Paul: For my original siphon, we just ran the pipe over the dam. For the permanent one, I buried it about three feet (below freeze level) in the top of the dam and between 3 and 9 feet the rest of the way except starting at about 15 feet below normal water level, it is just on top of the pond bottom. For something permanent without worrying about freezing, I'd seriously look at doing it more like on the pond dam piping website here http://www.ponddampiping.com/syphon1.html. the ice sometimes gets pretty thick where I am located so I'm not comfortable trying that way. Mine is more designed so that I can pull water from the pond bottom as desired vs. it automatically maintaining a certain level as might be better for your situation. Hope this helps. Jeff

[Linked Image from i108.photobucket.com]