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| Dodged a bullet! | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Mar 12 2011, 08:09 AM (345 Views) | |
| anitapond | Mar 12 2011, 08:09 AM Post #1 |
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Bluegill
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Finally had a chance to look at my pond this morning after the huge snowstorm. I HAD LOST 6 INCHES OF WATER! Where did it go?! Another 1 or 2 inches and my pump would have been sucking air. I threw on some clothes and unplugged the pump. Of course, I can't see a "pool" of water anywhere because the snow is 2 feet deep. I went trudging through the snow and the 3 foot drifts to the pond, praying that the water spigot was not frozen. Thank goodness that our temps are in the high 30s right now heading to the low 40s this afternoon. In the fall I had thought ahead and put extra tubing on the deck just in case. Well, my "just in case" was upon me. I hooked it up to the water, grabbed the dechlor, and started filling the pond back up slowly. I pushed and shoveled the snow away from the waterfall and some of the edges of the pond. Some of it fell into the pond and should melt, so I didn't fill the pond to the max. I figure the melting snow will help to fill it up and not fluctuate the water temp as much as my city water. Plus, snow has no chlorine. I still cannot figure out where all of the water went. Is it possible to get a leak in the winter time after a heavy snow? The snowstorm we had was heavy, wet snow. The good snowball/snowman making kind. We actually lost power several times (for short time spans) due to the snow on the power lines. My feeling is that the waterfall was diverted somehow by the snow buildup. That just makes more sense to me (or maybe I just don't want to think I have a leak!). I just wish I knew where the water went! Where's the puddle? Now I'm a nervous wreck to leave the house. The irony is, I was supposed to be with my family on a skiing weekend in NY. I decided that I couldn't stay away from my deteriorating lab who is in pretty bad shape right now, so I stayed home with her. |
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| Its Just Don | Mar 12 2011, 09:33 AM Post #2 |
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Bluegill
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I'd bet on the waterfall being the culprit. A heavy, wet snow could form a thick, icy slurry in the waterfall area and cause the water to back up and overflow. I've had periodic problems in the summer with plant growth in my stream doing the same thing and I have to trim back the water celery to make a pathway for the water to get through without backing up. I'd find the overflow area only by the wet soil in the area, which you can't see because of the snow. I decided this year to shut down the waterfall and rely on my floating heater and aerator to keep things healthy. It was difficult for me to watch the pond cover with ice and snow, but now I see where this might have been better that letting the waterfall run as in the past. I see now that the darkness from the ice and snow has kept the string algae from growing excessively and the fish have come through with no fatalities. With the amount of snow we got this year, I expect that I would have had the same problem as you had and the snow was so deep, I'd have had a real problem even getting to my waterfall or to the pump without having a heart attack. In years past, when I left the waterfall flowing through the winter, I had to add water at least two or three times during the winter, but this year, my pond lost none. The water level is right up to the overflow pipe. Of course, there was a lot of moisture added with all the snow we had. |
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| anitapond | Mar 12 2011, 01:42 PM Post #3 |
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Bluegill
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OK, DP, you gave me a change of heart. My life is stressful enough...next year I am going to shut down the waterfall. When I'm getting ready to shut the pond down for winter, do I need to remove the bioballs and pads from the biofilter or do I just leave them during the winter and clean them out come spring? |
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| Its Just Don | Mar 12 2011, 05:27 PM Post #4 |
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Bluegill
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I wouldn't think it really matters whether you clean them in the fall or in the spring. I didn't clean mine after I shut down the falls because it was getting pretty cold and my hands can't take that cold water anymore. I notice, though, that the filter pads that were left dirty in the lily pool now have dried up gook on them and I don't know if that will make them difficult to clean now. Maybe I'll change my mind on when to clean. What do others on here do? How about you, Frogman? |
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| VB68 | Mar 12 2011, 07:01 PM Post #5 |
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Fry
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We let our waterfall run all winter and yes I too have had the water level drop some. Like Don, the culprit was the waterfall. We don't have as deep of snow as some of you, so it's not a problem to check for blockage and keep it flowing. Hope that was all that was wrong anitapond. Good Luck |
