Major crisis in our pond!

[HARO]

Have you checked your stock tank filter to see if it is cracked .I put both my filters inside a piece of liner that allows the water to only flow back into the pond if they leak and all the hoses run inside the liners also .Like you John I am not getting any younger and the less I have to worry about the pond the better Also check your hoses.If your liner is 45 mill it should be OK .By the way both of my sons middle name is John

John. I like that!
John, Too

 

[John O]

Thanks, Haro. Yes, I checked the stock tank. This is a Rubbermaid product made for rough outdoor use. That has caused problems in the past, but one of my 2014 projects was to lift it on a 6" concrete slab and so any sign of a leak will be quickly evident. There were problems with the discharge pipe leaks, but I solved those. A metal spillway works best but to get that to seal to the stock tank is not easy as the tub has few flat areas. Been there, done all that. ;=) If there was ever a place to leak or cause headaches, I have suffered them all in 14 years - on this pond. My first is an above ground. I have thought of fail safe ideas to prevent accidental overflow from the filter but so far no way to attach it.

Also, my new pump replacement came today - an Alpine Hurricane pump from Pondliner.com which installed super easy and my stream as shown in the picture is now up and running

 

[sissy]

With my stock tank I used a tank adapter .But those stock tanks do crack .I had one last year that I just put extra plants in for the summer and it kept loosing water and it was a fine crack in the bottom .That is why also that all my hoses run inside the pond and my filter tanks are inside liners .Less worry about leaks .This is where my filter sits on the liner second pic is the tank inside the liner

 

[John O]

That is an interesting concept, Sissy. Fortunately, where we are in Oregon the winter is never severe enough to freeze that stock tank. The Skippy filter system works well, and the newer, smaller pond acts as a filter to some degree. That pond was established in September 2013 and the water cleared in the large pond very quickly. It has been very clear since, even in the heat of the summer. It is not always easy to find where the missing water goes. In summer when the ground is dry it is much easier than now.

 

[sissy]

I had to rebuild my pond because of moles chewing the liner and then I figure increase the size .We get some snow here and cold weather .I live 15 minutes from the NC border in the piedmont .I started my pond back in 2004 when I moved here from NJ .It was a preformed first until the the front porch was built and the hose was finished .I thought I had a leak this past summer but it turned out to be roots from a plant and frogs lowered a corner of my liner to nest in and water leaked out that area .

 

[John O]

I also found that the spillway / stream between the higher and lower pond can get partly plugged with debris and then the water line on the above pond can co over the side. I need to raise the level of the perimeter.
Aren't ponds fun? During the evening in the heart of summer I like to sit on the park bench beneath the pole light and watch the fish and hear the water flowing - in stereo, basically

 

[sissy]

I built my pond so I could sit on the front porch and look down at it and still enjoy my view also .Love how you cut your fence out too .I have videos on you tube under sissys pond .I love you tube ,so many things to see on there .I love the abandoned places videos besides pond videos .

 

[John O]

Well...the float is in and it works per my test yesterday. I am waiting for more artificial plants for cover until the spring. I am going to have to learn how to keep the fish from taking out the lily plants.

 

[sissy]

You could make a floating island .I know pecan and several others have done that to provide shade and cover and JW floating hoops to hold things like water lettuce and water hyacinth works .

 

[teeemkay]

In the Willamette Valley Oregon, we are blessed with milder weather than you, Teemkay. The ponds run all the time and so with an occasional thin ice on the pond, there is always a hole from the water flowing. Do you live near Waukegan?

Nope, not close to Waukegan. I'm just south of O'Hare Airport. Our winter has been very mild so far (compared to the last two years, at least). We've had just a handful of bitter-cold days. Today it is in the mid-40s outside. I was just outside in pajama pants and a t-shirt to check the pond.