Grr! I found a leak in my pond plumbing...

[AWL9]

Exactly the same situation I just had. Glad I don't have a bottom drain either, just a skimmer box. The pump can't drop the water level in the pond by more than about 10", so there will still be between 24" and 34" of water in the pond.

Glad you figured out the leak I used to have plants in my system but due to problem you are now having and the maintenance required to keep the plants under control they are all gone now.

In a properly designed gravity fed filtration system from a bottom drain you will burn the pump out long befoere you pump the pond dry.
　
But if you were using direct suction from the bottom drain there is the possibility.

Any bottom drain installation should be followed by a pressure test at around 10 Psi this way any leaks can be fixed long before fixing the leak becomes a major issue.

 

[Conner]

Glad you figured out the leak I used to have plants in my system but due to problem you are now having and the maintenance required to keep the plants under control they are all gone now.

In a properly designed gravity fed filtration system from a bottom drain you will burn the pump out long befoere you pump the pond dry.
　
But if you were using direct suction from the bottom drain there is the possibility.

Any bottom drain installation should be followed by a pressure test at around 10 Psi this way any leaks can be fixed long before fixing the leak becomes a major issue.

I don't have a bottom drain, I just use a surface skimmer. My pond can't run dry from the pump no matter what.

The next pond that I build will have a bottom drain though. I think it will make maintenance easier.

 

[yogurt_21]

my pond will have 2 mobile bottom drains, they are both 20" and only drain out food waste and algae, while leaving poop. lol

surface skimming imo is much easier to fix if there's a problem while making more work for upkeep on the pond itself. Fro me I'd much prefer that as I'd hate to have to drain the pond everytime there was a plumbing issue.

 

[Muske]

Just topped off my pond due to Hyacinth root mass.

Found two small green frogs living on top of the roots in the filter.

I never, again never, add de-chlor to my pond, it would cost to much during the smmer months. What I have is a valve on the end of the hose. I close it a little to cause a spray that creates a lot of areation. That with the falls create enough areation to disapate the chlorine and chloramines.

 

[Conner]

Well, I usually position the hose in a way that it shoots up into the air and falls down into the pond and creates a lot of splashing. I'm sure most of the chlorine and chloramines gas off, but if the fish were hanging out right under the water flow (since it was a lot cooler than the pond) they may have gotten exposed to higher levels of chloramines (my water doesn't have chlorine according to the water company report) than they otherwise would have. And since I had the dechlor on hand, I figured it would be safer to add it.


I am starting to have issues with algae in the pond. I'm not sure if its because I've had to top off several times due to the overflowing bog filter, or just that its way too hot and sunny over the last month. I'd love to add a UV filter, but I can't really fit it into my budget right now. Any other option for me, other than covering the pond with a tarp?

 

[Muske]

Green water?

Throw more hyacinth down in the pond.

Do you have any lillies?

Did you get all the silt out?

 

[Conner]

Green water?

Throw more hyacinth down in the pond.

Do you have any lillies?

Did you get all the silt out?

I do need to thin out the bog filter still and drop a bunch of hyacinth down into the pond. For some reason the ones in the pond aren't doing as well as they were. It may be that its just been so hot. We've had like 3 straight weeks of 95-100F weather, and the pond gets pretty much full sun all day.

I don't have any lillies, the only ones near me are super expensive (like $40 for a 4-5" diameter pad).

There's really not much silt. There's a little bit on the bottom of the pond, but other than that not much. I'm sure the hyacinth have some trapped in their roots. I'm going to turn off the pump, remove hyacinth, rinse the roots in a tub, put them down into the pond, and then turn the pump back on. Hopefully that will clear out the bog, add shade to the pond, encourage more growth, and remove silt from the system as well.

On another note, the gar have severely reduced the number of goldfish in the pond. I'd guess that from the 100 or so that were in the pond when I put in the gar, there are maybe 20-25 left now. These are mostly the largest comets, that are probably at the extreme size limit to be eaten.

I guess that that could have an impact on the nutrients available to the plants, but I wouldn't think it would make that big a difference? I did add another 75 or so small feeders yesterday, to supplement the available feeders. I want to run by a bait shop and get some large minnows to add as well.

 

[Muske]

The decline or slower growth in the Hyacinth in the pond are from less water flow. If you can corral them near the bog return they might perk up. Fishing line is what I use since it is almost invisable.

I also had a thought that the Gars maybe adding more waste which could have spurred an algae bloom. It would seem with them removing goldfish there should still be a balance.

Does the pergola provide any shade to the pond?

Some small trees around the edges will give some shade.

 

[Conner]

I thought about doing that with the plants, and I will try that tonight.

I was actually thinking the plant decline might have been because of the decrease of feeders. I wasn't sure if the gar would be offsetting their waste production or not.

Unfortunately the pergola doesn't shade the pond at all. I wasn't able to build it large enough, since its on the east side of the pond.

There is a large pear tree that partially shades the pond during the early evening, but it only shades about 1/4-1/5 of the pond at a time.


I have been contemplating trying to switch out my current pond pump, a 3,500gph submersible pump, with a 3,500gph external pump. Then I could use the submersible one down in the pond to create more water flow. But I would have to dig out a hole next to the skimmer box, install a bulkhead in it, create a waterproof basin for the pump to sit in, and then plumb it into the bog filter. So I'm not sure that that is very feasible for me right now.


I think what I'm going to do is corral all the plants in front of the waterfall from the bog filter, and then try to partially cover about half of the pond with a tarp. That will help the plants, and block a lot of sunlight. What do you think, Muske? Or should I just try moving the plants and not worry about the tarp yet?