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| anitapond | Mar 13 2011, 05:11 AM Post #6 |
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Bluegill
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I woke up this morning and the pond lost 6 inches of water again! I am beside myself. Once I get my emotions under control, I will go out there. I just unplugged it for now. The snow on the rocks around the pond has melted, so it can't be ice, snow, slurry, etc. causing diversion of the water. I am open for suggestions on what to do and what to look for, please. |
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| Its Just Don | Mar 13 2011, 06:24 AM Post #7 |
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Bluegill
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Unplugging the pump was the right thing to do. Now wait and see if the water level continues to go down. If it does, then you have a leak in the pond liner somewhere below that level. If it doesn't continue to go down, add water again and let it sit. If the water doesn't go down, then your water loss is in the waterfall area or in the piping from the pump. If it does go down, you will have to let it continue to go down until it stops. When it stops, you know the leak is somewhere at that level of the liner and you can start looking. Of course, if the leak ends up in the bottom of the liner, you will have to move the fish to another container before the pond drains dry. |
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| anitapond | Mar 13 2011, 07:01 AM Post #8 |
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Bluegill
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Thanks, DP, for those great suggestions, especially because my brain just isn't working right at the moment; my emotions have taken over... How long can I let the water sit without worrying about the oxygen levels for my fish? There is no ice on the pond right now, and it is cloudy today with temps in the lower 30s (windchill low 20s). I don't know what the temp of the pond water is. I do remember that cold water has more oxygen. |
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| anitapond | Mar 13 2011, 10:26 AM Post #9 |
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Bluegill
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As DP suggested, I let the pond sit quietly for several hours. The water level did not drop :thumbup: . I just finished filling it back up and rearranged the rocks on the left side of the waterfall. I was watching the water flow and some string algae was on the main fall rock and it was being diverted to that side of rock. The dirt bank under the liner on that side isn't high enough, so I'm going to have to fix it when the weather breaks this spring. It's really hard to get back there because it's right next to the house and there is no room to move. Nevertheless, it needs fixed, obviously. Anyway, I'm so glad it doesn't seem to be a leak, and hopefully what I did will last until I can fix it the right way. Thanks again, DP, for explaining the best way to figure this all out! :swimfishy: :) |
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| Its Just Don | Mar 13 2011, 05:09 PM Post #10 |
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Bluegill
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I have a 3000 or so gallon pond with almost a hundred fish and 14 turtles in it. I have a small aerator at the shallow end and a heater that kept a hole open. The fish show no signs of oxygen starvation. Much more oxygen can dissolve in cold water than in warm water and in cold water, fish metabolism (use of oxygen) is much reduced, as is their activity levels. You shouldn't have any problem with oxygen levels unless you have a lot greater fish density than I. |
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| anitapond | Mar 14 2011, 05:01 AM Post #11 |
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Bluegill
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I woke up this morning and was afraid to look out at the pond. No water loss during the night! :cheering: Thank goodness it wasn't a hole in the liner. After reading your post DP, I think I need to invest in an aerator for next winter. How do you protect it from the outside elements? That's always been my biggest concern. Also, if I shut down my pump, do I need to store it inside, or can I just leave it sit in the pond during the winter? Another question I've always had but never asked. Can I leave my pond netted all winter long? What happens if snow and ice build up on the next and it sinks into the pond? Is this a big deal? |
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| Its Just Don | Mar 14 2011, 03:36 PM Post #12 |
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Bluegill
