Yesterday, the fish tank ran itself extremely dry. So dry that 75% of the pump itself was exposed to the air (very bad for it). We didn't realise this until night was falling, so I put the air pump in the grow bed to oxygenate the water, and left it.
This morning, with the light of day, I searched for leaks, holes: nothing. I could see no water running out. The water in the tank appeared glassily still, it was very mysterious! Where did the water go?
A crazy theory, when tested, turned out to be correct:
- Yesterday morning I had refilled the tank a small amount with the garden hose, to replace small losses through evaporation
- The garden hose was beneath the surface, almost touching the bottom of the tank
- When I had filled it to the top, I left the garden hose in the tank, turned it off, detached the other end from the tap, and left the tap-end lying on the ground.
- The end of the hose submerged in the fish tank was slightly higher than the other end on the ground, and the hose itself was full of water having just been used, so all the water in the hose began to flow out the tap-end onto the grass; this flow created suction, which pulled water out of the tank, through the submerged end, and out the tap end.
Thus the empty tank! It explains how the water level got so low - I don't think the pump could pump it down that far.
Fun fact: when I first thought of this theory I dismissed it as the lazy part of my mind coming up with a round-a-bout excuse to not have to search for leaks.
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