day 32
I trimmed the foam and painted it. A gray paint might have blended it better, but I tried what I had. I continued checking the pump for leaks by plugging the skimmer and vortex inlets and blowing from a shop vac while I submerged the pump/leaf trap assembly in the vortex (being careful not to actually submerge the pump itself). No air bubbles.. hmmm. So I reconnected the pump and leaf trap, this time with no basket in the leaf trap. I got a few bubbles at first but as the air in the leaf trap dissipated, the bubbles also went away. So I put everything in the skippy and turned it on. Before the waterfall started flowing, I noticed the pond water level was lower than it should have been. I checked again later after putting in more water and, sure enough, I must have a leak somewhere. Maybe I punctured the liner by moving all the heavy concrete pieces. As for the waterfall, it sounds great! The bottom part is not quite finished yet. I also placed rocks on the south side of the pond and backfilled a bit with dirt.