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Here's a page from Foster and Smith that has all kinds of aeration stuff for ponds, including a weather protection case (very expensive). http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/pond.../ps/c/5163/9326 I went to the pet shop and bought the largest aerator for aquariums that they had, some tubing and some air stones. The aerator had four outlets, so I put four small air stones in the water and weighted them down with a plastic sandwich bag full of golf balls (Mr. Cheapo). I took a plastic shoe box and cut a small opening in one end for the hoses and placed the shoebox upside down over the aerator and weighted the shoebox down with a rock. It worked fine all winter, even under the snow. How you store your pump depends on what kind it is. If it's a direct drive pump with rubber seals, it should be stored where it won't freeze and kept in a bucket of water to prevent the seals from drying out. If it's (like mine) a magnetic drive pump, it can be left in the pond below the level of freezing or simply put in the garage dry. There are no seals to dry out or damage by freezing. The motor is encased in epoxy and drives the impeller with a magnet. I don't net my pond, but Tom does, so we'll have to wait for him to give us some advice on that point. I think Tia does, too, but she doesn't usually get the kinds of snows we do. How about it Tom and T, do you keep the nets on the pond throughout the winter? BTW, I forgot to add: HOORAY, no leaks :happyhappy: !!!!!!!! |
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| anitapond | Mar 14 2011, 06:34 PM Post #13 |
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Bluegill
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Thanks again, DP, for the valuable info and the hooray :) ! If it wasn't for your advice, I'd be pulling my hair out trying to figure out the best way to figure out if I had a leak! :idiot: I'll have to find out what type of pump I have, and with the info you provided, I'm going to find myself an aerator. Is there one you would recommend on the Drs. website link you provided? As far as keeping it protected, I think I'll use your idea to cover it with instead of spending mucho dinero on a fake rock! I see they also have weighted air line tubing and winter air line tubing. Should I invest in these? I'm assuming if the tubing isn't weighted, I'll need to use "golf balls" or the like to help the tubing sink? What about the aerator Drs. sells with the Styrofoam float? Should the airstone sit on the bottom of the pond or just a few inches down? How big of a hole does your aerator keep open during the winter? I'm a little concerned of just using an aerator in my pond during the winter. I'm thinking I need one that's pretty strong. Reason being that our winters are so harsh and my pond is so shallow. I normally don't get a thick layer of ice on my pond and I would like to keep it that way, because my pond is shallow and I don't want the roots of my plants to freeze. The bottom of my pond is not big enough for me to sink all of my plants, so a few of them just stay on the plant shelves during the winter (and I've had good luck thus far). |
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| tlc | Mar 14 2011, 08:10 PM Post #14 |
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Big Fish Moderator
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I'm going to barge into this thread here and add my 2 cents. I would recommed this areator for you A: http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/prod...44&pcatid=14444 I have this one and I am very happy with it. I've had ZERO problems and it runs 24/7 for 3 years at least. It's pretty cheap too. I don't weigh down the tubing (and it comes with plenty of tubing :thumbup:). The weight of the airstone keeps the hose where I want it in the pond. The nice thing about this aerator is that you can adjust the amount of air it puts out which I love. Ah heck, I think I like it so much that I will give it two thumbs up :thumbup: :thumbup: (this aerator comes with a Styrofoam float which I tossed but does NOT come with a airstone) As for what I keep the aerator in, I do basically the same thing as DP. A clear rectangular container but mine is not upside down. I also used a mouse pad in the bottom for the pump to sit on just for the heck of it. Right now I have to whole contraption under my bridge or I would take a pic for you. |
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| tlc | Mar 14 2011, 08:20 PM Post #15 |
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Big Fish Moderator
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I did net my pond two winters ago. That year we had quite a bit of snow a couple of times some thick ice too. The net pretty much stayed on top of the pond. They just float on the top. I didn't get any leaves built up on the net since I don't have any trees around it but the snow that fell didn't seem to cause it any problems. I think Froggy might be better to advise on that one. If you get cold enough then any aerator that you have running can be overcome with ice as KK has proved a few times now. When we were in the teens for a couple of weeks a couple of winters ago I think I had about a foot opening in the ice. I also threw in my deicer just to be safe. With a small pond, you do not want too much water turbulance. You want to keep that "warmer" water layer where your fish hang out and not mix the water too much. Sorry this is the best that I can explain it tonight b/c my DH is pestering the crap out of me :batterup: . |
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