#pondlife — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #pondlife, aggregated by home.social.
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4 walls up! didnt have time to do the roof and sheeting so that will be next weekend :) happy with our progress though. need a few more materials to finish it
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4 walls up! didnt have time to do the roof and sheeting so that will be next weekend :) happy with our progress though. need a few more materials to finish it
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4 walls up! didnt have time to do the roof and sheeting so that will be next weekend :) happy with our progress though. need a few more materials to finish it
-
4 walls up! didnt have time to do the roof and sheeting so that will be next weekend :) happy with our progress though. need a few more materials to finish it
-
4 walls up! didnt have time to do the roof and sheeting so that will be next weekend :) happy with our progress though. need a few more materials to finish it
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so sometimes you build a thing and then you go.... um. that was a little bigger than planned.... well, that might be the greenhouse.
But i guess that just means taller tomatoes and room for a banana plant? 😝
got the two main walls up! Poly-plastic sheeting and the roof tomorrow!
#poolpond #backyardProject #pondlife -
so sometimes you build a thing and then you go.... um. that was a little bigger than planned.... well, that might be the greenhouse.
But i guess that just means taller tomatoes and room for a banana plant? 😝
got the two main walls up! Poly-plastic sheeting and the roof tomorrow!
#poolpond #backyardProject #pondlife -
so sometimes you build a thing and then you go.... um. that was a little bigger than planned.... well, that might be the greenhouse.
But i guess that just means taller tomatoes and room for a banana plant? 😝
got the two main walls up! Poly-plastic sheeting and the roof tomorrow!
#poolpond #backyardProject #pondlife -
so sometimes you build a thing and then you go.... um. that was a little bigger than planned.... well, that might be the greenhouse.
But i guess that just means taller tomatoes and room for a banana plant? 😝
got the two main walls up! Poly-plastic sheeting and the roof tomorrow!
#poolpond #backyardProject #pondlife -
so sometimes you build a thing and then you go.... um. that was a little bigger than planned.... well, that might be the greenhouse.
But i guess that just means taller tomatoes and room for a banana plant? 😝
got the two main walls up! Poly-plastic sheeting and the roof tomorrow!
#poolpond #backyardProject #pondlife -
no exaggeration this is the
best wood you can get! 8ft yellow cedar 2x4s I know a guy! Best prices on the island! <$500 for 38 boards! might have a greenhouse by the end of the day Monday!
#poolpond #backyardProject #pondlife -
no exaggeration this is the
best wood you can get! 8ft yellow cedar 2x4s I know a guy! Best prices on the island! <$500 for 38 boards! might have a greenhouse by the end of the day Monday!
#poolpond #backyardProject #pondlife -
no exaggeration this is the
best wood you can get! 8ft yellow cedar 2x4s I know a guy! Best prices on the island! <$500 for 38 boards! might have a greenhouse by the end of the day Monday!
#poolpond #backyardProject #pondlife -
no exaggeration this is the
best wood you can get! 8ft yellow cedar 2x4s I know a guy! Best prices on the island! <$500 for 38 boards! might have a greenhouse by the end of the day Monday!
#poolpond #backyardProject #pondlife -
no exaggeration this is the
best wood you can get! 8ft yellow cedar 2x4s I know a guy! Best prices on the island! <$500 for 38 boards! might have a greenhouse by the end of the day Monday!
#poolpond #backyardProject #pondlife -
got the treated wood "foundation" nice and level and square thanks to an expert on the job! 2x4s and plastic sheeting tomorrow! #poolpond #backyardProject #pondlife
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got the treated wood "foundation" nice and level and square thanks to an expert on the job! 2x4s and plastic sheeting tomorrow! #poolpond #backyardProject #pondlife
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got the treated wood "foundation" nice and level and square thanks to an expert on the job! 2x4s and plastic sheeting tomorrow! #poolpond #backyardProject #pondlife
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got the treated wood "foundation" nice and level and square thanks to an expert on the job! 2x4s and plastic sheeting tomorrow! #poolpond #backyardProject #pondlife
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got the treated wood "foundation" nice and level and square thanks to an expert on the job! 2x4s and plastic sheeting tomorrow! #poolpond #backyardProject #pondlife
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greenhouse begins!
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greenhouse begins!
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greenhouse begins!
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greenhouse begins!
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greenhouse begins!
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Random #backyardProject #poolpond Update because I've been unable to reliably post pictures lately on my #selfhost! :)
Finally started backfilling the trench on Sunday! It's been a lengthy process to source wiring. Also got the fibre in the ground to hook into the fledgling fibre backbone of the #homelab
Hope to have the rest of the trenches filled this weekend and some of the electrical boxes complete as well, especially for the pool pumps to be able to switch over from long extension cords to a proper plug in the shed!
Once the dirt is all levelled out again we'll get started on the greenhouse so it can be up before the fall rains come in. (though a first day of rain is already forecast for tomorrow!)
Once this whole water-yard project is complete the next project will definitely be water conservation.
Will need to learn how best to keep the yard and gardens and ponds fully hydrated using the minimum amount of city water. We have a good amount of drip/low flow irrigation in place already so that's helpful. We've used sprinklers a lot more than normal this year so that probably pushed up our water use though I would love to actually run an experiment and measure exactly how much the sprinklers use versus the low-flow.
