Leaking? Maybe Not!
Only a few posts ago I wrote about what happens when it rains too much. Now it finally feels like summer, and most of us are dragging our hoses to our water features daily.
We've been getting a lot of panicked calls from pond owners who afraid they might have a leak. I'm here to assuage you. If you're losing an inch or two of water a day (or maybe even a little more), that's completely normal. Water evaporates quickly in ponds that have waterfalls, streams, and plants. There's nothing wrong with having any of those things; refilling your water feature daily or every other day is just a small price to pay for being able to enjoy your own piece of Mother Nature.
Some people are also concerned that topping off their water features might put too much chlorine into the water. You can save your Pond Detoxifier, folks. Unless you're changing 25% or more of your water, you don't have to worry about dechlorinator.
And what about automatic fill valves? While they seem like a good idea, they can cause major problems. We don't install them on our features. A small slip-up on the fill valve's part means it might leave the hose running, and if you're not there to stop it in time, you could lose all your fish. Save yourself a major headache (and possible heartache) and simply keep an eye on your water level daily.
How do you know how much to fill? It's a common misperception that there is a water line on your rocks, and that's where you need to fill to; however rocks are porous and soak up moisture. That line might be way above where you actually need to top off to. Instead, look at the water level from inside your skimmer. The water level should be about 3/4" from the top of your skimmer opening.
Stay cool, water gardeners!
--written by Cool Ponds staff member Kasey Wicker
We've been getting a lot of panicked calls from pond owners who afraid they might have a leak. I'm here to assuage you. If you're losing an inch or two of water a day (or maybe even a little more), that's completely normal. Water evaporates quickly in ponds that have waterfalls, streams, and plants. There's nothing wrong with having any of those things; refilling your water feature daily or every other day is just a small price to pay for being able to enjoy your own piece of Mother Nature.
Some people are also concerned that topping off their water features might put too much chlorine into the water. You can save your Pond Detoxifier, folks. Unless you're changing 25% or more of your water, you don't have to worry about dechlorinator.
And what about automatic fill valves? While they seem like a good idea, they can cause major problems. We don't install them on our features. A small slip-up on the fill valve's part means it might leave the hose running, and if you're not there to stop it in time, you could lose all your fish. Save yourself a major headache (and possible heartache) and simply keep an eye on your water level daily.
How do you know how much to fill? It's a common misperception that there is a water line on your rocks, and that's where you need to fill to; however rocks are porous and soak up moisture. That line might be way above where you actually need to top off to. Instead, look at the water level from inside your skimmer. The water level should be about 3/4" from the top of your skimmer opening.
Stay cool, water gardeners!
--written by Cool Ponds staff member Kasey Wicker
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