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  • Results 1 to 16 of 16

    Thread: How much evaporation?

    1. #1
      woopud is offline Member
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      How much evaporation?

      So. I have two ponds with water circulation through both ponds. The larger pond is about 9' x 12' and the smaller pond about 9' x 9' on the surface, it's been hot 95-98 and bone dry here (Colorado) for the last 10 days and my small pond loses about 3" of water in 48 hours. I checked all over and do see leaks so I assume because of the heat it's just evaporation?

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    2. #2
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      Quote Originally Posted by woopud View Post
      So. I have two ponds with water circulation through both ponds. The larger pond is about 9' x 12' and the smaller pond about 9' x 9' on the surface, it's been hot 95-98 and bone dry here (Colorado) for the last 10 days and my small pond loses about 3" of water in 48 hours. I checked all over and do see leaks so I assume because of the heat it's just evaporation?
      I assume you meant to say "don't" see any leaks. Evaporation is caused by a difference in ambient air temps vs water temps, the amount of surface area and the amount of humidity in the air. Based on water losses of roughly 1 1/2"/day, that seems rather excessive given the size of the two ponds. How much does the larger pond lose in the same amount of time? I would assume, that based on a larger surface area, the bigger pond would lose more than the smaller one! I think you have a leak!!!
      Mike

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    3. #3
      Paultergeist is offline Senior Member
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      Quote Originally Posted by koiman1950 View Post
      ......i would assume, that based on a larger surface area, the bigger pond would lose more than the smaller one!......
      mike, all other things being equal between the two ponds (manner of filtration, temp, sun/shade, etc), the rate of evaporation will be the same. To put it another way, if water is evaporating at a rate of 1 inch per day, then that rate will be observed within bodies of still water regardless of whether the subject vessel is a drinking cup, a bucket, or a swimming pool. You would therefore be correct in saying that more water would evaporate from the bigger pond than the smaller pond in the same span of time, but the change of depth (e.g. "lost 3 inches in 48 hours") would be the same regarding both ponds.

      Three inches in 48 hours sounds pretty high to me, but not outside of the realm of possibilites if conditions have been really arid and warm. Filtration strategy may also be a factor; showers, for example, facilitate much faster evaporation rates than submerged media.
      Last edited by Paultergeist; 07-23-2014 at 06:49 PM.

    4. #4
      kdh is offline Senior Member
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      I loose maybe one inch a week.

    5. #5
      LobsterOfJustice is offline Senior Member
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      So there is a pump in one pond that feeds the other pond, which then overflows back in to the first pond? In this setup you will only see the effects of evaporation in the lower pond, so the evaporation from both ponds will be seen in the lower pond, which could make it seem excessive.


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    6. #6
      BWG is offline Senior Member
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      Google "pool bucket test" and there are instructions for a test to see if the water loss is from evaporation or leaks. We used to do it years ago for swimming pools and it is a good test.

    7. #7
      JamesK is offline Senior Member
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      Do you have a waterfall feeding the pond? Also is this a liner pond?

    8. #8
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      evaporation per sq ft will be constant between any two bodies of water. The water is evaporating from the surface layer for lack of a better term. If you have a body with 10 sq ft and a body of 100 sq ft they will lose different total volume of warer, but that variance will be directly proportional to the difference in square footage. So if the 100 sq ft body lost 1/2" in depth so will the 10 sq ft body. Provide they have the same environmental exposure. The 100 sq ft body would lose 10 times as much water in volume but equal amount in depth. now that is simplified some as the larger body has more affect on the relitive humidity at surface level than the smaller body but the difference at this size is negligable.
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    9. #9
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      I have seen evaporation of 3/4" per day in hot dry conditions with my pond. 3" must be a leak.
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    10. #10
      LobsterOfJustice is offline Senior Member
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      Quote Originally Posted by gatorkoi View Post
      evaporation per sq ft will be constant between any two bodies of water. The water is evaporating from the surface layer for lack of a better term. If you have a body with 10 sq ft and a body of 100 sq ft they will lose different total volume of warer, but that variance will be directly proportional to the difference in square footage. So if the 100 sq ft body lost 1/2" in depth so will the 10 sq ft body. Provide they have the same environmental exposure. The 100 sq ft body would lose 10 times as much water in volume but equal amount in depth. now that is simplified some as the larger body has more affect on the relitive humidity at surface level than the smaller body but the difference at this size is negligable.
      Yes, but as I said above, in a setup with a lower and upper pond connected, you will see all the evaporation from the square footage of BOTH ponds represented in the lower pond.