We've reused grey water in the past from the laundry which helped conserve a very large amount of water! Might look into formalizing that, we were just using tubs of water before!
Another water cube (1 m3 cube tank) or two is probably in order.
In 2022 we used only 186,300 Litres of water the entire year. Makes sense as this was only the first full year of the #pandemicpond in the front yard, plus I was still at home due to the pandemic, and the first kid was out of the house for uni.
Unfortunately, up to August 14 this year, we are currently at 199,900L. For perspective, about 40,000L is one complete filling of the #poolpond system which I have likely done at least once this year.
I would *hope* that next year's consumption will be significantly lower than this year as we won't be doing any full re-fills of the whole system and at most would empty the main pond completely maybe once a year. Preferably once every two years. That's about 25,000L.
I'll pump out the bog pond (about 10,000L) once or twice a year but it's easier to let that one fill back up naturally so hopefully not the full 10kL
I need about 70-100mm of rain to fill the ponds I believe. We could get that in a month, or a few days. Will be watching the forecasts for rain! Might need to invest in a full Helly Hansen outfit for pond maintenance in a downpour :)
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Random #backyardProject #poolpond Update because I've been unable to reliably post pictures lately on my #selfhost! :)
Finally started backfilling the trench on Sunday! It's been a lengthy process to source wiring. Also got the fibre in the ground to hook into the fledgling fibre backbone of the #homelab
Hope to have the rest of the trenches filled this weekend and some of the electrical boxes complete as well, especially for the pool pumps to be able to switch over from long extension cords to a proper plug in the shed!
Once the dirt is all levelled out again we'll get started on the greenhouse so it can be up before the fall rains come in. (though a first day of rain is already forecast for tomorrow!)
Once this whole water-yard project is complete the next project will definitely be water conservation.
Will need to learn how best to keep the yard and gardens and ponds fully hydrated using the minimum amount of city water. We have a good amount of drip/low flow irrigation in place already so that's helpful. We've used sprinklers a lot more than normal this year so that probably pushed up our water use though I would love to actually run an experiment and measure exactly how much the sprinklers use versus the low-flow.
We've reused grey water in the past from the laundry which helped conserve a very large amount of water! Might look into formalizing that, we were just using tubs of water before!
Another water cube (1 m3 cube tank) or two is probably in order.
In 2022 we used only 186,300 Litres of water the entire year. Makes sense as this was only the first full year of the #pandemicpond in the front yard, plus I was still at home due to the pandemic, and the first kid was out of the house for uni.
Unfortunately, up to August 14 this year, we are currently at 199,900L. For perspective, about 40,000L is one complete filling of the #poolpond system which I have likely done at least once this year.
I would *hope* that next year's consumption will be significantly lower than this year as we won't be doing any full re-fills of the whole system and at most would empty the main pond completely maybe once a year. Preferably once every two years. That's about 25,000L.
I'll pump out the bog pond (about 10,000L) once or twice a year but it's easier to let that one fill back up naturally so hopefully not the full 10kL
I need about 70-100mm of rain to fill the ponds I believe. We could get that in a month, or a few days. Will be watching the forecasts for rain! Might need to invest in a full Helly Hansen outfit for pond maintenance in a downpour :)
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Random #backyardProject #poolpond Update because I've been unable to reliably post pictures lately on my #selfhost! :)
Finally started backfilling the trench on Sunday! It's been a lengthy process to source wiring. Also got the fibre in the ground to hook into the fledgling fibre backbone of the #homelab
Hope to have the rest of the trenches filled this weekend and some of the electrical boxes complete as well, especially for the pool pumps to be able to switch over from long extension cords to a proper plug in the shed!
Once the dirt is all levelled out again we'll get started on the greenhouse so it can be up before the fall rains come in. (though a first day of rain is already forecast for tomorrow!)
Once this whole water-yard project is complete the next project will definitely be water conservation.
Will need to learn how best to keep the yard and gardens and ponds fully hydrated using the minimum amount of city water. We have a good amount of drip/low flow irrigation in place already so that's helpful. We've used sprinklers a lot more than normal this year so that probably pushed up our water use though I would love to actually run an experiment and measure exactly how much the sprinklers use versus the low-flow.
We've reused grey water in the past from the laundry which helped conserve a very large amount of water! Might look into formalizing that, we were just using tubs of water before!
Another water cube (1 m3 cube tank) or two is probably in order.
In 2022 we used only 186,300 Litres of water the entire year. Makes sense as this was only the first full year of the #pandemicpond in the front yard, plus I was still at home due to the pandemic, and the first kid was out of the house for uni.
Unfortunately, up to August 14 this year, we are currently at 199,900L. For perspective, about 40,000L is one complete filling of the #poolpond system which I have likely done at least once this year.
I would *hope* that next year's consumption will be significantly lower than this year as we won't be doing any full re-fills of the whole system and at most would empty the main pond completely maybe once a year. Preferably once every two years. That's about 25,000L.
I'll pump out the bog pond (about 10,000L) once or twice a year but it's easier to let that one fill back up naturally so hopefully not the full 10kL
I need about 70-100mm of rain to fill the ponds I believe. We could get that in a month, or a few days. Will be watching the forecasts for rain! Might need to invest in a full Helly Hansen outfit for pond maintenance in a downpour :)
-
Random #backyardProject #poolpond Update because I've been unable to reliably post pictures lately on my #selfhost! :)
Finally started backfilling the trench on Sunday! It's been a lengthy process to source wiring. Also got the fibre in the ground to hook into the fledgling fibre backbone of the #homelab
Hope to have the rest of the trenches filled this weekend and some of the electrical boxes complete as well, especially for the pool pumps to be able to switch over from long extension cords to a proper plug in the shed!
