PondCheck: Pool Leak TestPondCheck: Pool Leak Test
Leaking, or just evaporating? Put a bucket in and find out.
Download on the App Store
Screenshots
Features
Pool drop and bucket drop, side by side
The bucket copes with the same sun, wind and humidity as your pool, so its drop is your evaporation — measured, not estimated. Whatever the pool loses beyond that is the gap PondCheck shows you.
The gap in figures you can use
See the difference in millimetres per day, converted to litres per day, plus a weekly total so you know what the loss is really costing you in water.
A Live Activity so the second reading isn't forgotten
Start the test and a countdown sits on your Lock Screen for 24 or 48 hours, then reminds you when it's time to measure again. The second reading is the one everyone forgets.
Rainfall logged as a confidence flag
PondCheck fetches rainfall for the test window. Rain falls to the same depth into the pool and the bucket, so it already cancels out in the difference and is never subtracted from your result. It's shown only to lower confidence, because a pool can catch run-off from the surrounding paving while a bucket can't.
Pump off against pump on
Run the test twice and compare. If the loss grows while the pump is running, the plumbing is worth a look first. If it doesn't change, the shell or liner is the more likely spot.
Pools, ponds, tanks and troughs
Works for swimming pools, garden ponds, rainwater tanks, stock troughs and aquariums. Metric or imperial, litres or gallons, whichever you think in.
Offline, no account, no tracking
Everything happens on your iPhone. No sign-up, no syncing, no analytics. The only network request is the optional rainfall lookup.
Is your pool really leaking, or is it just evaporation?
PondCheck runs the bucket test that pool and pond specialists recommend. Place a bucket in the water, mark both levels, wait a day and measure again. Because the bucket sits in exactly the same weather as your pool, its drop is your evaporation — measured, not estimated. Whatever your pool loses beyond that is the difference PondCheck reports as leak.
No sensors, no hardware, no subscription. Just a bucket, a ruler and your iPhone.
HOW IT WORKS
1. Float or stand a bucket in the water and fill it to match the water level.
2. Mark both levels and start the test in PondCheck.
3. A Live Activity counts down 24 or 48 hours so the second reading never slips your mind.
4. Enter both drops. PondCheck lines them up and shows the gap.
WHAT YOU GET
• Side-by-side view of pool drop against bucket drop
• The difference in mm per day, converted to litres per day
• A weekly figure, so you can see what the loss really costs you
• Live Activity countdown for the second reading
• Rainfall during the test fetched automatically and flagged as a confidence warning — rain falls equally into both, so it cancels out in the difference and is never subtracted from your result
• Pump-off against pump-on comparison to help narrow the search to the plumbing or the shell
• Pools, garden ponds, rainwater tanks, stock troughs and aquariums
• Metric and imperial, litres and gallons
• Fully offline, no account, no data collection
WHY THE BUCKET MATTERS
In an Australian summer a pool can lose a serious amount of water to sun and wind alone, and that is not a fault. Evaporation swings with heat, wind, humidity and water temperature, so averages tell you nothing about this week. The bucket removes the guesswork: it sits in the same weather, so its drop is the real evaporation at your place on those exact days.
FOR POOL OWNERS
A pool that drops a little each day is normal. A pool that drops more than the bucket is not. Run the test once with the pump off and once with it running. If the loss grows while the pump runs, the plumbing is worth a closer look. If it stays the same, the shell or liner is the more likely place to check.
PondCheck reports what you measure. It does not diagnose the cause of a leak or replace an inspection by a professional.