[color= purple][size=large][font=Impact]hi please can anyone help me i have lost loads of water again in my pond and as it only seems to happen when pump is on i have turned it off for the night as i cant see anything to fix it, so my question is;- will my fish be ok there are six small shubumkins the pond is only 40 gallons n there are a few bits of weed n plants.
Will the fish be okay without the pump, is a difficult question. The weather is getting cooler and six SMALL goldfish sounds like a conservative fish load, so you SHOULD be okay with the circulation system off while you trouble shoot your pond for leaks.
Attention: Be conservative on feeding the fish during these pump shut down situations.
If you only loose water when your pump is running and your pond doesn't lose water when the pump is off then you have made some very important distinctions.
The leak will either be in the plumbing from the pump to the waterfall or filtration system, in the filtration system or in the waterfall or stream that returns from the filter to the pond.
The good news for you is on a 40 gallon pond you don't have far to look. If the ground is wet and saturated it is best if you can leave the pump off long enough to let the sounding area dry up a little.
Once you have a dry area to work in then I would suggest turning the pump back on and then start you leak detection investigation starting at the waterfall filter area and work back towards your filter and into the plumbing.
If you send a photo of your set up it sometimes can be very helpful and we can possibly get you back up and running in no time flat.
Remember extreme winds and heat play a role on evaporation levels. Additionally, I have seen VERY TALL waterfalls on smaller container ponds that create large splashing that looses water out of the pond when running.
Sometimes these things are easily pointed out when we have more information about your pond and the environment that it is exposed to.
Good Luck,
The Pond Digger