LEVELING POND -- WATER LEVEL?

[Mmathis]

Well, Hubby now sees this as the excuse to finally buy that laser level . Guess we'll try that and if not pond-satisfied, will try the water level.

Sissy, when I was looking up info on water levels, several sources also said, in addition to food coloring, to add a few drops of dishwasher rinse aid to the water. Guess that's to make the water flow easier ( surface tension, friction?). Don't know of anyone whose tried it with & without to say if it makes a significant difference, though....

 

[whiskey]

My lazer level useless in day light, but brilliant indoors, on getting selves level on double fire side, with book selves either side ,you may find twilight hours best on pond work.
hence i used a water level on pond, in fact your see it in my photos on my build laying around pond.

 

[addy1]

Mine did fine outside, even in the sun. I used a rigid piece of white plastic to track the dot. It has the 4 direction level. 3 horizontal, 1 vertical

 

[JCschild]

Well, Hubby now sees this as the excuse to finally buy that laser level . Guess we'll try that and if not pond-satisfied, will try the water level.

Sissy, when I was looking up info on water levels, several sources also said, in addition to food coloring, to add a few drops of dishwasher rinse aid to the water. Guess that's to make the water flow easier ( surface tension, friction?). Don't know of anyone whose tried it with & without to say if it makes a significant difference, though....

thats absurd having used a water level for many yrs i didnt even bother with color much less anything else..

as to the laser level again you need a very good one ($75 is not a good one, more like $300+) and the biggest issue is setting it up. if its not 100% leveled correctly your results wont be either.
thus the difference in cheap vs good (as well as the legs) the better ones have decent leveling ability
also the longer the distance the less likely for level.

then there is the whole how to mark a board (1x2) to use as the level stick.
while novel and has cool factor the cheap laser levels are not a good choice. of course this is a pond we are talking about not a house or addition.
1/2-1 inch error here and there may not matter

 

[Mmathis]

JC, thanks for the input. I had no idea there was so much to consider with a laser level! Any advice, tips, hints, for using a water level?

 

[SE18]

I've used a laser level. The light is about an inch from the bottom so if you lay it on something, you have to add or subtract an inch from what you're shooting.

The water hose level never lies, although it is affected by moon tides up to about 3 atoms thick

 

[Waterbug]

The water hose level never lies, although it is affected by moon tides up to about 3 atoms thick

That's what makes them so accurate for ponds...the moon would also change the pond's water level by the same amount. The trick is sharping the pencil to a single atom.

thats absurd having used a water level for many yrs i didnt even bother with color much less anything else..

Welcome to DIY...take a procedure or tool that has been used for thousands of years, by millions of builders to build entire cities and "improve" it based on one point of experience. The suggestions here weren't bad, but the more popular a tool the more "improvements" are offered until the tool is completely unusable. Just saying in general. It's kind of funny.

The color and surface tension can be addressed in one step by using urine instead of water + coloring + soap. That's what I do.

 

[HARO]

Want a better water level? P--s on it!
Sorry, Waterbug, I just couldn't resist!!!
John

 

[addy1]

The best water level.................. fill the pond and it will show where it is not level..............

 

[HARO]

Not so simple, Addy. If you try that when there's a full moon, one side will be three atoms higher than the other!!! :nananananana:
John

 

[Waterbug]

The best water level.................. fill the pond and it will show where it is not level..............

Good one Addy.

Step 1: Build pond.
Step 2. Fill with water to see where it leaks.
Step 3: Tear down the pond.
Step 4: Repeat

Building a pond in 4 easy steps...repeated a few dozen times. We shouldn't laugh though, a lot of ponds are certainly built that way.

 

[Mmathis]

ADDY -- Good one! LOL!

And WATERBUG, if not for the advice on this forum, that would most likely be ME!

 

[Mmathis]

OK, just thought of another "berm" question. Should the non-pond edge of the berm gradually slope into your yard area, or should it be like a little "hill?" Trying to imagine it both ways as far how to lay/stack the edging.

Really getting excited as we are SOOOO close to having an actual POND in our back yard! Yea! But, alas, my next 3 - 4 weekends will be taken up with Boy Scouting activities -- I'll have one Sunday, 2 weeks from now where I'll be there with hubby to help. But on the plus side, one of those weekends we'll be on a canoe-float trip in Arkansas... Get it? Arkansas, ROCKS! [shhhh! Don't let the "rock police" know ]

 

[Waterbug]

OK, just thought of another "berm" question. Should the non-pond edge of the berm gradually slope into your yard area, or should it be like a little "hill?" Trying to imagine it both ways as far how to lay/stack the edging.

Gradually slope, but it's a personal choice.

I haven't followed this all...but there shouldn't be a soil berm on top of the liner right?

https://www.gardenpondforum.com/gallery/image/1822-berm/


I think of "berm" as being the "Bad" diagram and "sitting proud" to be the "Good" version.

 

[addy1]

the liner is over the top of the berm, the soil under slopes out into the yard, ow dirt will wash into the pond.

My pond: the soil berm is at the top of a 4 foot rock wall to direct the water around the pond, but mine is on a steep slope. My liner is at the base of the rock wall, with the liner coming up and out of the pond. At the base of the rock wall some of the rock wall is behind the liner, so if water makes it down the wall it will go behind the liner. So far it has worked great.