Koi Pond Leak Guide 2021
We have helped many customers just like you to find a leak in their water feature by following our proven method below. It's a lot of information to read through, but by doing so it may save you thousands of dollars! You may find yourself asking "where is all the water going? or "I'm having to add water to my pond almost everyday".
Follow the steps below and you may just be able to find it yourself or you may choose to have us come out for a paid leak assement service. Our paid leak troubleshooting service includes having a certified pond contractor that specializes in pond leaks come out to your home to look for a leak and provide you professional guidance and solutions on next steps in finding and repairing the leak in your koi pond or waterfall.
Once you have collected the information, this is a key step, we will talk over the phone and email for you to share the leak information you have recorded. At that point, we will be ready to set paid leak assessment appointment with you.
Our proven process quickly narrows down where the leak problem could be in your water feature. Our steps go through systematically starting from the most likely to least likely things causing your pond to leak. Everything you need to know about finding and fixing a pond leak is listed below.
How to find a leak in your backyard koi pond:
STEP 1) Does the pond leak with the pump turned off? To determine this, unplug the pump and then fill the pond to the normal level where you like to keep it. Measure only once a day around the same time of day to determine water loss in inches in a 24 hour period and at what point it stops for 2-3 days. Once it has stopped going down check around the pond at that new water level for a low edge or a hole in the liner. Water leaks will typically be in the first couple of inches, your entire pond will not drain during this step.
If you have a lot of fish or expensive koi, you may want aerate the water with an air pump which will produce air bubbles in the pond to keep the fish happy for many days. They can be purchased here if you do not have one. Pond Air pumps
You may have a upper intermediate pool located in the middle of your stream or one connected to a larger pond at the bottom. This upper pond will likely drop a couple inches when you do the "pump off" test and that is ok. The most important pool of water to focus on is the largest one at the bottom where the pump is located.
If you have a skimmer filter (a box on the edge of the pond where the pump and a net and filter pad is located) fill the pond water to the second bolt down from the top as your starting point with the pump off. The picture below on the left shows a yellow line at where the water level should be to start. If the water stops just below the bottom of the skimmer opening, with the pump off, you may need our skimmer resealing service. Learn more about that service here Pond Skimmer Resealing.
Here are some pictures of a pond skimmer filter that would be located at the edge of the pond and where the pump is located. This is a common area for a pond leak if your pond has been installed for 15-20 years. Do you have something like this in your pond? This particular brand of pond skimmer filter is a Aquascape classic skimmer.
STEP 2) Does the leak only happen when the pump is turned on? If so check your stream for low edges, areas where the water is coming up and over the liner, water flow blockages such as rocks, leaves or pond netting that has blocked water flow with leaves or algae. Make sure the water has a clear path down the center of the stream. Rocks in the middle of the stream or plant overgrowth will divert water to the edges of the stream causing the water to go up and over the liner edge. Remove just a few rocks that are in the middle of the stream to allow the water to flow freely without obstruction. You would be surprised at the difference in just removing a couple rocks out of the flow of water makes!
The most common area for a pond leak is in the stream (aka creek, river, brook) almost 90% of the time! Really take a good look at the area looking for wet areas along the stream. The surrounding dirt and rocks may have settled taking the liner down with it creating a low edge. At the beginning of your stream you may have a waterfall filter box. Make sure the water can flow freely from that box without obstructions and check to see that water is not flowing out of the sides or back of the filter box. See the video below about leaks in backyard waterfall filters.
If you have a skimmer filter box from brands such as Aquascape, Savio or Atlantic when you turn the pump on you may need to top off your pond with water. This is because the water from the box is going to be pumped upstream causing the skimmer box to run low. Continue to run the pump and fill up your pond with garden hose water to the normal full pump level as your starting point for the pump on test.
The leak could be in the tubing, but that can be narrowed down before jumping to that conclusion. Go through all the other steps first BEFORE digging up the tubing. Tubing leaks are only likely if a lower grade kink-free tubing was used or a bad connection using pvc plumbing was made that has come undone. Hard pvc pipe or flex pvc piping is rarely a problem, it would only be a problem at joints or other improperly done plumbing connections.
If you have a waterfall box filter, check that area during your pump on test. Watch the video below to learn more about leaks coming from a waterfall filter box.
STEP 3) Is your pump on the bottom of the pond or inside a black plastic box called a skimmer filter on the edge of the pond? This is a question will we be asking you to better understand you leak issue. Use the illustration below to help you determine where your pump is located. A third pump option is called a external pump, meaning that it is located outside of the pond. During the "pump on" test if your pump is located at the bottom all the water could be pumped out, so monitor closely.
STEP 4) Has anything changed recently in your pond? Did you recently add some rocks to the stream. Have you changed/rinsed the waterfall filter pads? Has a season worth of plant growth or fall leaves caused an area in the stream to get blocked or have reduced water flow? Leaks from plant growth are common mid to late summer. Did you replace your pond pump with a new stronger pump recently?
Things not to do to find your pond leak.
1) Drain all the water and remove all the rocks.
2) Call a plumber
3) Have a pressure test done on the pond tubing in the ground.
4) Get quotes on replacing the entire pond liner.
5) Use milk or colored dye to find the leak.
6) Use flex seal spray on the liner.
