Significant water loss in pond HELP!!

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Hi there,
please help!!!
Our pond has lost half it's water.
We have fish.
We have a heron that visits and wonder if the linings been pierced?
We have a water filter.
What course of action should we take?
I'm freaking out a bit
Thanks x
 
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Of course you're freaking out! What type of liner, size of pond, and what sort of filter and plumbing? A picture will help. Is the water level still dropping?
I've found the majority of leaks in my pond have been from the hoses and water lines cracking or coming undone, so turn off the pump and see if the water level drop stops.
 
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Hi SarahT thanks for your response! So, the pond was here when we bought the house 3 yrs back. I try to maintain it with the little knowledge I have.
I will include some photos, if I can work out how to attach them.
It has a large filter and I'd say is approx 12ft long by 4ft wide.
 
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Here are some photos
 

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mrsclem

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Hello and welcome @Newt19 . Agree with Sarah about possible leak areas. Check around the tubing going to and from the pond. Also check the area around the filter, it could be overflowing at some point.
 
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My worst pond emptyings have been when my bog filter was overflowing over the side. The pump kept pumping water into the bog and it kept overflowing.

If you stop your pump and refill your pond, you can see if the pond itself is not holding water. If the pond level lowers with the pump off, let it drain as much as it will. That will tell you the general water level area to look for a leak.

If the water level is good in the pond until you start running your filter, the problem is outside the pond in the tubing to the filter, or the filter itself. (In my case it was overflowing the top of my bog filter, not a hole in the tubing or filter)

There should be a muddy or wet spot the water is going that might help you find the area to look. But that can be hard to solve if it is a bigger area.
 

addy1

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Welcome to the forum!

Agree with above! Turn all off, fill the pond see if it holds the water.
 
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When turning off the pump be mindful of o2 in the pond you may need a air stone.

Regardless if you hosing is leaking now or not it is going to, that is called kink free tubing and it is the cheapest if not close to the cheapest there is. I would start there you'll want to install either FLEX pvc. or standard pvc hard pipe. there other options but they can get pricey .

Once that's complete then check to see if something is leaking waterfalls and skimmers are next most typical leakers. then comes the top of the bog or stream and pond edge. folds in the rubber where the rubber or liner is not more than 2 or 3 inches and that can act like a straw and suck water up the fold and out of containment. that or dead plants hanging over the edge and it to can wick water out.
 
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Thank you so much everyone who has replied to this, it's so appreciated.
We've switched off the pump and chalk marked a line where the water level was... It appears to have gone down a little more, so we now know it's not the pump.
Now, how the heck do we find the leak if it's in the liner?!
The grass around one side of the pond has always been a little on the soggy side but that's because the gardens on a tilt and rain water runs that way.
 
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If, as you suspect, it's a heron then the holes should be within the first 12 inches or so.

Actually, I want to thank you for your question and your suspicion of it being herons. I have pre-formed fibreglass ponds. Few years old with a nice layer of slime/algae on the side. But I often see long scratches in the algae down the side of the pond. I was wondering what it was. Thought maybe a cat reaching in or something big climbing out. But heron strikes now seems more likely.

The scratches are usually around 8 - 10 inches long and never deeper down than, say 15 inches. That's why I said a heron hole ought to be around the first 12 inches or so. If the leaks is two feet down or more than it's probably not heron caused.
 
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If, as you suspect, it's a heron then the holes should be within the first 12 inches or so.

Actually, I want to thank you for your question and your suspicion of it being herons. I have pre-formed fibreglass ponds. Few years old with a nice layer of slime/algae on the side. But I often see long scratches in the algae down the side of the pond. I was wondering what it was. Thought maybe a cat reaching in or something big climbing out. But heron strikes now seems more likely.

The scratches are usually around 8 - 10 inches long and never deeper down than, say 15 inches. That's why I said a heron hole ought to be around the first 12 inches or so. If the leaks is two feet down or more than it's probably not heron caused.
Thank you for you reply! Our heron visits frequently, I think, because there is a large reservoir quite near our house and our neighbours also have ponds. Your post makes complete sense - yes, I never thought of the fact that the hole would be a specific height if it was a heron. We also have foxes, badgers and cats visit the pond to drink. I'm still looking for the hole/rip.
 
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When turning off the pump be mindful of o2 in the pond you may need a air stone.

Regardless if you hosing is leaking now or not it is going to, that is called kink free tubing and it is the cheapest if not close to the cheapest there is. I would start there you'll want to install either FLEX pvc. or standard pvc hard pipe. there other options but they can get pricey .

Once that's complete then check to see if something is leaking waterfalls and skimmers are next most typical leakers. then comes the top of the bog or stream and pond edge. folds in the rubber where the rubber or liner is not more than 2 or 3 inches and that can act like a straw and suck water up the fold and out of containment. that or dead plants hanging over the edge and it to can wick water out.
Thank you! Interestingly, there are a whole bunch of folds in the liner to the left end of the pond. We never fitted it and know very little about ponds in general. The liner has pretty large folds which we questioned when were looking for the rip/hole/leak yesterday. Something to look at there.
 
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Folds are quite common in a pond - it's tough to fit a liner into a pond without some folds, and especially into a rectangular space like you have. They can be a problem if they start wicking water out of the pond. Water will in fact run uphill if it manages to start a siphoning action in a fold. Folds can also be places where plant roots infiltrate which can also cause wicking or the liner getting pushed down too low.

I think this pond is finally about to become yours! Once you know how it's all put together it becomes like a member of the family!
 

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