What to do when your pond pump stops working.

Your pond is the pride and joy of your property. It may not be as big as you want, or at times as clean as it should be. It is though the one thing that brings you the most joy consistently. That is until you wake up one morning and your dynamic waterfall, which often greats you each day, is still. A few frog heads bob in the banks, and the mosquitoes have already started to move in. No need to panic. Keep reading to see the most common cause and how to remedy it.

The Story:

Kris and Gabrielle hired Sierra Landscape Management to replace an old defunct pond that came with their new home. The short time it was working showed them a new way of outdoor living. They realized what they never knew... They were water people. They fell in love with awakening to the sounds of a waterfall, falling asleep to the sounds of a frog orchestra, and just spending time watching the fish swim about. Until, it all went sideways. The waterfall collapsed and the liner got a leak. Time to rebuild.

This created a perfect opportunity to upgrade the filtration and water flow which were lackluster at best to begin with. A new top of the line skimmer and filter system were added where missing and brought to life with a pump large enough to create awe. This created the platform for new waterfalls and a new pond which previously struggled with leaf and debris management.

All was well and the new feature was on it's way to acclimating into the new backyard. Then it happened. We got the call that the pump wasn't working. The wheels start spinning. Questions start being asked... Was it defective? What did we do wrong? Did this company pull one over on us? Did we make the right choice? All perfectly understandable. Thankfully, these homeowners knew to call us first.

 Step 1: Inspect the obvious. Power?

Promptly responding to the service call we saw nothing glaring on the surface, except mosquitoes trying to breed. First step was to check the electricity. I know it sounds silly, but you'd be surprised how many service calls originate because someone flicked the wrong switch in the basement. Electricity was verified, now we move on down the line.

 Step 2: Verify nothing is damaged.

Was the cord intact? In this case yes it was. Not always the case though when excited homeowners and gardeners damage a buried cord unknowingly, only to find out months or weeks later as the exposed wires slowly start to eat at themselves eventually shorting out enough to shut the system down. This is also why it is essential to make sure your electrical source is code compliant and GFCI protected.

Brand New Pump Clogged

 Step 3: Take out the pump.

Surface check complete, which only means one thing. Time to pull the pump. Thankfully, one thing Aquascape did get right is designing their systems to allow for efficient maintenance of their products. Pulling the pump takes all of 30 seconds. Pump out, we performed a visual exterior inspection, looking for clues. Was the pump hot, was it cracked, is everything installed correctly, if we unplug and it and re-plug it in… does it start up? All checks complete. We move on...

 Step 4: Locate the issue.

We get the pump down to it's raw form. That means (after the pump is verified to be unplugged) that we remove the piping and check valve to inspect the impeller. Looking down in the pump outlet we see nothing concerning. Though upon attempting to spin the impeller, we notice it's locked up tight. It should spin freely. Time to remove the pump protective screen.

Thankfully, this pump is easy-peasy and the screen simply slides off. Revealed... alas we find the problem. The impeller opening is clogged. Regardless of brand, or style, this is the number one cause we see for pump shut down and poor water flow. In this case, mulch kicked into the water by the animals clogged the pump slowly over 3 weeks. Glad it was an easy fix. Not so fast yet...

 Step 5: Double check and reinstall.

While we have the pump apart, and since it was stopped abruptly we want to continue our inspection. A thorough inspection of the impeller takes place. Specifically, we are looking for looseness of the shaft on all travel accesses that might indicate the pump got hot or ran dry and ruined the bushings. This would also show signs such as the impeller rubbing against the casing while being spun by hand. The impeller should spin freely with no obstructions. Inspection complete. Wipe the nervous sweat from our brow and reverse the disassembly process to return the pump to operating condition.

Pump reinstalled and reconnected the power is restored and the homeowners once again get to enjoy their water feature. In this case the cause was preventable. Sometimes, we find that pumps are clogged because of a lack of maintenance. Other times we find that the pump, like everything does at some point, lived it service life and needs to be replaced. We find that with proper care a pump should last at least 3 years, but have seen examples of pumps going into the double digits when cared for properly.

Innovation changes the game:

The solution to this specific issue was a simple one. We had a filter bag handy, comprised of a finer mesh. Placing the pump inside this filter bag adds an additional layer of debris screening and protection to the waterfall pump. Not only will this extend the service life of the pump, but it will decrease the likely hood that this situation will repeat itself. Click on the video below to see exactly how this went down.

Water features can be life changing. They can also be a little maintenance. Largely speaking, a well planned and well maintained water feature will give back much more than it takes. Water features may not fit every lifestyle, though waterfalls and ponds can be created in almost limitless shapes and sizes to meet the needs of most properties. There is only one hard requirement.

You must be willing to be awed by the wonder and amazement that takes place as your feature flows through the seasons.

Regardless of your style, or how you need the water to work for you... Is it for fun, therapy, or adventure, you get to decide. Many options exist, though you do not need to settle for second best. You have worked hard for this moment and deserve an experience that makes you smile every time you look out that back window, for as long as you so choose. Sierra has created water features of all shapes and sizes for homeowners just like you. Our process is built to guide you towards an experience that redefines how you do business. We all win together. Ready? We hope so... Click the button below to get started. (We will call you back...Sad we even have to say that...)

Thanks for reading!