I read on another post (actually a reply from Robyn) that "Too much rain can cause a pond to die off if the pond is small. Rain will lower the pH, hardness, and oxygen levels". Where I live we get lots of rain and I mean lots. Yikes! I wasn't worried about the rain water before, I thought I could relax through winter. :unsure: I guess I'm not done..
We get hardly any rain :-( I WISH we got lots of rain (ok, but only for the pond)
Today I have the lovely task of topping off the pond by packing 5 gallon buckets from the house, as our outdoor water is turned off. I figure I need to add about 5 hundred gallons for the winter. I have been putting this OFF, but we are supposed to get 2-4 inches of snow and I think it is time to finish off my winter prep! Well I guess an up note of zone 2 would be......I DON'T HAVE A SNAKE PROBLEM or a rodent problem, no racoons, no long legged birds. But yes......I do have to pack those darn buckets of water :(
My mentioning the possibility of deaths following heavy rain in the other post was merely as one scenerio as to why their fish may have died. Normal rain doesn't normally cause problems. You may notice after a heavy thunderstorm, the fish may gasp at the waterfall. That's because rain was has little oxygen in it. If the pond is well buffered, there should be little pH or hardness change. But, in small ponds or ones that are low in buffering capacity, a heavy rain that changes out a large percentage of the pond certainly can harm fish. It's not only the absolute changes but how fast they change. So, heavy downpours are going to cause more problems than an all day rain. I saw the first downpour today (at work) that I've seen in over two months. It's the first measurable rain (still way below an inch) in almost two months!
I would gladly pass along some of the rain that we have been getting to you both. We do get down pours but mostly steady wet stuff! Forget having a hairdo :blink:
KK, I do know what you mean by packing buckets of water. I had to do that a few times in my horse days. It's truely a labor of love. Can't leave the little guys and gals without water :) It's like they say you take to good with the bad huh?
I will have to keep a check on the levels to hopefully make sure that it doesn't get out of hand.