Leak After Hard Freeze?

[jgrandmont]

I built my pond in late summer of last year and have had the filtration system running ever since. The system is made up of a pump in a skimmer box which pumps the water up to a waterfall filter, then it flows back to the pond. From the start, I've had an issue with leaks (mainly in the waterfall, I believe) due to a lack of care on my part in making sure the liner in the waterfall was high enough on the sides. After fixing all the obvious leaks, I figured I'd let it be over the winter and review in the spring. It was still leaking a bit and required daily additional water to keep the level up, but it wasn't too bad... until recently. Last week we had a several overnights where temps dropped into the teens and single digits (deg F) and I bought a heater from Tractor Supply to keep the area in front of the skimmer intake ice-free. That seemed to work well. However, since temps have warmed, I seem to now have a much larger water loss of 2-3 inches per day -- about twice what it was. Since it seems to have just recently developed after the hard freeze, I thought maybe something burst in the plumbing, but I don't see anything obvious. I'm just wondering if anyone else has ever encountered this issue. The plumbing is made up of PVC fittings and flexible 1.5" tubing. About half of the tubing is buried maybe a foot deep. The rest is still above ground as I didn't get around to finishing the burial. I suppose the leak could be in the pond's EPDM liner, but I have a hard time imagining how that could happen. As I said, there are no visible water leaks.

 

[GBBUDD]

Can talk about it all day long but pictures are a weeks worth of talk

 

[GBBUDD]

Shut the water fall down this is the time of year to do this and watch the water level if it drops drastically your leak is in the pond . skimmer or plumbing If it stays put your leak is plumbing, waterfall filter or the waterfall it's self . Process of elimination

 

[jgrandmont]

Shut the water fall down this is the time of year to do this and watch the water level if it drops drastically your leak is in the pond . skimmer or plumbing If it stays put your leak is plumbing, waterfall filter or the waterfall it's self . Process of elimination

Thanks, GBBUDD. Maybe I should have been more specific. I'm aware of the process. It was more a case of me wondering if anyone else here may have experienced the same phenomenon -- a leak developing after a hard freeze -- and what it turned out to be. It seems like too much of a coincidence that it happened when it did. Just hoping maybe someone could point me in the right direction.

 

[GBBUDD]

Stretching and pulling the liner down or ripping is my first guess

 

[JamieB]

I know evaporation happens even when it’s cold, in fact I’d see water level drop more in cold dry air than in nice weather, except the worst of summer heat. That period of time when it’s just above freezing, but not yet... it tends to drag out here, and I saw my pool pond level drop visibly when that happened. However, all the plumbing there was in the pool pond, so no chance it was anything else.

 

[jgrandmont]

Stretching and pulling the liner down or ripping is my first guess

Caused by the ice?

 

[sparklingponds]

So no point in killing yourself in the cold looking for this leak, just get yourself an aerator and leave the pond shut down, until spring , Don't feed your fish absolutely don't feed them. They'll be just fine I promise. and when you look for the leak start with the easiest things first like liner getting pushed down by snow, rock shifting stuff like that.

 

[GBBUDD]

Absolutely ice expands if you have a pocket where the rubber is not tight to the ground behind it it can easy stretch the liner. if if you had a boulder against the liner with no fabric it to could be pushed and puncture the liner. The lights can be compromised as ice breaks the seal of them as it surround's and squishes the glass and joints. Water and mother nature can be formattable foes or fiends all in the same breath

 

[Stephen Noble]

I know there was al leak prior to the freeze but you mentioned it became worse after adding the heater. Is it a livestock heater with a cage? Some of those are not caged and can burn a hole. So your original problem (waterfall area) might now have an additional issue.

 

[jgrandmont]

I know there was al leak prior to the freeze but you mentioned it became worse after adding the heater. Is it a livestock heater with a cage? Some of those are not caged and can burn a hole. So your original problem (waterfall area) might now have an additional issue.

There is no cage on the heater. The unit itself is circular with two semicircular heating elements on opposite sides. The thought of a burn did occur to me, but I dismissed it as the pond is lined with rock and there's no way (to my knowledge) for the elements to come in contact with the liner.

 

[jgrandmont]

So no point in killing yourself in the cold looking for this leak, just get yourself an aerator and leave the pond shut down, until spring , Don't feed your fish absolutely don't feed them. They'll be just fine I promise. and when you look for the leak start with the easiest things first like liner getting pushed down by snow, rock shifting stuff like that.

Sounds like a plan. I don't think I'll be doing any investigating until the weather warms considerably. Freezing temps today with snow falling and 4-8 inches expected.

 

[GBBUDD]

The only disadvantage to waiting for the weather to warm up is your fish start to warm up and sart swimming about and you need to fire the pond back up. the winter is a great time to discover where the leak is coming from is it the pond or skimmer or what cross elimination

 

[poconojoe]

I agree with all the above suggestions. Shut the waterfall down. Most leaks occur at or in the waterfall. Ice dams may have formed on the waterfall which can divert the water.

Building a waterfall is an art and usually needs to be rebuilt a couple times before you get it right. The liner underneath is the most important part and needs to be shaped and pitched correctly.
Think of it like this...the rocks on the waterfall are there to just to hide the liner. The liner has to be concave shaped so any water that gets between or around the rocks can only return to the pond via a properly shaped liner.

The other thing that comes to mind is your skimmer. Is it possible it froze and cracked? Is it within the pond or partially in/out of the water?

There are pond deicers (not heaters) that are specifically meant for ponds. They float, have a set thermostat and have guards around the heating elements. They are not meant to "heat" the pond. They only keep a small hole for gas exchange.

Shut down your plumbing and add an aerator. The air stones should be kept close to the surface during winter. You don't want them on the bottom where they will expel cold air down there where the fish are hibernating. In the warmer months, you can drop the air stones to the bottom.

 

[poconojoe]

All my piping and hoses are contained within the pond and bog, so if I do get a leak, water can't escape.