Once the dirt is all levelled out again we'll get started on the greenhouse so it can be up before the fall rains come in. (though a first day of rain is already forecast for tomorrow!)
Once this whole water-yard project is complete the next project will definitely be water conservation.
Will need to learn how best to keep the yard and gardens and ponds fully hydrated using the minimum amount of city water. We have a good amount of drip/low flow irrigation in place already so that's helpful. We've used sprinklers a lot more than normal this year so that probably pushed up our water use though I would love to actually run an experiment and measure exactly how much the sprinklers use versus the low-flow.
We've reused grey water in the past from the laundry which helped conserve a very large amount of water! Might look into formalizing that, we were just using tubs of water before!
Another water cube (1 m3 cube tank) or two is probably in order.
In 2022 we used only 186,300 Litres of water the entire year. Makes sense as this was only the first full year of the #pandemicpond in the front yard, plus I was still at home due to the pandemic, and the first kid was out of the house for uni.
Unfortunately, up to August 14 this year, we are currently at 199,900L. For perspective, about 40,000L is one complete filling of the #poolpond system which I have likely done at least once this year.
I would *hope* that next year's consumption will be significantly lower than this year as we won't be doing any full re-fills of the whole system and at most would empty the main pond completely maybe once a year. Preferably once every two years. That's about 25,000L.
I'll pump out the bog pond (about 10,000L) once or twice a year but it's easier to let that one fill back up naturally so hopefully not the full 10kL
I need about 70-100mm of rain to fill the ponds I believe. We could get that in a month, or a few days. Will be watching the forecasts for rain! Might need to invest in a full Helly Hansen outfit for pond maintenance in a downpour :)
-
Random #backyardProject #poolpond Update because I've been unable to reliably post pictures lately on my #selfhost! :)
Finally started backfilling the trench on Sunday! It's been a lengthy process to source wiring. Also got the fibre in the ground to hook into the fledgling fibre backbone of the #homelab
Hope to have the rest of the trenches filled this weekend and some of the electrical boxes complete as well, especially for the pool pumps to be able to switch over from long extension cords to a proper plug in the shed!
Once the dirt is all levelled out again we'll get started on the greenhouse so it can be up before the fall rains come in. (though a first day of rain is already forecast for tomorrow!)
Once this whole water-yard project is complete the next project will definitely be water conservation.
Will need to learn how best to keep the yard and gardens and ponds fully hydrated using the minimum amount of city water. We have a good amount of drip/low flow irrigation in place already so that's helpful. We've used sprinklers a lot more than normal this year so that probably pushed up our water use though I would love to actually run an experiment and measure exactly how much the sprinklers use versus the low-flow.
We've reused grey water in the past from the laundry which helped conserve a very large amount of water! Might look into formalizing that, we were just using tubs of water before!
Another water cube (1 m3 cube tank) or two is probably in order.
In 2022 we used only 186,300 Litres of water the entire year. Makes sense as this was only the first full year of the #pandemicpond in the front yard, plus I was still at home due to the pandemic, and the first kid was out of the house for uni.
Unfortunately, up to August 14 this year, we are currently at 199,900L. For perspective, about 40,000L is one complete filling of the #poolpond system which I have likely done at least once this year.
I would *hope* that next year's consumption will be significantly lower than this year as we won't be doing any full re-fills of the whole system and at most would empty the main pond completely maybe once a year. Preferably once every two years. That's about 25,000L.
I'll pump out the bog pond (about 10,000L) once or twice a year but it's easier to let that one fill back up naturally so hopefully not the full 10kL
I need about 70-100mm of rain to fill the ponds I believe. We could get that in a month, or a few days. Will be watching the forecasts for rain! Might need to invest in a full Helly Hansen outfit for pond maintenance in a downpour :)
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Lots of these little guys out today, basking in the sun. #massachusetts #pondlife #reptiles
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Lots of these little guys out today, basking in the sun. #massachusetts #pondlife #reptiles
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Lots of these little guys out today, basking in the sun. #massachusetts #pondlife #reptiles
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Lots of these little guys out today, basking in the sun. #massachusetts #pondlife #reptiles
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#nature #naturephotography #naturephoto #wetlandphotography #wetlands #wetland #pondlife #pondphotography #pond #summer #green #ducks #wildlife #wildlifephotography #outdoors #outdoor #outdoorphotography #outdoorphoto #photo #photography #photooftheday #lookslikeitlooked #pic #picoftheday #foto #fotooftheday
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#nature #naturephotography #naturephoto #wetlandphotography #wetlands #wetland #pondlife #pondphotography #pond #summer #green #ducks #wildlife #wildlifephotography #outdoors #outdoor #outdoorphotography #outdoorphoto #photo #photography #photooftheday #lookslikeitlooked #pic #picoftheday #foto #fotooftheday
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#nature #naturephotography #naturephoto #wetlandphotography #wetlands #wetland #pondlife #pondphotography #pond #summer #green #ducks #wildlife #wildlifephotography #outdoors #outdoor #outdoorphotography #outdoorphoto #photo #photography #photooftheday #lookslikeitlooked #pic #picoftheday #foto #fotooftheday
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#nature #naturephotography #naturephoto #wetlandphotography #wetlands #wetland #pondlife #pondphotography #pond #summer #green #ducks #wildlife #wildlifephotography #outdoors #outdoor #outdoorphotography #outdoorphoto #photo #photography #photooftheday #lookslikeitlooked #pic #picoftheday #foto #fotooftheday
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#nature #naturephotography #naturephoto #wetlandphotography #wetlands #wetland #pondlife #pondphotography #pond #summer #green #ducks #wildlife #wildlifephotography #outdoors #outdoor #outdoorphotography #outdoorphoto #photo #photography #photooftheday #lookslikeitlooked #pic #picoftheday #foto #fotooftheday
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success!
