How Do I Keep Pond Water at a Pre Determined Height Using a Pump & Skimmer?

Setting the height of the water in a pond without having the pond water decrease or increase to the point of overflowing can be accomplished with the proper set-up of a return pump and a skimmer. The pump pushes water into the pond, and as the pond fills with water, it overflows into the skimmer and back to the return pump. This way, the water in the pond will stay at the level of the skimmer. Evaporation will cause the water in the return pump chamber to decrease, and this will need to be topped off.

Things You'll Need

  • Pond skimmer
  • Water pump
  • Water hoses (PVC or vinyl)
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Instructions

    • 1

      Set the skimmer in the pond so that its intake is at the level you wish the pond water to be. The skimmer will determine the height of the water.

    • 2

      Set up the plumbing from the skimmer into a holding tank. The water should flow into the holding tank by gravity; therefore, this tank needs to be lower than the level of the pond water. The smaller the tank, the more frequently you will have to top off the water level. A good tank to use is a large plastic feeding trough from a hardware store. You want to use gravity to fill the tank instead of another pump to reduce the chances of mechanical failure in the pumps.

    • 3

      Add your return pump to the tank. The size of the return pump can vary depending on how much flow you want through the skimmer. If you will use this set-up as a filtration system, you may want to consider a larger return pump to increase the flow.

    • 4

      Plumb the return pump into the pond. Try to use as few bends and angles in the piping as possible, as it will reduce the back-pressure on the pump. Back-pressure will cause the pump to strain and reduce its useful life span. If you are using this system as a filtration system, you should have the outlet of the return pump in an area away from the skimmer, so you don't re-filter the same water.