Cement ponds

[LindaKay]

I live in Iowa, I have a small pond outside that I keep goldfish in. I bring them in for the winter. I have a sunroom and small greenhouse and I have built a small cement pool inside that I put them in.72 gal. It was leaking so I relined it with cement and stopped the leaks. over a three week period I filled and changed the water several times . Put in some wallmart goldfish and the lived for more than three days. Figured it was safe so added my outside ones. They just hide all the time , weren't happy. After a while the wallmart fish died. I just fugured it was just becasue they were wallmart fish. Feeders. So put them in a big tub and they perked up. My question is , how long do you think it will take to get the cement cured enough that the fish will be able to be in it. Has anybody out there had a freshly cemented pool. Is there something that will speed up the process?
Linda

 

[dakamp84]

LindaKay,

Hello. I have had some experience with this recently. It will continue to leach lime into the water for some time. The timing depends on a couple factors. You have a few choices to help the cement.

1. Use a cement sealer.
2. Use muriatic acid and scrub the cement with it.
3. Give it time and let it natural level out.

Both 1 and 2 options are going to be your "quick" fix. I personally let mine run (through filter) for about 2 months before I saw a change in pH. It has leveled out and the fish, snails, etc. are enjoying it. It will still leach some but does not make a large swing in pH. The big thing to watch for is the pH swings from morning and evening. This will cause problems for your fish. Also, they may have some stress from being moved that can contribute to the attitude.

Also, Waterbug (member on here) is very knowledgable on cement/mortar ponds.

 

[Craig58]

I think being that small I'd opt to seal it with a sealer. There are a punch of "pond" paint or sealers out there. It's not cheap but for a smaller indoor pond it would probably be the fastest and mos reliable fix. i haven't done one myself but had looked at this for my new pond. But the cost was prohibitive if I wanted to seal a large concrete pond.

Craig

 

[LindaKay]

Thanks, I think I will check out some sealer. Do you know if it eventually will peel off?

 

[dakamp84]

Thanks, I think I will check out some sealer. Do you know if it eventually will peel off?

It will eventually and you will have to reseal it. Not sure of the application lifespan but would assume normal variables affect it (sun, rain, etc). Since your is inside, I would say it would be awhile before you had to reapply.