Evaporation in fall

Joined
Mar 11, 2023
Messages
367
Reaction score
126
Hardiness Zone
7A
In summer I was losing probably 50-60gallons every 2-3 weeks. My last refill was 2 months ago, as rain began again after that drought. Now it's been two weeks, or more without proper rain, I am still losing water, can't really tell if it's a leak, I just attribute it to evaporation as it's been a long time and I think I would know by now.

In fall I seem to be losing the same amount with 20c temperatures when it's not raining for weeks, but there's also sun though i doubt as much of a factor in shade. I've got buckets of water, some containing pitcher plants I notice they drop too even in dense shade, but I can't really tell how comparable they are, pond has a much bigger surface... yet humidity is above 60-70% these days so I don't know.

Typically a leak is somewhere near the spillway, yet the soil under it seems regular, not dripping with water, so I don't think it could be that. Or I could have some other low edge where wind pushes it at certain times, but I think I'd know. Anywhere else I didn't really do any work, to cause a leak, or anything of the sort. Spillway most likely, but I checked it out and there was nothing going on there.
 

JRS

Joined
May 15, 2019
Messages
1,200
Reaction score
729
Location
Wisconsin
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
5a
Country
United States
GaryMoz posted this link to an evaporation calculator might give you an idea if your are ballpark.
 
Joined
Dec 16, 2017
Messages
14,626
Reaction score
11,557
Location
Ct
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
6b
Country
United States
In summer I was losing probably 50-60gallons every 2-3 weeks. My last refill was 2 months ago, as rain began again after that drought. Now it's been two weeks, or more without proper rain, I am still losing water, can't really tell if it's a leak, I just attribute it to evaporation as it's been a long time and I think I would know by now.

In fall I seem to be losing the same amount with 20c temperatures when it's not raining for weeks, but there's also sun though i doubt as much of a factor in shade. I've got buckets of water, some containing pitcher plants I notice they drop too even in dense shade, but I can't really tell how comparable they are, pond has a much bigger surface... yet humidity is above 60-70% these days so I don't know.

Typically a leak is somewhere near the spillway, yet the soil under it seems regular, not dripping with water, so I don't think it could be that. Or I could have some other low edge where wind pushes it at certain times, but I think I'd know. Anywhere else I didn't really do any work, to cause a leak, or anything of the sort. Spillway most likely, but I checked it out and there was nothing going on there.
If your loosing 25 gallons a week that i would say without question is evaporation.
 
Joined
Oct 4, 2019
Messages
1,444
Reaction score
1,144
Location
Winchester, VA
Hardiness Zone
6b
Country
United States
I swear that my pond evaporates more water in cooler weather than in summer. That was disconcerting at first, and I worried about leaks. But I've gotten used to it now. It's normal for my pond. Not sure if that applies to every pond, but it seems to be the case here.
 

Mmathis

TurtleMommy
Joined
Apr 28, 2011
Messages
14,313
Reaction score
8,348
Location
NW Louisiana -- zone 8b
Hardiness Zone
8b
Country
United States
@WaterGardener Now that you mention it, I think we have the same thing here, with more evaporation in colder weather. I don’t know how related it is to the humidity (we have that year round), but humidity is lower when it’s colder.
 

addy1

water gardener / gold fish and shubunkins
Moderator
Joined
Jun 23, 2010
Messages
45,029
Reaction score
30,076
Location
Frederick, Maryland
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
6b
Country
United States
Me too and we are so dry. Humidity 39%

Low 30s in the am, 60ish day, water just goes away.
 
Joined
Mar 11, 2023
Messages
367
Reaction score
126
Hardiness Zone
7A
It was a very bad decision not to get a net cover, waited too long. Humidity in my case or at least what weather forecasts tell is it's mostly 50-60%, and sometimes at night it is 80-90%, but still I see the evaporation in buckets where there is no light at all. It's been over a month now. Rain is next week, perhaps I won't have to refill it until it comes.

