I thought it was about time to sign up and become a member here. I've been reading these forums for a year or so, and I have gained so much knowledge from you all. I enjoy reading and looking at all the great ponds that are featured here, it gives me hope that my little mud hole will become something, one day lol. As my title says, this is my second attempt at this pond. I had another pond at our old house, and I have missed it ever since we moved. I started this new pond last spring, but I went about it all wrong. I skimped on the liner, and as I have read many times here, that's where you invest your $$, and I paid with a leaking cesspool hehe. I covered it over for the summer, with full intentions of re-doing everything, but next came fall and then winter.
Well this spring I got the hammer dropped by my wife, "finish it, or fill it in". So my search started. I'm as frugal as they come so my first search was for a liner. I tried to go the used billboard route, but that turned up nothing.I was about the spend some $ on a liner when driving by a new church here in town, I see they are building a huge water fall that leads into a retention pond. Not ever being afraid to ask for freebees, I stopped and talked to the foreman to see if they had any scraps left over, and what they planned on doing with them. He tells me to come back in a week and see whats left. I return, and he tells me that another one of his guys were taking what was left, but to stop by their shop and see what they had. I was blessed with a 12"x12' piece of EPDM !
So my pond 2.0 began. After getting everything in place and filled, my heart was crushed when I go out the next morning and my water level is down about 6". I discovered that the area where my spillway box met the first rock on my waterfall was not sealed well enough. After a whole tube of rubber caulk and 2 days to set up and fired everything back up again. A few days go by and the water level is holding great, but a new problem, (See above about me being frugal hehe) I'm a plumber by trade, and I had been hanging on to a sump pump I had removed when I put in a new system for a customer, knowing I was going to redo my pond. But the pump was getting too hot and I not only had a new pond, it could have been a redneck hot tub to boot lol. So I had to shell out a few $ for a proper pump and things have seemed to settle down pretty well now. My plants are growing, my lilly has begun to sprout and for now I can just sit down and enjoy the sound of the water.
Well this spring I got the hammer dropped by my wife, "finish it, or fill it in". So my search started. I'm as frugal as they come so my first search was for a liner. I tried to go the used billboard route, but that turned up nothing.I was about the spend some $ on a liner when driving by a new church here in town, I see they are building a huge water fall that leads into a retention pond. Not ever being afraid to ask for freebees, I stopped and talked to the foreman to see if they had any scraps left over, and what they planned on doing with them. He tells me to come back in a week and see whats left. I return, and he tells me that another one of his guys were taking what was left, but to stop by their shop and see what they had. I was blessed with a 12"x12' piece of EPDM !
So my pond 2.0 began. After getting everything in place and filled, my heart was crushed when I go out the next morning and my water level is down about 6". I discovered that the area where my spillway box met the first rock on my waterfall was not sealed well enough. After a whole tube of rubber caulk and 2 days to set up and fired everything back up again. A few days go by and the water level is holding great, but a new problem, (See above about me being frugal hehe) I'm a plumber by trade, and I had been hanging on to a sump pump I had removed when I put in a new system for a customer, knowing I was going to redo my pond. But the pump was getting too hot and I not only had a new pond, it could have been a redneck hot tub to boot lol. So I had to shell out a few $ for a proper pump and things have seemed to settle down pretty well now. My plants are growing, my lilly has begun to sprout and for now I can just sit down and enjoy the sound of the water.
