What went wrong?

[JenH]

Ahh, finally I have internet service again, as of 5 minutes ago. Which couldn't be better since there seems to be a problem with the pond. Over the weekend hubby and I installed our new skimmer, got everything up and running again and all seemed well. Now today, it has been very very windy (30 mph or so) And my pond looks a little like the ocean with all the waves. I know that I have lost some water with the wind and it appears to be about a half an inch of water loss juging by the line on the front of the skimmer. My waterfall seems to be barely running, say at least half what it normally is, and my bog water level is quite a bit low as well. I'm thinking the low water level of the bog is why I'm not getting the effect over the waterfall that I normally do. But why is the water level in my bog so low all of a sudden? There aren't any areas where the ground or surrounding rocks are wet, not near the pond, bog, waterfall or skimmer. If the wind is blowing water out of the bog like it is in the pond wouldn't it just fill back up again as the pump keeps pumping into it? There is plenty of water in the skimmer, although there was quite a bit of mulch that had blown into the pond and then sucked into the skimmer which I emptied out.

Any idea as to what gives here?

 

[addy1]

Has your pump become plugged up with something? You might want to check that.

 

[JenH]

The pump is still going. I don't think it is plugged. My pump is a solids handling pump so some bigger things can go through it now problem. Also since it is in the skimmer there isn't a whole to get to it now. The mulch that has gone into my skimmer is all floating, so I don't even think it is reaching the pump.

 

[sissy]

could be a frog got sucked in happened to me

 

[JenH]

Ok Addy, thank you so much!!! I went back out there again and this time I turned off the pump so that some of the bog water would flush back though the piping. Then plugged it back in again. And voila, full flow again. I don't know what or where, but there must have been something pllugging something!!

 

[JenH]

Really sissy, a frog! Wow, I hope it wasn't any of my fish. I've barely seen any of them since yesterday. We kept checking the skimmer to see if they got sucked in there, but think they've been hiding in the little cave I made them a couple days ago. The water is clear, but it is really cold since we had to do about a 50% water change when we install the skimmer and its been really chilly here too. Water is only about 50 degrees. But I only think 2 of them (the babies) would be small enough to fit through the pump intake. Haven't seen any tiny frogs, only giants!

 

[addy1]

Glad it is working again, maybe put some netting over the pump intake

 

[sissy]

Remember with the warmer weather if you are getting it there are babies already that you may not see .I have taddies in my pond already and they keep get sucked into the filter tank .I had a fish get sucked in last year and it was not hurt but died on top of the filter

 

[JenH]

Well, my fish did have a lot of spawning behavior a week ago. Don't know if that produces babies that fast. Haven't seen a lot of frogs this year since we started the rebuild...I suppose one bad thing about the bog is that anything that gets sucked up through the pump will inevitably be buried underneath 18" of gravel

 

[addy1]

Very true Jen, I have two leaf baskets in front of my external pump, collects all the small stuff. A large leaf basket on the skimmer. Small slitted cover on the piping to feed the pump from the pond. Last summer I wiped out a lot of fry before I covered up the piping.

 

[JenH]

I'm wondering if I just get some screen (like for windows) and wrap it around the pump if that would save anything small from getting sucked in there. Also, Addy, I have not attempted to use my flush valve on the bog yet, but I was wondering just exactly how to do that without making a huge mess out of things. Don't I need the pump on to flush it, and if I take the cap off its just gonna shoot straight up and probably cover me and the whole bog.....I was wanting to flush it after this wind dies down, whenever that may be, everything keeps slowing down here and there......

 

[DrCase]

I only keep fry that are smarter than the pump
If you put a small screen on the intake it will be a chore

 

[addy1]

I'm wondering if I just get some screen (like for windows) and wrap it around the pump if that would save anything small from getting sucked in there. Also, Addy, I have not attempted to use my flush valve on the bog yet, but I was wondering just exactly how to do that without making a huge mess out of things. Don't I need the pump on to flush it, and if I take the cap off its just gonna shoot straight up and probably cover me and the whole bog.....I was wanting to flush it after this wind dies down, whenever that may be, everything keeps slowing down here and there......

I don't flush mine. If you mean the clean out pipe, taking that cap off, the water should not shoot up and out. It is going out the holes in the pipes.

If you want to flush yours, just let it drain out via the bottom. I have drained it twice to work on the piping, neither time did stuff come out. I am just leaving ours alone unless something decides to go really wrong.

 

[JenH]

I only keep fry that are smarter than the pump
If you put a small screen on the intake it will be a chore

So you think it would just be better to leave it as it is then without a screen? I've lost flow to the waterfall several times now through all this wind since I originally posted this thread and each time it seems to work fine to just unplug the pump for a few seconds and then turn it back on again. But it would be a pita if I have to do it a few times a day forever......

I don't flush mine. If you mean the clean out pipe, taking that cap off, the water should not shoot up and out. It is going out the holes in the pipes.

If you want to flush yours, just let it drain out via the bottom. I have drained it twice to work on the piping, neither time did stuff come out. I am just leaving ours alone unless something decides to go really wrong.

So what was the point in building it with that then?

 

[addy1]

So what was the point in building it with that then?

If the pipes ever do get clogged up you can stick a garden hose down them to back flush the piping. I keep large matter out of my bog via the leaf baskets, external pump.
I used to flush my small bog, one of my first ponds, by sticking the garden hose down in the top of the gravel, forcing water through it. It was just a whiskey barrel bog, kept the pond nice though. (Small pond lol)

When we shut ours down to drain for working on the piping, I did think stuff would come out. All we got was nice clear water. The water in the bog drained down and out the piping.