Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Help 2 pond siphon

Hi, my Dad built two ponds a few years ago and they're doing great, but the larger pond is always less full than the smaller pond. There's no leak or anything from the dam, so I can only assume the water loss is from the fact that it has little coverage which would account for a lot more evaporation than the smaller one which is surrounded by trees, and the fact that it gets hit by the wind more (again more evaporation). What my Dad and I have been trying to do is create a siphon from the small pond to the large pond. The small pond sits higher than the large one, but we're having trouble getting the water started. We have a good 500 feet of drain tile which we are using for the siphon, but we need some way to get the water started, we tried dunking the entire hose under water to fill it up, but quickly realized that trying to haul two tons of water would tear the siphon.

My plan now is to tape one end shut and put it into the large pond, then using a pump fill the pipe full and while both ends are submerged, open up the other end, and it should theoretically work. However, I'm trying to find a cheap water pump to use. I tried a shop-vac(LOL) and a powerwasher to fill the pipe, but neither worked. Now the cheapest thing I can find that will pump large amounts of water is your run-of-the-mill sump pump.

Since this will probaby be the only time this pump will be used I'm trying to find something under $100, if any of you have any places where I might be able to find one, that would be great.

Be absolutely certain that your siphon has no holes in the walls. Plug one end and put it in the low pond, then, after filling the siphon from the other end, put that end into the high pond and remove the plug. If you have to mess around getting the the open end into the high pond, plug the open end after filling. Your siphon should work immediately. If it doesn't work, there's a hole somewhere in the siphon.

You should be able to rent a sump pump for about $30. Most rental stores around here have them.