checked on the pandemic pond this morning and even though it was hot yesterday it is still nearly full!
Very little evaporation loss! Looks like that woody debris on the edge of the water was the culprit.
Woot! IT troubleshooting skills for the win. 😝
#poolpond #pandemicpond #pandemicpond #pondlife #gardening #home #diy #IT #TroubleShooting -
success!
checked on the pandemic pond this morning and even though it was hot yesterday it is still nearly full!
Very little evaporation loss! Looks like that woody debris on the edge of the water was the culprit.
Woot! IT troubleshooting skills for the win. 😝
#poolpond #pandemicpond #pandemicpond #pondlife #gardening #home #diy #IT #TroubleShooting -
success!
checked on the pandemic pond this morning and even though it was hot yesterday it is still nearly full!
Very little evaporation loss! Looks like that woody debris on the edge of the water was the culprit.
Woot! IT troubleshooting skills for the win. 😝
#poolpond #pandemicpond #pandemicpond #pondlife #gardening #home #diy #IT #TroubleShooting -
success!
checked on the pandemic pond this morning and even though it was hot yesterday it is still nearly full!
Very little evaporation loss! Looks like that woody debris on the edge of the water was the culprit.
Woot! IT troubleshooting skills for the win. 😝
#poolpond #pandemicpond #pandemicpond #pondlife #gardening #home #diy #IT #TroubleShooting -
success!
checked on the pandemic pond this morning and even though it was hot yesterday it is still nearly full!
Very little evaporation loss! Looks like that woody debris on the edge of the water was the culprit.
Woot! IT troubleshooting skills for the win. 😝
#poolpond #pandemicpond #pandemicpond #pondlife #gardening #home #diy #IT #TroubleShooting -
ooo. I have a new top candidate for cause of accelerated water loss. Cedar chips.
I checked the whole perimeter of the top pond after the system filled and all was good there. But then I did a check of the bottom pond, which is steeper on the edges and harder to do, so I do it less lol.
Right away I found a problem. The flat stones had slipped slightly into the water (likely due to animal visitors over the winter). Edit: just saw a black (invasive) squirrel on the sidewalk near our house! First time. I wonder if he is the messer of flat stones and stealer of fish from the bottom pond!!
Once I reposistioned them, I realized there were a lot of cedar wood chips that had also slipped down, particularly near the skimmer box and were --- HALF IN AND HALF OUT --- of the water.
They were waterlogged.
This is bad.
Dry wood chips outside the water is obviously fine.
Wood chips floating on or sunk under the water is fine.
Any mass of woody material chips, sticks, logs, or even small gravel on the edge of the water, will act as a siphon. They suck up the water and then give lots of surface area for it to quickly evaporate. It has been a rainy July so the woody debris may have already been wet and not evaporating much, but it has been dry for a few days now, and hot the past two. Any siphoning/evaporatoon action would be supercharged.
In the case of gravel, the surface tension between the rocks can cause the edge of the water to creep uphill and also reach the top of the gravel, enhancing evaporation.
Today I found a whole mass of cedar and dirt along the edge of the pond under the flat stones on top of the liner. It was near the skimmer, likely from the gate work.
Bad news.
So I scooped it all out and up onto dry land, and to make sure woody debris can't get to the waters edge under the flat stones, I added some drainage rock along the edge. This should keep the dry and wet zones better separated!
That was just the near side edge of the bottom pond. I haven't checked the far side by the fence.
I might do that tomorrow, but there has been a lot less disturbance there over the past year, so I doubt it will need much help.
I am pretty confident I found the biggest culprit. If my hunch is right, Ill know later today and tomorrow if the water remains relatively stable. It will be hot today so there will be evaporation, but it should not need an emergency fill tomorrow.
Fingers crossed!
Bonus #poolpond content lol. The milfoil is looking very hapoy. It has settled in and the leafy fingers are vertical poking out of the water which is a good sign that they are continuing on happily in their new location. yay!
#pandemicpond #pandemicpond #pondlife #gardening #home #diy #IT #TroubleShooting
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ooo. I have a new top candidate for cause of accelerated water loss. Cedar chips.
I checked the whole perimeter of the top pond after the system filled and all was good there. But then I did a check of the bottom pond, which is steeper on the edges and harder to do, so I do it less lol.
Right away I found a problem. The flat stones had slipped slightly into the water (likely due to animal visitors over the winter). Edit: just saw a black (invasive) squirrel on the sidewalk near our house! First time. I wonder if he is the messer of flat stones and stealer of fish from the bottom pond!!
