Evaporation, leak or low edge?

[dinm]

Now it seems to be continually dropping every day unlike about a month ago, it'd appear the leak is where the water comes back into the pond, that seems to be the most likely place, because I still keep losing water. The best thing would be if I can find the leak, patch it up, but easier said than done since it can be like a needle in a haystack, and I've tried the milk method a while back, never really led me anywhere.

If it keeps dropping I think I might want to redo the whole thing before it gets cold, or maybe just putting some liner where the water comes back in would help as well, then I'd be minimizing water loss as it couldn't go through the leak. If anyone has advice regarding finding the leak, then that'd be great.

 

[dinm]

I have found the leak. I am thinking of patching that corner fully, as I do not know where it exactly is, it seems a small puncture, but I see the water pooling under the liner and leaking.

Plan is to patch that area as a whole so that it hopefully covers the actual puncture, it's not big so it should be easy enough I hope. Not sure exactly what to use for it, it seems safe bet to order the oase pvc liner adhesive, some here say they use roof sealant which I may find locally but not sure how safe it is for fish.

 

[dinm]

Got the adhesive today. It works well, but no luck with fixing the leak, its a needle in a haystack as I said before. I am just gonna order liner to replace it, hopefully it arrives on Friday and I can redo it.

Only worry is fish, but it is end of the season. Algae will probably colonize the pond in no time when I redo it so that should help.

Will be smoothening everything, so there's absolutely no possible rock piercing it, and gonna use geotextile over the liner so that I can use some rock. But this time amount of gravel I use will be probably 2-3x less. Big rocks on sides, and pebble on the bottom.

If this does not ensure the PVC doesn't get pierced in the future I've no idea what will. There's always a possibility but with geotextile over and under I don't think it will be as much issue. But in my current pond the rocks and gravel are in direct contact with the PVC liner. It is actually pretty flexible, so I think padding will give it a good protection.

 

[dinm]

Looks like I may be forced to look for EPDM regardless. I've contacted a dealer and asked how much 1mm would cost, it may be possible for him to order it from a distributer, it seems I may be getting somewhere with that idea since he said he'd contact them.

No luck with the first store, said I gotta order the whole thing (6x30m), that was for the Oase Eurofol which is 1mm EPDM. My only options that remain are contacting various roofing companies across the country, but likelyhood of them sending it to me is probably extremely low and I doubt I can find within the city I live.

Probably will end up ordering the same PVC and not use gravel on bottom, EPDM seems far out of reach, will look locally though. And then again, there is this PVC I currently use and the Oase one which comes in 0.5mm&&1mm, the one I currently have is quite cheap. PVC is PVC though so i dont know how much difference it'd make. Really do not want to do PVC again, but if ends up the only option then it is what it is.

 

[GBBUDD]

I'd use hope long long before I looked at pvc pvc will give you IF your lucky 15 years sounds like a lot but I'm at 6 years on my pond now went by real quick

 

[dinm]

I'd use hope long long before I looked at pvc pvc will give you IF your lucky 15 years sounds like a lot but I'm at 6 years on my pond now went by real quick

I am mostly worried about punctures. I use a lot of stone and PVC is weak.

Should be able to find EPDM at lumber yards, but whether it is the Firestone brand I find I am not sure. I had PVC on the first iteration of my pond, no punctures then but I had gone and expanded it after a year. But with PVC if you walk on it you will eventually pierce the liner, if you have gravel that is, and that's not a great thing.

 

[GBBUDD]

Epdm is not that much tougher than pvc its easily punctually and tears much the same. The solution is THICKER LAYERS OF goetextile/ non woven needle punch polypropylene the box stores sell 3, 4 ,and 5 oz on the shelves. Way to thin. I recomend 8z if any rock is to see the liner.or more

 

[dinm]

Epdm is not that much tougher than pvc its easily punctually and tears much the same. The solution is THICKER LAYERS OF goetextile/ non woven needle punch polypropylene the box stores sell 3, 4 ,and 5 oz on the shelves. Way to thin. I recomend 8z if any rock is to see the liner.or more

Probably go with Oase 0.8mm PVC, which seems more hardy and thicker than the PVC I currently have. I don't think I'll be using gravel on bottoms though this time, for my own sake.

Geotextile I will use is 200g, I think that translates to 8oz. But it seems hard to find black geotextile.

I think I will have one shallow area so animals like cats or hedgehogs can easily access for drinking. Though I'll have big rocks so it won't be that steep, just not nice if an animal falls into it.

 

[hamstermann]

How did you eventually find the leak? And what is the milk method?

 

[dinm]

How did you eventually find the leak? And what is the milk method?

I didn't find it. At least not precisely, I just removed gravel/rock in that part and lifted up the liner to see water pooling under. I knew where it was approximately , but the holes are extremely tiny so I just went patching where I saw marks, didn't work out. Milk method's just pouring some milk and seeing where it flows, it's not that great though, water's weird and it wont just directly flow to it. At least that's my experience with it.

It's not like a rip I had in the liner that is easily seen, it is very very tiny. To give credit though, there is no protection for the liner, it is gravel laid over a PVC liner with several creases, so it held up until I went about walking in that part which caused pressure and pierced it.

I guess gravel ain't a problem when it's done right, but the way I did it was gravel piled on gravel, it sure looks better than bare liner.

 

[hamstermann]

it sure looks better than bare liner.

True. I hate seeing liner - it looks so unfinished and unnatural.

Sorry about the trouble you're having. I wish I could help you somehow.

 

[dinm]

True. I hate seeing liner - it looks so unfinished and unnatural.

Sorry about the trouble you're having. I wish I could help you somehow.

I don't think its that bad, or maybe videos trick me when I watch them. Plenty people do bare bottoms, but shelves usually seem rocked.