Perfect pond maintenance for garden waterfalls, streams, pond liners and fountains...

What to do when a biological filter starts leaking and your pond losses water ... If you have a substantial water loss and you have an external biological filter it may be best to check this out first in the process of elimination, since you want to preserve its effectiveness for biological filtration.

What causes leaks to garden fountains, and how to fix them up ... If the fountain seems to be the culprit i.e. the drop in water level ceases when the fountain is turned off, then keep it turned off in windy weather, turned down or get a more suitable fountain.

Leaks in concrete ponds are very often a sign of the beginning of the end ... Concrete pond leaks. If the pool is cracked then it is either because the concrete and foundations have moved - therefore the design of construction had limitations - or the concrete has decayed because of age or bad mixing and materials.

Clay or puddled pond leaks ... If the weather has been dry and the sun has had chance to bake the clay liner then cracks can naturally develop, which as the water leaks out of them, the sun just chases them further down.

Find the cure or repair for pond liners... Butyl liners are the easiest to repair with patches you just push and squash into place. Alternatively a bicycle puncture repair outfit is just as satisfactory. The liner must be very dry. Use a hair drier.

For waterfalls and streams that are lined with rubber or PVC ... Wait until all the sections of the stream and waterfall are full of water and it is ready to flow. If they were well constructed then water should be held to a certain extent all the way down the stream.

Capillary action, pond liner and pond tubes ... Often known as minute siphoning, capillary action is something that can develop at any point and be permanent or intermittent.

For preformed waterfalls - plastic and fibreglass ... Many of the mass produced waterfall and stream units are not finished as well as they might be. The rush and turmoil of the production line sometimes results in the odd unit not being cut precisely right from the raw material.

IF the pool is losing water you must follow a process of elimination ... If it IS a case for total panic, and it seems like 6ins of water have disappeared from the pool in as many minutes turn everything off right away: fountains, lights, filters, and waterfalls.