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It may be time to pack it all in................................
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Posted by
koijoyii NE Ohio (
My Page) on
Thu, Apr 5, 12 at 7:49
| or maybe I should say fill it all in. My pond is 9' X 18' oval shaped. It has a retro bottom drain which is plumbed through the side of the pond (4" pvc) which feeds my 500 gal settlement pond. Where the water enters the pipe there is a gate valve followed by a backflow prevention valve followed by a clean out. After time the clean out was buried but I can still reach the gate valve. When I started the pond up a few weeks ago everything worked just fine. The next morning when I checked it my settlement pond barely had water in it and the submersible pump (which feeds the skippy filter) was sucking air. This was telling me something was blocking the bottom drain from feeding the settlement pond. I took a pvc pipe and attached a hook to the end and trolled the pond (it's 4 1/2' deep) and pulled out one of my floating planters that had apparently sank last summer. All of my floating planters were entangled in the pennywort I planted in them (big mistake). Apparently I missed one and it sank to the bottom of the pond. Once I removed it the bottom drain worked for a few days and then the settlement pond once again was almost drained. Once again I took the hook and trolled the bottom of the pond only to pull up the retro drain. The result: I had to drain the pond and reinstall the bottom drain. Now I know how people get hypothermia. I only had 2 ft of water in the pond but when my feet hit that water I couldn't breathe. Then I had to reach down into the water to place the rock on top of the drain (it holds the drain down). This set-up has been working beautifully for six years now. Now the settlement pond was getting water the way it had in the past. Checked the pond the next day before I left for work and the settlement pond was once again close to drained with the pump sucking air. I unplugged the pump and went to work. When I got home that night I closed the gate valve, drained the pond below where the water enters the pond and hastily opened the gate valve hoping whatever was clogging the plumbing would be washed through the pipe. It seemed to work. I breathed a sigh of relief. Next morning I heard the pump sucking air again. Unplugged it and repeated the same with the gate valve again which seemed to fix the problem. This has now been going on for 2 weeks, and I am tired. I am getting too old to deal with this. Getting into the pond once was enough for me. My plumbing is not cemented, it is all hand fitted and would be no problem to take apart to clean. I just don't have the energy to do this. My son is not into ponding. He was there when I got in the pond and was able to help me out. I have been ponding for 12 years now and really don't want to give it up, but I am just not able to do this anymore. I worked opening and closing that gate valve for over an hour the other night only to have the settlement pond drained again before morning. I would have no problem giving the fish away and just keeping the pond for the frogs. I have a few blue gill, numerous green frogs and lots of tadpoles, but I could always relocate them to the park.
Jenny |
Follow-Up Postings:
RE: It may be time to pack it all in.............................
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- Posted by min3 9N.CA (My Page) on
Thu, Apr 5, 12 at 11:12
| i know the feeling jenny! this month i finally had to give up my 3 year old stream because i just can't keep the raccoons from breaking down the sides. i have made the sides stronger 2 times already- once a year in spring it seems to get destroyed, and its a big job to crawl around and rebuild it. like you, i'm getting too old for this! keeping leaves cleared out was also a constant chore and every once in a while the pump would get clogged up too. so its gone now and the former stream is a nice little garden path. oh well, it was lovely while it existed. why don't you first try discontinuing all the pumping in your pond and see if it will be ok without it? i have never in about 10 years had all that filtering in my big pond and it seems to do just fine with only a small pump in it to bubble and move the water around a little. my plants and three remaining goldfish (raccoons again!) are thriving and the water is clear. maybe you can enjoy your pond for more years without all the hassle. min |
RE: It may be time to pack it all in.............................
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| Jenny, I would be discouraged too. I don't have an answer for you because I have just a small in pond pump that pumps water to a skippy filter so I don't have experience with all the plumbing you have. I hope you are able to find someone to help you get it straightened out. Anne |
RE: It may be time to pack it all in.............................
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| I understand where you are coming from. I filled in my pond and had a small, 125 gal, stock tank pond for the last 3 years. I haven't been able to give up ponding but have shifted to something smaller and more manageable. This year I dug out the old pond site and am in the process of putting in a 300 gal. stock tank with skippy filter waterfall. I think it is hopeless to totally give up the fish for me. Maybe you could go simpler. Good luck. |
RE: It may be time to pack it all in.............................
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| Since you know what needs to be done and how to do it, why not hire a "handyman" to do the work under your supervision and guidance? Around here, there are lots of strong young men willing to do almost anything to earn a few bucks. |
RE: It may be time to pack it all in.............................
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| I hear the frustration. I'm afraid I didn't really understand the plumbing in your system. It sounds a little complicated. But obviously you understand where everything is. Since you can detach certain connections may I suggest that you attempt to isolate the problem by scrounging up some extra pipes and connectors and divert the plumbing near the pump (or near any other point really)and flow it back or into the pond. With no problems, continue adding segments until the problem appears (or goes away depending on your segments). Isolation means only having to look in one section to solve the problem. |
RE: It may be time to pack it all in.............................
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| This time of the year with the cold water tempertures you should have chest waders. It's the only way to go. Have you tried using a plumber snake to remove the blockage? |
RE: It may be time to pack it all in.............................
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| I was about to suggest the same thing - some very high boots for stepping into that water. Maybe call a plumber to help out once in a while. Or call your son to come back and visit and see if he can fix it. Or just take a couple days off and try again. Don't throw out the baby with the bath water. Just scale back. Getting old doesn't mean giving up entirely! |
RE: It may be time to pack it all in.............................
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| I hardly know what to say. I know your pond has been a great pleasure to you and can only think you would grieve for it. I hope the previous suggestions help and that you are able to solve the problem. Peace. |
RE: It may be time to pack it all in.............................
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| if you do decide to pack it in...i also live in NE ohio, i would be interested in any pond supplies or fish you need to get rid of. |
RE: It may be time to pack it all in.............................
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| Thanks everyone for all your suggestions. Thursday night when I got home from work I once again opened and closed the gate valve for over an hour, flushing the pipe. When I checked the settlement pond on Friday the water had dropped 3 inches, not a total empty. I was still frustrated at this point and decided to just ignore the situation for a while. Saturday when I went out to check the settlement pond was the same level as the large pond. I think whatever was blocking the bottom drain has passed through the plumbing. I am keeping my fingers crossed. I don't have the waterfall running full tilt. I want to wait a while to give it time to really flush itself out. My frogs were very happy to have their home again. They were actually singing on Saturday evening. suschmoo Send me an e-mail at jaysgee@earthlink.net or jaysgee@roadrunner.com. I have plenty of koi you are welcome to have if you want to come and get them. |
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