How often do we walk away from our pond with the hose running to refill the pond. We sometimes get distracted by phone calls, visiting neighbors, spousal demands, or other interruptions. Letting the hose continue to fill the pond is not only wasteful and costly, but potentially deadly to our fish due to excessive chlorine. A simple solution is to use a timer. You can use a personal timer which counts down and beeps to remind you to turn off the hose, or use a hose timer like the one at right to automatically shut off the hose after a specified time. Other timers are designed to come on at certain times of day and run the hose for a specific period. If using the auto type make sure you keep water conditioner on hand and in the pond in case of issues.
You might even consider a plumbed water line with an automated shutoff/refill valve when water reaches certain levels. This will allow you to refill the pond when doing water changes as well as top up the system frequently, compensating for evaporation and water loss. Do put a meter near the valve so you can monitor how much water is going into your pond.
