My new pond is about 5' X 6' X about 2.5 ' deep. It has a Pennington Inpond 5-in-1 600 gallon pump system and a separate pond Boss waterfall pump 2000 gph. I love my pond, especially the waterfall, but am having to add a LOT of water to it every day along with the stuff to remove chlorine and chloramine.

I decided to unplug the waterfall last night to see if that's what was leaking & when I got up this morning at 6 or so, the water level hadn't gone down any which makes it definite the water loss is from the waterfall, and the fish were all at the surface with their mouths at the top. I'd have thought there would be enough oxygen from the Pennington pump alone but apparently not. I immediately turned the waterfall back on & all the fish were fine but of course didn't want to turn it off again. I've ordered an air pump kit from Amazon that says it's for ponds up to 5,000 gallons & has a 100 gph flow capacity. It will be here tomorrow.

My question is: Do you think I'll be able to unplug the waterfall pump at night once the air pump is on & working? It's in the high 90s here every day now & my pond is in the sun most of the day. The fish have plenty of shade from plants and the rocks that line the sides and bottom of the pond but I read that hot weather depletes oxygen in pond water. Hoping I can unplug the waterfall at night. All advice appreciated. TIA.