Once I reposistioned them, I realized there were a lot of cedar wood chips that had also slipped down, particularly near the skimmer box and were --- HALF IN AND HALF OUT --- of the water.
They were waterlogged.
This is bad.
Dry wood chips outside the water is obviously fine.
Wood chips floating on or sunk under the water is fine.
Any mass of woody material chips, sticks, logs, or even small gravel on the edge of the water, will act as a siphon. They suck up the water and then give lots of surface area for it to quickly evaporate. It has been a rainy July so the woody debris may have already been wet and not evaporating much, but it has been dry for a few days now, and hot the past two. Any siphoning/evaporatoon action would be supercharged.
In the case of gravel, the surface tension between the rocks can cause the edge of the water to creep uphill and also reach the top of the gravel, enhancing evaporation.
Today I found a whole mass of cedar and dirt along the edge of the pond under the flat stones on top of the liner. It was near the skimmer, likely from the gate work.
Bad news.
So I scooped it all out and up onto dry land, and to make sure woody debris can't get to the waters edge under the flat stones, I added some drainage rock along the edge. This should keep the dry and wet zones better separated!
That was just the near side edge of the bottom pond. I haven't checked the far side by the fence.
I might do that tomorrow, but there has been a lot less disturbance there over the past year, so I doubt it will need much help.
I am pretty confident I found the biggest culprit. If my hunch is right, Ill know later today and tomorrow if the water remains relatively stable. It will be hot today so there will be evaporation, but it should not need an emergency fill tomorrow.
Fingers crossed!
Bonus #poolpond content lol. The milfoil is looking very hapoy. It has settled in and the leafy fingers are vertical poking out of the water which is a good sign that they are continuing on happily in their new location. yay!
#pandemicpond #pandemicpond #pondlife #gardening #home #diy #IT #TroubleShooting
-
ooo. I have a new top candidate for cause of accelerated water loss. Cedar chips.
I checked the whole perimeter of the top pond after the system filled and all was good there. But then I did a check of the bottom pond, which is steeper on the edges and harder to do, so I do it less lol.
Right away I found a problem. The flat stones had slipped slightly into the water (likely due to animal visitors over the winter). Edit: just saw a black (invasive) squirrel on the sidewalk near our house! First time. I wonder if he is the messer of flat stones and stealer of fish from the bottom pond!!
Once I reposistioned them, I realized there were a lot of cedar wood chips that had also slipped down, particularly near the skimmer box and were --- HALF IN AND HALF OUT --- of the water.
They were waterlogged.
This is bad.
Dry wood chips outside the water is obviously fine.
Wood chips floating on or sunk under the water is fine.
Any mass of woody material chips, sticks, logs, or even small gravel on the edge of the water, will act as a siphon. They suck up the water and then give lots of surface area for it to quickly evaporate. It has been a rainy July so the woody debris may have already been wet and not evaporating much, but it has been dry for a few days now, and hot the past two. Any siphoning/evaporatoon action would be supercharged.
In the case of gravel, the surface tension between the rocks can cause the edge of the water to creep uphill and also reach the top of the gravel, enhancing evaporation.
Today I found a whole mass of cedar and dirt along the edge of the pond under the flat stones on top of the liner. It was near the skimmer, likely from the gate work.
Bad news.
So I scooped it all out and up onto dry land, and to make sure woody debris can't get to the waters edge under the flat stones, I added some drainage rock along the edge. This should keep the dry and wet zones better separated!
That was just the near side edge of the bottom pond. I haven't checked the far side by the fence.
I might do that tomorrow, but there has been a lot less disturbance there over the past year, so I doubt it will need much help.
I am pretty confident I found the biggest culprit. If my hunch is right, Ill know later today and tomorrow if the water remains relatively stable. It will be hot today so there will be evaporation, but it should not need an emergency fill tomorrow.
Fingers crossed!
Bonus #poolpond content lol. The milfoil is looking very hapoy. It has settled in and the leafy fingers are vertical poking out of the water which is a good sign that they are continuing on happily in their new location. yay!
#pandemicpond #pandemicpond #pondlife #gardening #home #diy #IT #TroubleShooting
-
ooo. I have a new top candidate for cause of accelerated water loss. Cedar chips.
I checked the whole perimeter of the top pond after the system filled and all was good there. But then I did a check of the bottom pond, which is steeper on the edges and harder to do, so I do it less lol.
Right away I found a problem. The flat stones had slipped slightly into the water (likely due to animal visitors over the winter). Edit: just saw a black (invasive) squirrel on the sidewalk near our house! First time. I wonder if he is the messer of flat stones and stealer of fish from the bottom pond!!
Once I reposistioned them, I realized there were a lot of cedar wood chips that had also slipped down, particularly near the skimmer box and were --- HALF IN AND HALF OUT --- of the water.
They were waterlogged.
This is bad.
Dry wood chips outside the water is obviously fine.
Wood chips floating on or sunk under the water is fine.
Any mass of woody material chips, sticks, logs, or even small gravel on the edge of the water, will act as a siphon. They suck up the water and then give lots of surface area for it to quickly evaporate. It has been a rainy July so the woody debris may have already been wet and not evaporating much, but it has been dry for a few days now, and hot the past two. Any siphoning/evaporatoon action would be supercharged.