7) Add a autofill valve to your water feature
CONCRETE PONDS- Sorry we only fix leaks in rubber lined ponds. For concrete ponds we would suggest using a liquid rubber product called Pro Guard Liquid Rubber EPDM or epoxy coating for ponds.
Finding a leak in a pond can be a daunting task for someone without a great deal of experience. We offer Professional pond leak troubleshooting and repairs in the Alpharetta, Johns Creek, Duluth, Cumming, Forsyth, Hall and Gwinnett County areas of Georgia (GA) We know how to fix your pond leak, we are experts in this area! We use a straight forward approach and proven methodology along with the information you have gathered to narrow down the source of your leak as quickly as possible. We start with the most likely suspects such as low edges in the stream area, leaky plumbing connections, skimmer filter leaks and waterfall filter areas. Our trained eyes know right were to look to find and fix the leak that has been causing your frustration.
Your waterfall leak problem, once discovered, may be as simple as adjusting some rocks in the stream and pulling up the liner a little. Before you entertain the thought about spending thousands of dollars replacing the entire pond liner, basically rebuilding the entire pond, start with our paid leak troubleshooting service which provides guidance by a certified pond contractor and see where that professional opinion leads you.
Watch the pond leak video below for more information in resolving your backyard pond leak.
A loose faceplate on a koi pond skimmer filter causing a pond leak.
How long do pond liners last?
Rubber pond liners typically last 20-25 years, so if you pond liner is not that old it would
better to find the leak and put a patch over that area then it would be to replace the entire rubber pond liner.
Float Valves/Auto Fill devices
We don't suggest using a water fill valve in your koi pond or pondless waterfall. This is because they almost alway just hide leaks by continuously running water into your pond. Float valves will always fail at some point, which will result in a surprise high water bill in the hundreds of dollars! Don't risk it, have us fix your pond leak today so you can turn off your auto fill device on your koi pond. We recommend just filling your koi pond or waterfall with a garden hose when it's low on water. Your backyard water feature should only need a small top off of water every two weeks. Be sure to turn off your pond auto fill device prior to doing any of the leak steps mentioned above. In some instances, it may just be your autofill valve stuck in the fill position causing your pond or pondless waterfall to leak out water. If your pond water level is staying the same, but there is water coming out, this may be the issue.
Season for pond leaks
Yes, believe it or not there is actually a season for pond leaks. Most waterfall leaks tend to occur towards the end of the summer after pond plants have had a full growing season. This is because their roots and overgrowth can cause leaks by diverting water. Another time for pond leaks is in the Fall after many leaves have made there way into your pond or stream. These leaves will dam up the water causing water to leak out the sides of the stream. To fix this problem, clear the water path in the stream of branches, leaves and debris to insure the water has a clear path downstream. You will be amazed by just moving a couple small rocks on how the flow improves and is no longer causing a catch point for leaves and small branches.
Rubber pond liners typically last 20-25 years, so if you pond liner is not that old it would
better to find the leak and put a patch over that area then it would be to replace the entire rubber pond liner.
Float Valves/Auto Fill devices
We don't suggest using a water fill valve in your koi pond or pondless waterfall. This is because they almost alway just hide leaks by continuously running water into your pond. Float valves will always fail at some point, which will result in a surprise high water bill in the hundreds of dollars! Don't risk it, have us fix your pond leak today so you can turn off your auto fill device on your koi pond. We recommend just filling your koi pond or waterfall with a garden hose when it's low on water. Your backyard water feature should only need a small top off of water every two weeks. Be sure to turn off your pond auto fill device prior to doing any of the leak steps mentioned above. In some instances, it may just be your autofill valve stuck in the fill position causing your pond or pondless waterfall to leak out water. If your pond water level is staying the same, but there is water coming out, this may be the issue.
Season for pond leaks
Yes, believe it or not there is actually a season for pond leaks. Most waterfall leaks tend to occur towards the end of the summer after pond plants have had a full growing season. This is because their roots and overgrowth can cause leaks by diverting water. Another time for pond leaks is in the Fall after many leaves have made there way into your pond or stream. These leaves will dam up the water causing water to leak out the sides of the stream. To fix this problem, clear the water path in the stream of branches, leaves and debris to insure the water has a clear path downstream. You will be amazed by just moving a couple small rocks on how the flow improves and is no longer causing a catch point for leaves and small branches.
A pond auto fill valve/float valve continually running water into a koi pond skimmer box because of a pond leak in Flowery Branch, GA
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A aquascape skimmer that has had the hardware replaced with new stainless steel parts to stop a pond leak in Dacula, GA 30019
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Koi pond leak caused by excessive plant root growth in stream redirecting out of stream liner area in Duluth, GA 30097
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Leak in external koi pond pump caused by freezing temperatures in Cumming, GA
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Serving The North Atlanta Metro Area
Gwinnett, Fulton, Hall Counties in Georgia
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We currently clean ponds in the following cities and surrounding areas: Duluth, Johns Creek, Alpharetta, Flowery Branch, Dacula, Roswell, Norcross, Milton, East Cobb, Buford, Suwanee, Lawrenceville, Cumming, Gainesville and Braselton
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We currently clean ponds in the following cities and surrounding areas: Duluth, Johns Creek, Alpharetta, Flowery Branch, Dacula, Roswell, Norcross, Milton, East Cobb, Buford, Suwanee, Lawrenceville, Cumming, Gainesville and Braselton
