Pump Quit: First and foremost, the best thing you can do is to have a cheap pond pump and/or battery-operated air stones around until we can get help to you. If it's been raining quite a bit, unplug the pump, give everything time to dry out. Once it's all dry (or if it hasn't been raining), check the breaker and the GFCI switches to make sure they're not tripped, and then plug the pump back in. Sometimes, an electrical outage or surge can trip a breaker or the GFCI at the plug. If it's still not working, you'll need a pump repair or replacement. SHORT VIDEO
Pond/Water Feature Flooding Yard: The primary cause of this issue is that the auto level fails. Turn off the water to the pond and fill it with a hose when needed until repairs can be made (don't forget to set a timer when running the hose so that you don't flood your yard!). If the level of your pond is dropping for some unknown reason, turn off the water to the pond and unplug the pump. If the water level does not drop any further, you know the "leak" is in the waterfall or stream, and is more likely than not the result of plants needing to be thinned. If the water continues to drop, go ahead and turn the system back on to keep it oxygenated for your fish, and let us know that you need help. Waterfall/Stream Quits Running: During cold-water season, this should not be a huge issue for your fish, unless you have some whales in your pond and it's covered in plant material. If that's the case, get an aerator into the pond pronto! Check to make sure it's the pump and not the outlet that has gone bad. Yep, even GFCIs go bad. You can try plugging the pump into a different outlet to see if it works there. Also, try plugging something like a hair dryer into the pump outlet to see if that trips the breaker, as well. If so, then you need an electrician, as we are not electrical contractors. If it's raining, or has been, unplug the pump and let everything dry out completely. The plug it back in, and you may need to reset the GFCI, as well. If indeed the pump is the issue, unplug the pump and use your small back-up pump or an air stone and pump from a local pet or fishing supply store. This will be a temporary fix during the hot months to keep the water oxygenated for your fish until a new pump can be installed. If you’re at all handy, a new pump can be purchased at Ewing Irrigation, which has many stores across the Valley. They are fairly simple to replace, even if they need an adapter fitting to go from an old-style pump to a new one, and it will save you the cost of a service call. If you need us to do it for you, please don’t hesitate to let us know. Leak: If the level of your pond is dropping, troubleshoot as follows: First, check the autofill valve -- if it's not running more than a steady drip (to combat evaporation), you don't have a leak in your pond; check elsewhere. If the autofill is actually running, turn off the water to the pond and unplug the pump, monitoring the water loss for about 24 hours. If the water level does not drop any further, you know the “leak” is in the waterfall or stream, and is more likely than not the result of plants needing to be thinned. If the water continues to drop, go ahead and turn the system back on to keep it oxygenated for your fish, and let us know that you need help. Remember that in our hottest, driest months (typically June-July), 1-2" of surface area can be lost each day to evaporation. |
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