Help with cement raised pond?!

[Shopaholic]

Hi everyone, I’m new here and In need of some major help. I currently have a koi pond for many years but it’s a liner style and inground. We recently purchased a home with a beautiful outdoor raised pond/fountain? I got around to cleaning it two weeks ago. My question is this. I am not familiar with cement raised ponds. I’ve heard mixed reviews being that I live in NJ and the winters can be rough with freezing temperatures. Others say as long as the pump runs and there’s water flow your good others say no the pipes will freeze underground? I don’t know what to do? Any help suggestions truly appreciated

 

[Lisak1]

Welcome @Shopaholic !

I would treat that as a water feature, not a pond. Shut it down for winter, drain any water lines, etc. It would be a pretty goldfish pond for warmer months, but I would be concerned that keeping it full of water will increase your chances of cracking. My MIL had a similar set up and we would drain the whole thing every fall and wrap the fountain and cover the base with tarps. Over the years she just grew tired of the constant leaks and repair work that it required if she didn't take precautions. (Wisconsin winter for comparison.) Concrete just doesn't do great where you get freezing and thawing. It's porous, so water gets into it and also freezes and thaws which causes cracking. Any cracks that you do have only get worse... oh the memories of patching patching patching that thing for my MIL! Should have just put a liner in it! Which is one idea.... you could put an EPDM liner in. Are you sure it holds water?

I don't think the pipes will freeze underground if the water is moving, but they may freeze if you shut the pump off and don't get the water out. All depends how deep they are buried. Where's the pump? I'd remove that too for the winter and store it indoors.

 

[Shopaholic]

Welcome @Shopaholic !

I would treat that as a water feature, not a pond. Shut it down for winter, drain any water lines, etc. It would be a pretty goldfish pond for warmer months, but I would be concerned that keeping it full of water will increase your chances of cracking. My MIL had a similar set up and we would drain the whole thing every fall and wrap the fountain and cover the base with tarps. Over the years she just grew tired of the constant leaks and repair work that it required if she didn't take precautions. (Wisconsin winter for comparison.) Concrete just doesn't do great where you get freezing and thawing. It's porous, so water gets into it and also freezes and thaws which causes cracking. Any cracks that you do have only get worse... oh the memories of patching patching patching that thing for my MIL! Should have just put a liner in it! Which is one idea.... you could put an EPDM liner in. Are you sure it holds water?

I don't think the pipes will freeze underground if the water is moving, but they may freeze if you shut the pump off and don't get the water out. All depends how deep they are buried. Where's the pump? I'd remove that too for the winter and store it indoors.

Hi thank you so much for your reply! Yes it definitely holds water the lines were full of leaves and muck and the pond was full. My picture is after I cleaned it for 4 hours I was surprised I didn’t find a person in there it was that bad. The pump is located 5 ft away and I had to purchase a new one which I will just hook up in the spring. I would like to have it running all year round since you can see it from the house but as you said I feel lucky it has withstood being abandoned for as long as it did and it does seem to hold water and the lines are fine and working. I won’t risk it and just use it as a water feature. There are two ponds on the property we haven’t been able to tackle this year due to weather and there just to overgrown and just one big mess! I’m glad I found this forum because there both on a larger scale from what I’m used to so I will be doing a lot of research. Thank you so much once again

 

[j.w]

@Shopaholic