pond problems again :o(

Hi Sandra ...
First thing is to decide what is best for the fish.
With more bad weather forecast, which might do more damage to your pond, could you move the fish to some kind of tub where you could give them protection from the cold etc, ... maybe even include some of the original pond water ? ... that might work ....

Sorry you are having problems re. your son also.

And so much harder to deal with all this when the weather is bad.. Very cold today and strong winds after a night of heavy storms...

Keep warm and safe. xxxxxxx

So sorry to hear about your pond again, think if i was you i'd try catch my fish put them in container and keep them in a safe room away from Casper till spring and sort it out again, there's me moaning at myself because the outside light at back door wont go off, been checked mine out and its ok, and fish are still at bottom. xx

xxx, know how you feel. Good luck with it all, may as well wait till bad weather goes and water has time to drain away?
My fish have been eaten by the heron again :(

Hi Terra and thankyou for addvice, im keeping my eye on my fish, still plenty of room as its the one side, i dont have anything big enough to keep fish in and would they survive in a tub, oh dear :o(
thanx carol as i said to Terra what sort of tub and how big, will i feed them or just leave them :o(
thanx Lulu, thats what i was thinking to do but not sure, sorry about your fish to, i keep seeing the heron here but net over and it just flys by, puts you off having a pond doesnt it ;o(
thanx again girls xxx

Sorry about your problems Sandra. It must be getting you down when you want to enjoy the season. Some good advice from TT and Carol I think.
Maybe if it's rainwater not going through the ground, it might right itself when we get a dry day or so. We've had a fair amount recently haven't we.

Sorry about your son and his problems aswell. That must be even more worrying for you. I hope it can be sorted out soon.
Try to relaxe a bit if you can. You can think more clearly when you feel calm .... but I understand how dificult that it in a crisis.

All the best Sandra. You'll get through it, I know you will xxx

Sandra when i made my pond bigger this summer, i put my fish in one of those plastic storage boxes, you can get from B&Ms, £stretchers etc and i left them in spare bedroom for about a month, just remember to use pond water and you will have to feed them with them being indoors, thats what i would do at least they will be safe for the winter, thinking of you xxx

Hywel thankyou so much for your addvice to, just waiting for a call of my son and untill i hear from him i dont really know what im doing.
the rain has stopped for now so im going to take another look at the pond in hope its started to drain away,
times like this i could smoke lol but im not giving in.
think i will post a question in reguards to container for my fish, size and how to look after them while in container,
thanx Hywel :o) xx

thanx carol i will see if i have one of them boxes, isnt it a worry x

Sandra tell me about it, if you wont to clean them out during the winter save some rain water but bring it into the house so it gets to room temperture, then you dont shock the fish as the water you will have them in will be room warm good luck xxx

ok carol thanx, iv found one of them containers and its been cleaned out, will keep checking the pond, at the moment its still got more than half the room for the fish to swim, but if it gets worse then im bringing them in the house, do you think thats ok, baz suggested that.

Think so as your keeping a good eye on them, us and our pets, even though the fish are cold water fish at this time of year i worry something terrible about them, best bit is every year as it starts to warm up the fish start to swim round and i've done all that worrying for nothing, xxx

lol i know carol, i put my hand in the water and its freezing in there, glad i dont live in a pond haha

So am i, big softies are'nt we :)))

San, the fact that it is water it will drain eventually ,Personally I would only move the fish as a last resort at this time of year,i have seen pics of your pond but don't remember details .If it were mine and its practical I would dig another hole fairly deep ,at least as deep as the pond and about 18inches across minimum two feet away from your pond ,the pressure of the water should find your hole and take the pressure off the pond if it fills up bale the bulk out and put it down your drain,you could pump it out but with mud in it you would be likely to block the pump.As long as it keeps raining you will have to take water away,it may take a while to initially find your hole but once it does it will keep draining.
Brian

Useful suggestions there from Brian, draining excess water into a hole ...
...but be careful if you do digging, Sandra .... don't make yourself unwell....

Oh thats a shame it sounds as if the top liner has a hole and is leaking into the original liner and would cause the top liner to lift like a bubble? Has something punctured it do you think? I would try not to do anything for as long as you can, if the fish have enough depth to overwinter that is the best place for them.

Oh dear San. I agree with others...probably bad drainage of your heavy rain. You will probably be best to just leave it for now and then in the spring, when the weather is better, you can get out there and renovate, perhaps with a plastic moulded pond, or improve the drainage under the liner. What a disappointment and pain...so sorry. I suggest you stay indoors, put on some nice music and have a cuppa or a dram, and read a good book or magazine. Stay Cosy San :)) xx

Hi Sandra ..sorry to hear of your problems..i cant help with your pond, but you have had lots of good advice from our friends on here..hope you feel better soon..Karensusan's suggestions sound ok to me :o)

We had to drain our pond but it was in the summer, they survived very well in a plastic pool ( quite big-- but the're big fish-- even more so now!)
I'd maybe ring a shop selling fish for advice as they are used to the cold-- my thought were leaning towards a shed and insulate the container around the outside-- but only as an emergency last resort
when it drains would some bricks or slabs make a temporary job of holding the liner firm.
hope it helps xxx

Sorry to hear about your pond sandra, Kayleigh keeps walking round the edge of mine and the stones keep falling in, not going to sort it till next year as theres no fish in it. Hope you get yours sorted soon. Had awful gales here on south coast, i was frightend to let kayleigh out for her bedtime wee as i thought she was going to get blown away, it kept me awake in the night as well.

