fish alive in an emergency?

Another idea is some kind of water level monitored cut off device that stops the pump if the level drops too far.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Most would say have a thicker pipe.
Or you could have a float switch connected in series with the pump, this cuts off the supply if its at the wrong angle.
But to be honest I have had water features, ponds and fountains for years, never had that problem.

You can get what is eupamistically called a sump or dirty water pump these have a float valve which can be used to switch the pump on or off depending on the need. They are quite cheap and have impressive flow rates but are quite expensive to run. They will pump solids up to 8mm generally

As Byg Nyge saidQuote:

That is their downfall. They really are expensive to run unless you are using it for its intended use, sump pump, because when the water has been pumped out, you turn them off.

Thanks everyone. I've mended the pipe and raised the pump up a little so that if it does happen again there should be some water left to help the fish survive.

Raising the pump in winter gives a layer of warmer water where fish can lie undisturbed by water flow so I can't see it doing any harm.

(Just a thought) If you raise a pump off the pond floor it allows for more sludge to build up. That's why koi ponds have a bottom drain.

Is there koi in the pond?
From rubadubs point of view, a couple of inches of sludge or dead fish? A float switch and a solids handling pump would be the best bet and, oh yeah secure pipework. As a matter of interest, what sort of pipework are you using?

Better still. Pictures!