Well I just got back from vacation this afternoon. Went out back to find the pond in crisis. The water had dropped by a foot, some of the plants had died. Fortunatly not the Lilies or Pickerels. But the pond was full of dead bugs, the fish wern't happy. They were starved. Fortunatly we had a storm the other day that triped the circut breaker otherwise the pumps would have burnt out. Just a nightmare. Any tips on how to make shure this doesn't happen if I go on vacation in the future? And not be afraid to come back to the same thing?
I'm so sorry to hear of this. So disheartening, I bet. But, if it were me, I really would ask someone to come over and check on it while away. There's babysitters, petsitters... why not garden or pond-sitters? Hope everything bounces back for you.
Two things come to mind, neither of which I have ever implemented. First, is an electrical shutoff float that shuts off the electricity to the pump should the water level fall to untenable levels. Second, is a water replenishment system similar to the reservoir in a toilet that would allow small amounts of water to keep pace with any leaks. Neither is technically outside the realm of possibility. Jerry
Thanx guys. I've seen these switches in the sump/well/irrigation pump isle in the hardware store for about 30$. I'm thinking about doing it. As for the float valve, we're in water restrictions so after a while the nasty-grams and fines would pile up. While the pond suffered, the bog and other plants seemed to burst into life. The carnivorus plants (Pitcher plants) made a recovery. Before we left, they were brown and having a hard time. When we came back they were green and purple and pushing up new plants. Same thing with the Coleuses that were attacked by termites not too long ago. They sprung up quickly too. Same with the Purple Hearts. We had about 1.06 inches of rain the day before yesterday, looked it up on my weather station. We did have a house keeper to keep an eye on the pets, but we wern't able to leave pond instructions. The bugs in the water kept the fish fed.
Sorry to read about your mishap, this has always worried me when we go away. Thankfully I found a friend and we exchange watching each others garden and ponds, so maybe this is the way to go for you also
I'm also thinking of buying one of those automatic fish feeders. They sell them for 10$ at Petsmart. I'l have to go over precedures when filling the pond. I put about half a bottle of the treatment that makes the water okay for the fish. That was about a year ago. If you fill the pond with the hose, aim the hose up creating an arch. the splashing alows the chlorine to evaporate. That's the main thing I would have to go over.