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    11. #11
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      Yes, I was referring to the total "volume" of water lost in comparing the larger/smaller vessels. But, I still stand by the fact that if losing 1 1/2" of water PER DAY is still a leak! I have two open filtration circuits on my 10000gal pond with a large surface area. One circuit is a shower unit and since installed last year, there is double the evaporative loss compared to before installing it.I lose maybe 1/4"-1/2"/day and in the qtank, with totally open filtration, it's about the same or slightly less due to the surface area size and the way the filtration is exposed to the atmosphere.

      As both ponds are connected in this situation, the combined surface area is much greater, but still not enough to constitute that much loss.
      Mike

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    12. #12
      JamesK is offline Senior Member
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      I asked the OP about a waterfall because sometimes it can be as simple as extra splash or oversplashing from a waterfall. I've experienced water loss like that by just having too vigorous a flow on my waterfall. Just by adding a rock to channel the water slightly differently and my water loss changed to minimal.

    13. #13
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      I wasn't disagreeing with you David or Mike. I was only commenting on how evaporation would work with two independent bodies of water. In a case water flows at a given rate from upper pond to lower pond then is pumped back to the upper pond at an equal rate the upper pond would indicate the total volume of evaporative loss of both ponds because the bi-directional flow of the system has in made the lower pond a constant level body.Both ponds are evaporating at the same rate per square foot but the upper pond ends up displaying the total evaporative loss of both ponds because it is the supply reservoir that feeding the constant level lower pond. So it appears as if the upper pond is loosing all the water and the lower is not.

      Now in a closed system the rate of flow from the upper pond to the lower pond much match the rate of flow from the lower pond back to the upper pond. If there is any differential in the flow rates the lower pond will either over run or constantly be loosing water till the point is pumped dry.

      In a replenished flow system where the lower pond runs off to ground water and the upper pond is replenished with an equal and constant supply of new water, you will never see a display of any evaporative loss. This does not mean there is no evaporation because the evaporative loss is exactly the same just not visible due to the replenishment flow system
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    14. #14
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      Gator, I think you have it all backwards. The lowest vessel of water in a multiple tier fashion would act as the sump. If the pump is pumping at a constant flow rate, the upper pond will continue to stay "full" but the reduced water volume would show up in the lower pond.
      Mike

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    15. #15
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      as long as the flow from the upper pond is always equal the flow back from the lower pond then the lower pond is a constant level. Now if the level of the upper pond is set by a weir plate as apposed to a pump out situation then you are correct. The upper pond becomes the constant level set by the weir height. And this is really what is happening in the pond set up we are discussing. I stand corrected. my thoughts were thinking pumped in both directions. but a water fall or weir changes the process because the upper pond is never greater than weir hight
      Last edited by gatorkoi; 07-24-2014 at 10:05 PM.
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    16. #16
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      I have seen evaporation up to 1" a day, but I think anything over that you should be checking the obvious spots for a leak. Waterfalls and streams are common areas for splash and loss (like if a plant grows over the edge of a stream, causing water to divert). I would also check anywhere the liner is breached, like around the skimmer, any jets, etc..
      This spring, after I took the cover off, I noticed I would lose 1" a day, then it was 2", then 3" over a period of weeks. Finally, it was 4-5" a day, and I knew. Checked the areas I mentioned, nothing. Then we realized our Nexus had cracked at the bottom. Since I had a french drain under it going to a sump pump, I did not realize the loss from that area. So based on that experience, I would also check fittings, and filters.
      Vicki


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