I have a new small pondless fountain, but I have a question and was hoping someone has advice. How do I check the water level? The basin has a grate over it which is covered by rocks. It takes several minutes to get down on my hands and knees and remove enough rocks that I can see the water level down in the basin, so I'm looking for an easier method to check the level.

I could just blindly add water every once in a while, but I have an expensive pump and I'd like to make sure the water level is ok so I don't damage it by running it dry.

Any ideas?