I often worry about this myself.

The only solution I was able to come to was to have my floor uneven. If I were to suffer a failure similar to yours, my pump is on a "shelf" approximatly 8" above the bottom of the pond.

In theory, it would give my fishies some time if a failure occured and my pump started emptying my pond.

I'm not as worried about the fish... since my pump is in the skimmer, the water can't fall below the level of the plant shelf. I'm actually more worried about burning out the pump, and the pond water emptying into the rest of my yard. :)

It sure wouldn't do the pump any good. You could place the prefilter in a container such as a bucket, then when the water could no longer pour over the top, no more water would be pumped out. Or just locate the prefilter higher than the pump. Sandy

I'm scared of this happening too. Our pump is on the floor of the pond - not much we can do about that. Maybe some kind of thing that feels when the water drops below a certain level it cuts the power to the pump?

Jpinard,

You could theoretically create something like that. It would be similar to either a sump pump, or the reverse of your toilet.

Since you would want the pump to pretty much run all the time, a sump setup would be optimal.

If/when the water level drops too low, the circuit is cut and the pump stops. This would probably be the best setup.
But sump pumps are pretty high volume. You would need to rig it to a pond pump first!

One of my filtration systems has the pump in the skimmer box. I have a little giant shut off switch. It has a plug and the pump's plug- plugs into it. The shut off is attached to the pump at the water level that I want the pump to shut off.
Here is a link to it. I did not buy it from this company.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pump shut off switch

Hi all,
ctperkins,
You can get an auto shutoff switch for your pump, 1sst posted a link. I think you can get them at Home Depot too, over with the sump pumps, and maybe in the garden section with the pond stuff.

jpinard,
You can add a skimmer to the side of your pond, I install Savio, but there are lots of manufacturers that make them. (Savio's are the strongest I've seen though) I don't mean the floating type, the ones I'm talking about are set in the ground beside the pond and you cut a hole in your liner for the water to flow through. With one of these on your pond, it can only drain down about 6 inches, then your skimmer is empty and the pump will shut off.

amazing_aquascapes:

Do you have experience with the little giant low water shut off switch? I have a Savio clear water 2220 gph pump and a Savio compact skimmerfilter. Will this switch connect to my pump? Can it be affixed to the wall of the skimmer instead?

Thanks,
Chris

Chris,
Yes, I use them all the time and yes, you can attach it to the side of the skimmer. What I usually do is attach it to the discharge pipe of the pump with a couple of wire zip ties. Then when I pull the pump, the switch comes with it.
It's not a float switch like some of the sump pumps use, it functions on pressure. It will work with any brand or style pump (submersible or inline). You plug it in and the pump plugs into the back of that plug, piggyback style. (like Christmas lights) When the water gets below the level of the switch, it cuts off power.

When the water level in the skimmer starts to get low from evaporation or clogged mats, the pump will shut off, then the skimmer will fill up and the pump will turn on, then drain the skimmer and shut off, then on, then off, etc. When you see your waterfall surging on and off, it means your water level is getting too low or your filter mats in your skimmer need to be cleaned.

It's well worth the $50 when you consider the cost of replacing the pump.

Derreck