So sorry to hear this Sandra - sometimes all happens at once doesn't it :((( I always said if my pond broke , split or whatever I'd fork out and put a slightly smaller plastic one inside the broken one - when I cleaned pond out it buckled really far up in the middle and you could hear the squelsh of water underneath - one of the risks with holding a load of water in one place. I hope it all goes okay with yours - thought I'd suggest the worst possible solution. The weather last night was awful and afraid not going to improve much :(((

I hope your son is okay and you are too Sandra xx

thankyou all so much for addvice, brian your addvice sounds good to me and im keeping my eyes on pond and if the fish are ok and the bubble doesnt come up anymore im leaving it till spring,
Denise i had thought about that to, as i left the original liner in for extra cushioning, also a piece of carpet, but im quite sure now there isnt a hole, i do think the water from under the path and the grass has flowed under my pond, my path gets water logged to so i guess it has to go somewhere.
i went to my art class to paint and feel calmer, which did help.
still high winds but at the moment not heavy rain, shall look again in the morning,
thankyou all, your all very kind :o)) xxx

joe home tomorrow so looking forward to his smiling face, will cheer me up, just like to say its not joe who is troubling me at the moment, its my eldest son but cant say why, im sure you understand.
joe here till monday when he flys to jersey for xmas with his nan, uncles and cousins, im sure they will all enjoy it to, will miss him but at least i have a few days with him :o)

It will be nice for you to see Joe, Sandra.

My advice of moving the fish was only if the storms caused yet more damage ... I know you would be very upset to lose them ... I hope the excess water drains away, and your pond returns to something like normal, and you can make improvements in the springtime.. :o)

thankyou Terra i know your right and if i feel they are in any danger i will take them out right away, its almost impossible to get to them in this weather as they stay at the bottom and i cant see them, so i just keep checking
i will defernatly be taking the liner out and replacing with a solid bowl type one in spring ;o) x

San, I'm so pleased that you went to the art group and that it helps you xxx

thanx Pam i got there late but got into it by starting a new painting of our village windmill which is a house convert, everyone is great there and i was soon relaxed.
got my staff meal out tomorrow so that will be nice to, then when im back home joe should have arrived :o)) x

Sorry to read about your pond problems, San ... I can't offer any useful advice though ... at least the art class soothed you and Joe being home tomorrow will make you feel happier! ... Hope the weather calms down ... it was lashing down with rain here last night ... calmer now thank goodness ... :o)

So sorry you are having such bad luck at the moment Sandra, do you think the high winds we are having has got under the liner causing it to lift,you have been given lots of useful advice from members andhas they say the most important thing is to find a temporary home for your fish, do hope it gets sorted, also the problems you are having with your son, life is so difficult at times, try not to let it all get you down, take care x

Hi Sanbaz So Sorry to hear of all your prob's. If all else failes to cheer you up, then try painting it dose it for me XX

Oh San , problems seem to follow you around ,I'm so sorry about both your pond and your son , keep your chin up , I hope the problems are soon sorted out for you xx

thankyou shirley, carole, sue and Amy,
the pond im sure the rain has got between old liner and new making it even harder to sort out as it wont drain away now caught between both, grrr, no worse today so will keep checking, a friend at art says i can loan his pump to get the water out when im ready, great help and saves doing it by hand. so when i can i will drain off water saving some, then take liner out and replace with plastic bucket type like yours carole.
that all sounds easy but i bet your bottom dollar it isnt .
as for my eldest think its time i took a step back, easier said than done but its the only way i can keep sain i think. lots to think about.
thankyou all for your kindness.
xxx

Lots of good advice out there San for you, all our GCs around here have Aquatic centres because it is big business in the South, and if you are in doubt I would ring your nearest centre (Yellow Pages) and explain to them what has happened and ask them what you should do........just a thought!!
it must be very annoying to say the least, sorry to hear you have problems with your son, I know the feeling, you just would not believe the problems we have had in the last month..........stay strong, things could be worse , that is what I tell myself, keep painting those beautiful pictures. xx

Hi Dotty and thankyou so much, i will try and call in maidenhead aquatics near us, he is ever so helpfull, i got my liner from him and filter etc, good idea.
sorry you having probs to with son, isnt it a nightmare for us mums, we take everything on board and it eats away at us, just the way we are i guess, take care Dotty, thinking of you.
painting is my salvation lol and joe of course :o)) xxx

Ours are with a daughter San, we have three, and she is well over 40!! would you believe it?

well Dotty i can believe it as i see my eldest son being just the same when he is 40, some just never learn or grow up, its very draining.
take care, we will have to toughen up lol :o) xx