Power outage

[Bluerooster]

Power went out at about 5 am Thursday, and has been out until today about 12:35. The bog has been bone dry that whole time. I wish I'd installed a check valve in the feed line. Water drained back to the pond. But I guess it will be ok. Leaves galore!! I removed some prior to turning the pump back on. Now wish I'd taken the leaf blower to it. But I'm afraid it would be a losing battle at this stage. Still windy, and more leaves yet to fall.

 

[BKHpondcritters]

Oh, yikes! That's a long time to be without power. I am so glad our pond circuit is on the generator panel - one less thing to worry about during those prolonged outages.

 

[GBBUDD]

CHECK VALVES HELP BUT THEY LOOSE PRESSURE AND OR LEAK. Just like a check valve is vacuume breakers they are reverse check valves. So when the power goes on a check valve is pushed open and held there untill the pressure stops in power loss. A vacuum breaker does the reverse the water pushes the gate closed and since the pressure is constant due to the power being on they are less likely to leak or fail. And once the power goes out nothing is holding the gate closed and it opens letting the air in stopping back siphoning. When the water supply enters the bog cut in a T with supply to the bog running straight across the T fitting and install a minimum of a 6 inch piece of pipe with the vacuume breaker on it and that's about it. I have seen where after years they can get plugged up by spiders so check them every so often. They are also called sure vents.

Problem with a dry bog is all your bacteria is going to die. WHICH COULD BE AN ISSUE LATTER FOR a AMONIA SPIKE. You really should rework the bog so it holds water. After all it can take a year or more for a bog to aquire the bacteria and other insects and microbes that live and work in a bog.

 

[combatwombat]

Tagging onto what @GBBUDD said, you can prevent water loss in your bog by installing a tee off of the feed line with a ball valve on the end set just below the water line and left slightly open.
Not sure if this is the same solution that @GBBUDD is describing but I think it’s the same idea—breaks the vacuum/suction on the bog feed line during power loss and prevents water from draining back to the pond.

this video describes it a bit at about the 10 minute mark:

 

[GBBUDD]

No the ball valve is not what I was referring to . That will work but your water level will drop to that level where the air intake is enough to break the vacuum. The link below is what i was referring to. Other then spending money on a ball valve a simple hole drilled in the side of the pipe can do the same as the ball valve but algea and debris can grow over or get sucked in blocking the suction break.. The link below is installed above the waters surface . But John Allen the link you provided is a good man I like his videos he's the only one I have seen talk about intake or negative edge.
https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=L&ai=DChcSEwjWh_mZ6OLsAhWFssgKHaurCakYABAGGgJxdQ&ae=1&sig=AOD64_0mgZWDPTYCOMl7df1RY1NHaf_gug&ctype=5&q=&ved=2ahUKEwjh5vGZ6OLsAhWRY98KHWbIB-kQwg96BAgCEBU&adurl=https://www.amazon.com/Oatey-39017-Sure-Vent-Admittance-Adapter/dp/B0069KCZO4/ref=asc_df_B0069KCZO4/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=167155426463&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17493280214914163109&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9003338&hvtargid=pla-311232934043&psc=1

 

[addy1]

The bog media probably stayed wet, ie the rocks. I would think it would take some time for all the rocks to dry out. Your bacteria, most likely, will be fine. imho

 

[Lisak1]

We have a ball valve on the plumbing line at ground level - right before the line drops down into the bog. When we close the valve, the bog stays full.

 

[addy1]

My input line is at the bottom of the bog, but coming from the pump the line is above the bog. So it does not drain out. One good thing about building on a serious slope. The pump itself is below pond water level, never have a priming issue.