In the case of gravel, the surface tension between the rocks can cause the edge of the water to creep uphill and also reach the top of the gravel, enhancing evaporation.
Today I found a whole mass of cedar and dirt along the edge of the pond under the flat stones on top of the liner. It was near the skimmer, likely from the gate work.
Bad news.
So I scooped it all out and up onto dry land, and to make sure woody debris can't get to the waters edge under the flat stones, I added some drainage rock along the edge. This should keep the dry and wet zones better separated!
That was just the near side edge of the bottom pond. I haven't checked the far side by the fence.
I might do that tomorrow, but there has been a lot less disturbance there over the past year, so I doubt it will need much help.
I am pretty confident I found the biggest culprit. If my hunch is right, Ill know later today and tomorrow if the water remains relatively stable. It will be hot today so there will be evaporation, but it should not need an emergency fill tomorrow.
Fingers crossed!
Bonus #poolpond content lol. The milfoil is looking very hapoy. It has settled in and the leafy fingers are vertical poking out of the water which is a good sign that they are continuing on happily in their new location. yay!
#pandemicpond #pandemicpond #pondlife #gardening #home #diy #IT #TroubleShooting
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ooo. I have a new top candidate for cause of accelerated water loss. Cedar chips.
I checked the whole perimeter of the top pond after the system filled and all was good there. But then I did a check of the bottom pond, which is steeper on the edges and harder to do, so I do it less lol.
Right away I found a problem. The flat stones had slipped slightly into the water (likely due to animal visitors over the winter). Edit: just saw a black (invasive) squirrel on the sidewalk near our house! First time. I wonder if he is the messer of flat stones and stealer of fish from the bottom pond!!
Once I reposistioned them, I realized there were a lot of cedar wood chips that had also slipped down, particularly near the skimmer box and were --- HALF IN AND HALF OUT --- of the water.
They were waterlogged.
This is bad.
Dry wood chips outside the water is obviously fine.
Wood chips floating on or sunk under the water is fine.
Any mass of woody material chips, sticks, logs, or even small gravel on the edge of the water, will act as a siphon. They suck up the water and then give lots of surface area for it to quickly evaporate. It has been a rainy July so the woody debris may have already been wet and not evaporating much, but it has been dry for a few days now, and hot the past two. Any siphoning/evaporatoon action would be supercharged.
In the case of gravel, the surface tension between the rocks can cause the edge of the water to creep uphill and also reach the top of the gravel, enhancing evaporation.
Today I found a whole mass of cedar and dirt along the edge of the pond under the flat stones on top of the liner. It was near the skimmer, likely from the gate work.
Bad news.
So I scooped it all out and up onto dry land, and to make sure woody debris can't get to the waters edge under the flat stones, I added some drainage rock along the edge. This should keep the dry and wet zones better separated!
That was just the near side edge of the bottom pond. I haven't checked the far side by the fence.
I might do that tomorrow, but there has been a lot less disturbance there over the past year, so I doubt it will need much help.
I am pretty confident I found the biggest culprit. If my hunch is right, Ill know later today and tomorrow if the water remains relatively stable. It will be hot today so there will be evaporation, but it should not need an emergency fill tomorrow.
Fingers crossed!
Bonus #poolpond content lol. The milfoil is looking very hapoy. It has settled in and the leafy fingers are vertical poking out of the water which is a good sign that they are continuing on happily in their new location. yay!
#pandemicpond #pandemicpond #pondlife #gardening #home #diy #IT #TroubleShooting
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i think the reason I have enjoyed building and maintaining the ponds so much is because they are kind of like a computer system.
Most of the time they work fine, and when they have issues, which generally manifests as "I'm losing water", it is for a clear reason.
But like computers, getting to and identifying that reason, and fixing it, is the challenge.
Over the past few days, the #pandemicpond has been losing water at an accelerated rate. In the summer, it should be able to go at least 2 or 3 days before needing a top up due to evaporation.
But these past few days it has been very low after just a day.
There has to be a leak/escape of water somewhere.
I also recently (about 2 weeks ago) changed the inlet at the top of the bog barrel to shorten the pipe and make it not stick up as tall and ugly.
Like computers... "have you changed anything recently" is a top contender for the root of the issue.
Shortening and dropping the height of the pipe increased the flow without having to increase the pump power. But that could have also caused a minor overflow on the waterfall, or raised the level of the top pond to where it might be overtopping somewhere non-obvious.
I suspect this increased flow is the main issue.
However, like all IT issues, you should cover the easy stuff first. I checked all the piping from the barrels to the waterfall to make sure there were no joints leaking or drips down the pipes.
All seems fine there. I also did a check around the perimeter of the pond to look for overtopping. Nothing there at low levels, but I have to check again when the system is full.
I wanted to cut the hose down further anyway, so I have done that. Was able to remove over 4 feet of pipe. The height hasn't changed though so the impact on flow should not be large.
Then I checked the pump itself, cleaned out its filter bag, strained the skimmer box and put it all back. Nothing untoward there either. Basically just regular maintenance.
A thought occured to me though, the main overflow for the pond is behind the skimmer. If it rains a lot or I overfill the system, it overflows there into some rocks and drains out under the garden to the sidewalk.
