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Gardening in the UK

Pond liner problems

19 years ago

I notice that the level of one of my ponds has consistently stayed down at about 6" below the correct level all winter. I presume this means there is a tear in the liner somewhere. Groan. Has anyone got any tips about finding it/ mending it?

I'm not looking forward to the hours spent up to my elbows in freezing cold water grovelling about with my knees on the cold, hard, damp flagstones, but I guess there's no alternative?

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Comments (6)

one_dart
19 years ago
i had a tear in my pond last year ,i drained it down just below the tear & i patched it with a piece of liner & some glue ,it never leaked since ,sent me your email address 7 i will sent you a picture of my pond ,do you have any seeds to trade ,thank you
alison_froglady
19 years ago
Something that you could do is pour a little milk into the pond so as to get a colour you can see and watch for where it goes, as that will be where your leak is. I haven't had a leak in my pond but when water was disappearing I found it was on my waterfall. The stones had moved and the water was going underneath the liner in places. As to trying to repair I agree with one dart. Use a bit of liner and fix it much like a bycicle repair kit for a puncture.
Hope this helps you a little bit.
Alison

Here is a link that might be useful: alison's nature reserve (my pond and garden)
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I also remember you mammabird. I usually don't use the forum much in the winter but come back on in the spring just to catch up on what's new etc. I have a retrofit bd as well mine is some modifications on the Tetra through the liner drain (which froze) but I used the cap from it for my drain. I am replacing that this year with the Aqua Art Drain as it sits flatter than mine. Not sure if I understand your "hump" but you usually put the bd in the deepest part of the pond. Avid koi-keepers like to do TPR's--but that also means cutting a hole in the liner. With your pond dimensions you might want two bottom drains one for each deep section. That would mean two bulk heads (I did pipe boot connections) through the liner on the side of the pond wall nearest your settling chamber. My drain has a 4" line reduced to 3" just before it enters the sc followed by a 3" knife valve (there much cheaper!). I take my drain out for winter because of my climate. Water inside pipes in my climate not a good idea. My settling chamber is a liner chamber (kinda like a pond beside the pond)350 gals-my pond is 2500 gals. They say sc should hold at least 10% of your pond volume. I really like this system as use sc for water changes. I have 3-4 ft square matala mats in my chamber which is also my mechanical filitration. Good luck with your new pond and move. Patti
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garden_nerd
Original Author
19 years ago
Thanks Alison, great tip about the milk. Do you think there will be a very slow flow in the direction of the tear, then? There's frogspawn in there already but I don't think that would affect it, would it?
alison_froglady
19 years ago
No I wouldn't have thought the milk would affect the spawn at all. I haven't seen this myself, but have heard it said that where the leak is, it more than likely would take the milk towards it. Maybe it has to be poured near the edges first just to get an idea of where it could be going from. (obviously don't go pouring pints in)I would think that a leak would be more likely near the edges as bird or animals claws could have come into contact with the liner.
I can't imagine a tear somewhere else unless something has been dropped into the pond with sharp edges. Anyway good luck with it.
Alison

Here is a link that might be useful: Alisons pond and garden
garden_nerd
Original Author
19 years ago
Well, I tried the milk trick - it sunk quickly to the bottom with no trace. I've felt all the way round the waterline but no sign of anything. I was assuming it was a significant size hole as the level does not seem to go up temporarily after rain. The next step will have to be removing the stone work from either end to see if there's anything under the concrete edging.
daniel ne4
15 years ago
hi guys i have had koi for a year and a half and i have lost a great amount of fish i had a little bit of white spot before the christmas. i cleared that now i am still loosing fish any ideas guys. all help would be appreciated

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