I need some advice fast!

[ashirley]

I hope someone here can give me a clue as to what is going on. My husband came in the morning and said that the pond was barely running so he cut the pump off to prevent it from burning up. We have an external pump that pumps 10000 gph. Well once the sun came up, I went and checked all of the lines and the filters for clogs and everything is A OKK. When I turn the pump on, it will pull water and pump for a minute or two and then before the water can make it down the stream and back to the large pond, it stops pulling water. The motor is still running. I thought it might be a pump problem so I switched it out for the spare and it is doing the same thing. I plugged the pump into a different outlet to see if its a power problem but same thing.

Does anyone have any ideas?

 

[minnowman]

The pump inlet screen is probably plugged.

 

[ashirley]

Where will I find that? Sorry but I am not very mechanical.

 

[DrCase]

What happens when you put the pump in the pond connected to nothing ?
to me it sounds like the pipe running from the pump is clogged
Could you remove the pump and use a garden hose to back flush it from the other end of the line back to the pump

 

[ashirley]

We have an external pump so I can't put it in the pond. I removed the line going from the skimmer to the pump and it is clear. If the line from the pump were clogged would water come out of the waterfall box at all? It will flow perfectly for a minute or two and then nothing. I could probably back flush the line from the waterfall box to the pump when my husband gets home to help me.

 

[Mucky_Waters]

If the pump is connected directly to the skimmer it could be losing siphon (sucking air), once that happens it will not pump the water properly. One likely cause of that is the water level in your pond has dropped, making it easier for the skimmer to start sucking air.
This would explain why it will pump initially (when the simmer is full of water) and stops after a while, as soon as air starts getting sucked into the skimmer outlet.
Check and see if your pond water level has dropped, and watch the water level in your skimmer, can you see or hear air getting sucked in the skimmer drain?

 

[ashirley]

I thought about that so I put the hose pipe in the skimmer running so that it would constantly have water but at this point that is just about the only thing that could be wrong. We have had alot of rain here recently but perhaps that is the problem. I will let the hose run in the pond and see if that resolves the issue.

 

[ashirley]

Keeping my fingers crossed but apparently it was the water level. I let the hose run in for about 45 minutes and restarted it and its running. I have been putting quilt batting in to filter the algae and just did not realize how much water it was pulling out each time I changed it. That coupled with the fact that we have had very little rain made the water level drop lower than I imagined it would. Thanks everyone for the help.!

 

[sissy]

did yo check the pump itself as the there could be something stuck in it or the line coming out of the pump could be lugged did you check to see how it is coming into the filter .If the pump is straining the pump could be going be for some reason .Is the pump getting the right amount of electricity also or could something have been lugged into that line and using up all the electric and the pump is not getting enough to run .Is the skimmer hose from the pond be clogged .It starts with the pump as you may have to see if it is running correctly .You may have to totally on hook it to see .How old is the pump and any storms can make a breaker go bad .Pics would help maybe .I had 2 breakers go bad and were not feeding out the electric and also had one partially tripped and had to reset it .

 

[ashirley]

Checked all of that and it was two different pumps. I think the water level was too low and when I would start the pump back up, it would be fine for a minute but then start sucking air and lose the prime. I put water in the pond and it appears to be running fine now.

 

[sissy]

lucky your hubby caught it as finding a new pump can be a hassle and not cheap .Just keep a close eye on it ,just in case .You can buy a low water switch for your pump also .You just plug the pump into it and it has a float you set in the pond that shuts the pump off when the water is low I got mine at tractor supply .

 

[fishin4cars]

Sounds like you may have found the problem, If it occurs again I would try what Dr. Case was suggesting, Disconnect the pump and backward flush all the piping with as strong of back current as possible. I have had things clog in a line and everything work and all of a sudden a big clog come out and everything worked far better. The item must have been stuck for some time and not enough to completely clog the line, BUT it will cause the pump to heat up and shut off. I have that problem going on right now in my pond but it's a submersible pump, In the middle of a 22' round pond, in 38" of water, and the water is 50 degrees. I really need to clean the input but my old achy bones keep telling me NOT to get in the pond, My wallet says, You better get in and unclog . Maybe I can talk the DW in getting in and cleaning off the inlet screen? NOT!! LOL Hope you figured out what was happening and problem solved.

 

[Mucky_Waters]

One fix so that doesn't happen again is a constant drip water change. This method not only takes care of periodic water changes, but with a proper overflow set up on your pond it maintains a constant water level in your pond.

 

[adavisus]

Might be an idea to switch the pump off overnight when it is not practical to keep an eye on it.

Perhaps a leak needs locating

 

[ashirley]

Unfortunately, switching the pump off is not feasible because it takes quite an effort to get it to re-prime and I do good to get to work on time now . I will keep an eye on the water level over the next few weeks and see if I seem to be losing more than usual indicating that there is a leak.