I wonder if when the new posts and gate were installed, the level of the overflow dropped slightly. This would give less leeway (freeboard) for the pond before it gets too low. 🤔
Re-raising the overflow would be tricky. And best done after the rains return in fall. But it is something Ill have to consider if today's investigations don't fix the issue.
I just finished refilling the pond (overfull oops... typing too much)
Time to check for overflows and seeps around the edges.
#pandemicpond #pondlife #gardening #home #diy #IT #TroubleShooting
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i think the reason I have enjoyed building and maintaining the ponds so much is because they are kind of like a computer system.
Most of the time they work fine, and when they have issues, which generally manifests as "I'm losing water", it is for a clear reason.
But like computers, getting to and identifying that reason, and fixing it, is the challenge.
Over the past few days, the #pandemicpond has been losing water at an accelerated rate. In the summer, it should be able to go at least 2 or 3 days before needing a top up due to evaporation.
But these past few days it has been very low after just a day.
There has to be a leak/escape of water somewhere.
I also recently (about 2 weeks ago) changed the inlet at the top of the bog barrel to shorten the pipe and make it not stick up as tall and ugly.
Like computers... "have you changed anything recently" is a top contender for the root of the issue.
Shortening and dropping the height of the pipe increased the flow without having to increase the pump power. But that could have also caused a minor overflow on the waterfall, or raised the level of the top pond to where it might be overtopping somewhere non-obvious.
I suspect this increased flow is the main issue.
However, like all IT issues, you should cover the easy stuff first. I checked all the piping from the barrels to the waterfall to make sure there were no joints leaking or drips down the pipes.
All seems fine there. I also did a check around the perimeter of the pond to look for overtopping. Nothing there at low levels, but I have to check again when the system is full.
I wanted to cut the hose down further anyway, so I have done that. Was able to remove over 4 feet of pipe. The height hasn't changed though so the impact on flow should not be large.
Then I checked the pump itself, cleaned out its filter bag, strained the skimmer box and put it all back. Nothing untoward there either. Basically just regular maintenance.
A thought occured to me though, the main overflow for the pond is behind the skimmer. If it rains a lot or I overfill the system, it overflows there into some rocks and drains out under the garden to the sidewalk.
I wonder if when the new posts and gate were installed, the level of the overflow dropped slightly. This would give less leeway (freeboard) for the pond before it gets too low. 🤔
Re-raising the overflow would be tricky. And best done after the rains return in fall. But it is something Ill have to consider if today's investigations don't fix the issue.
I just finished refilling the pond (overfull oops... typing too much)
Time to check for overflows and seeps around the edges.
#pandemicpond #pondlife #gardening #home #diy #IT #TroubleShooting
-
i think the reason I have enjoyed building and maintaining the ponds so much is because they are kind of like a computer system.
Most of the time they work fine, and when they have issues, which generally manifests as "I'm losing water", it is for a clear reason.
But like computers, getting to and identifying that reason, and fixing it, is the challenge.
Over the past few days, the #pandemicpond has been losing water at an accelerated rate. In the summer, it should be able to go at least 2 or 3 days before needing a top up due to evaporation.
But these past few days it has been very low after just a day.
There has to be a leak/escape of water somewhere.
I also recently (about 2 weeks ago) changed the inlet at the top of the bog barrel to shorten the pipe and make it not stick up as tall and ugly.
Like computers... "have you changed anything recently" is a top contender for the root of the issue.
Shortening and dropping the height of the pipe increased the flow without having to increase the pump power. But that could have also caused a minor overflow on the waterfall, or raised the level of the top pond to where it might be overtopping somewhere non-obvious.
I suspect this increased flow is the main issue.
However, like all IT issues, you should cover the easy stuff first. I checked all the piping from the barrels to the waterfall to make sure there were no joints leaking or drips down the pipes.
All seems fine there. I also did a check around the perimeter of the pond to look for overtopping. Nothing there at low levels, but I have to check again when the system is full.
I wanted to cut the hose down further anyway, so I have done that. Was able to remove over 4 feet of pipe. The height hasn't changed though so the impact on flow should not be large.
Then I checked the pump itself, cleaned out its filter bag, strained the skimmer box and put it all back. Nothing untoward there either. Basically just regular maintenance.
A thought occured to me though, the main overflow for the pond is behind the skimmer. If it rains a lot or I overfill the system, it overflows there into some rocks and drains out under the garden to the sidewalk.
I wonder if when the new posts and gate were installed, the level of the overflow dropped slightly. This would give less leeway (freeboard) for the pond before it gets too low. 🤔
Re-raising the overflow would be tricky. And best done after the rains return in fall. But it is something Ill have to consider if today's investigations don't fix the issue.
I just finished refilling the pond (overfull oops... typing too much)
Time to check for overflows and seeps around the edges.
#pandemicpond #pondlife #gardening #home #diy #IT #TroubleShooting
-
i think the reason I have enjoyed building and maintaining the ponds so much is because they are kind of like a computer system.
Most of the time they work fine, and when they have issues, which generally manifests as "I'm losing water", it is for a clear reason.
But like computers, getting to and identifying that reason, and fixing it, is the challenge.
Over the past few days, the #pandemicpond has been losing water at an accelerated rate. In the summer, it should be able to go at least 2 or 3 days before needing a top up due to evaporation.
But these past few days it has been very low after just a day.