IMG_0285.jpg
 
Joined
Dec 16, 2017
Messages
14,626
Reaction score
11,557
Location
Ct
Showcase(s):
1
Hardiness Zone
6b
Country
United States
A simple net on a pole will do the trick. i put my pole nut under the negative edge the leaves catch them selves dropping over the waterfall
 
Joined
Mar 11, 2023
Messages
367
Reaction score
126
Hardiness Zone
7A
Well, it probably was evaporation but at certain higher levels it was also this low edge that's been haunting me since I rebuilt the bog filter... I rebuilt it, but it ended up being too low compared to the pond, so you were in a no win situation... I'd built up some soil behind the liner, so that way the water can't get out, but the soil's eroded away, now I had a blockage today some random cloth fell in there and I guess that took away all the soil that was holding it, or it may have happened over the months.. I can't really tell what would be a viable solution to this.

It'll be 6 months in two weeks since I rebuilt the bog filter, it has been working very well, but this has been an issue since that day.
1732114361894.png
 
Joined
Mar 11, 2023
Messages
367
Reaction score
126
Hardiness Zone
7A
I've just added an air pump two days ago so it doesn't end up freezing entirely, it's winter though, should be some nice temperatures in 3-4 days, and it'll be without rain/snow so I should notice if the water stays the same level, then I'll start investigating whether it's just a low edge or is it dripping where the spillway was glued in March. So far pond has a lot more water than normally, as my fortune seems to be filling up the same day that it later rains/snows a ton.

At the very least it is winter now so I don't have to worry that much about the entire system crashing, I'll have a lot of time to think about the possible solutions which is better given that it's not easy, I've thought about possibly extending the spillway, that way it drops directly into the pond, but I'm not sure.
 
Joined
Mar 11, 2023
Messages
367
Reaction score
126
Hardiness Zone
7A
So, there definitely is no leak in the pond, pond water level is at peak and hasn't dropped at all, good thing to rule out, so it would have been evaporation+this low edge. I am simply gonna take the gravel out of the bog slowly, then raise the bog higher, high enough that I don't have to worry about low edges, gonna look a bit out of place when it's sticking out but easy to hide with rocks.

Not the easiest solution, but it is the best one as it'll 100% resolve the low edge problem where the spillway drops into currently water can sometimes if the wind is right or water level's high (as it is now) can simply leave it. Gonna just slowly take out the gravel, then one day I'll raise it higher and that's it, no point in getting worked up about it at this point, weather isn't gonna be much different in 2 weeks or 2 months.
 
Joined
Mar 11, 2023
Messages
367
Reaction score
126
Hardiness Zone
7A
Started removing the gravel from the bog about 4-5 days ago. When I initially did the bog, which was December 2023, where I had 14-15 holes in pipes on the bottom and gravel wasn't round, it started running in March, that caused an issue then in May and I ended up redoing it as it was entirely clogged and the whole pond smelled dead as did the bog, algae suddenly started going white, the system had crashed in mere 2 months.

In late May I redid it, I think there are probably over 50 holes at least in the pipes on the bottom, the gravel I used was all round, though I could not find round 3/4 pea gravel so I had to buy bags from this retailer who for some reason would ship these heavy bags for next to nothing, as I wanted the top layer to be easy to plant in and it really was, plants grew well.

So 7 months later and the bog does not have a nasty smell, half of the gravel I've dug out is clean, I am surprised and maybe these words will come to bite me, but it seems the bog filter indeed did the job as advertised. I would say that I fed moderately but sometimes I'd throw a lot of food, and I've got two koi and about 8-9 goldfish. This is a great sign I suppose for the fish too, then it must mean the system wasn't overloaded even in summer. Water lettuce I think might have had a hand in the filtration too though as at times it was 95% coverage.
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Similar Threads


Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
31,583
Messages
519,479
Members
13,870
Latest member
AliciaK669

Latest Threads

Top