There has to be a leak/escape of water somewhere.
I also recently (about 2 weeks ago) changed the inlet at the top of the bog barrel to shorten the pipe and make it not stick up as tall and ugly.
Like computers... "have you changed anything recently" is a top contender for the root of the issue.
Shortening and dropping the height of the pipe increased the flow without having to increase the pump power. But that could have also caused a minor overflow on the waterfall, or raised the level of the top pond to where it might be overtopping somewhere non-obvious.
I suspect this increased flow is the main issue.
However, like all IT issues, you should cover the easy stuff first. I checked all the piping from the barrels to the waterfall to make sure there were no joints leaking or drips down the pipes.
All seems fine there. I also did a check around the perimeter of the pond to look for overtopping. Nothing there at low levels, but I have to check again when the system is full.
I wanted to cut the hose down further anyway, so I have done that. Was able to remove over 4 feet of pipe. The height hasn't changed though so the impact on flow should not be large.
Then I checked the pump itself, cleaned out its filter bag, strained the skimmer box and put it all back. Nothing untoward there either. Basically just regular maintenance.
A thought occured to me though, the main overflow for the pond is behind the skimmer. If it rains a lot or I overfill the system, it overflows there into some rocks and drains out under the garden to the sidewalk.
I wonder if when the new posts and gate were installed, the level of the overflow dropped slightly. This would give less leeway (freeboard) for the pond before it gets too low. 🤔
Re-raising the overflow would be tricky. And best done after the rains return in fall. But it is something Ill have to consider if today's investigations don't fix the issue.
I just finished refilling the pond (overfull oops... typing too much)
Time to check for overflows and seeps around the edges.
#pandemicpond #pondlife #gardening #home #diy #IT #TroubleShooting
-
i think the reason I have enjoyed building and maintaining the ponds so much is because they are kind of like a computer system.
Most of the time they work fine, and when they have issues, which generally manifests as "I'm losing water", it is for a clear reason.
But like computers, getting to and identifying that reason, and fixing it, is the challenge.
Over the past few days, the #pandemicpond has been losing water at an accelerated rate. In the summer, it should be able to go at least 2 or 3 days before needing a top up due to evaporation.
But these past few days it has been very low after just a day.
There has to be a leak/escape of water somewhere.
I also recently (about 2 weeks ago) changed the inlet at the top of the bog barrel to shorten the pipe and make it not stick up as tall and ugly.
Like computers... "have you changed anything recently" is a top contender for the root of the issue.
Shortening and dropping the height of the pipe increased the flow without having to increase the pump power. But that could have also caused a minor overflow on the waterfall, or raised the level of the top pond to where it might be overtopping somewhere non-obvious.
I suspect this increased flow is the main issue.
However, like all IT issues, you should cover the easy stuff first. I checked all the piping from the barrels to the waterfall to make sure there were no joints leaking or drips down the pipes.
All seems fine there. I also did a check around the perimeter of the pond to look for overtopping. Nothing there at low levels, but I have to check again when the system is full.
I wanted to cut the hose down further anyway, so I have done that. Was able to remove over 4 feet of pipe. The height hasn't changed though so the impact on flow should not be large.
Then I checked the pump itself, cleaned out its filter bag, strained the skimmer box and put it all back. Nothing untoward there either. Basically just regular maintenance.
A thought occured to me though, the main overflow for the pond is behind the skimmer. If it rains a lot or I overfill the system, it overflows there into some rocks and drains out under the garden to the sidewalk.
I wonder if when the new posts and gate were installed, the level of the overflow dropped slightly. This would give less leeway (freeboard) for the pond before it gets too low. 🤔
Re-raising the overflow would be tricky. And best done after the rains return in fall. But it is something Ill have to consider if today's investigations don't fix the issue.
I just finished refilling the pond (overfull oops... typing too much)
Time to check for overflows and seeps around the edges.
#pandemicpond #pondlife #gardening #home #diy #IT #TroubleShooting
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one more!
we have had this tall lilly on our outside deck for 5 or 6 years.
it is also tubors so we split it into 3 clumps.
#pandemicPond #PoolPond #diy #gardening #pondlife -
one more!
we have had this tall lilly on our outside deck for 5 or 6 years.
it is also tubors so we split it into 3 clumps.
#pandemicPond #PoolPond #diy #gardening #pondlife -
one more!
we have had this tall lilly on our outside deck for 5 or 6 years.
it is also tubors so we split it into 3 clumps.
#pandemicPond #PoolPond #diy #gardening #pondlife -
one more!
we have had this tall lilly on our outside deck for 5 or 6 years.
it is also tubors so we split it into 3 clumps.
#pandemicPond #PoolPond #diy #gardening #pondlife -
one more!
we have had this tall lilly on our outside deck for 5 or 6 years.
it is also tubors so we split it into 3 clumps.
#pandemicPond #PoolPond #diy #gardening #pondlife -
finally, we had a small hasta underneath the rhododendron that needed a new home as it was being out competed by two others.
So I removed the whole thing but was surprised to find that it was essentially only growing on top of the fabric! Amazing it was doing as well as it was.
I left behind I little baby it must have just propagated this year and split the rest of the tubar up into 3 to plant in the bog filter. 2 are visible in the picture in the orevious post, this is the third, beside the tall plant and with a new hasta we bought this year.