Pond still losing water...any ideas?

[DrCase]

I was looking at the filter waterfall pic and it looks like the liner is cut to short. if it is you need to rebuild it with one piece of liner from the filter spill way to the pond

 

[JustJack]

Yes, CometKeith and DrCase, you were both right. Turns out the guy put the whole filter together backwards and didn't dot the liner right either. There was also a crack we hadn't seen in the waterfall part and that was causing a lot of water to go down underneath the liner that wasn't in the right place. Got all that fixed and so far, so good. I still have a few rocks to rearrange but now the biggest problem is overspray and we're only losing maybe 2 or 3 inches a day instead of 2 or 3 feet.

Thanks everybody for all of your suggestions! It really helped us narrow it down so we could find the problem. Now I have to get my ph back in balance and I'll be ready for a new catfish!

 

[stroppy]

great news ... and dont forget to post pics of your catfish when hes settled in his new home :0)

 

[addy1]

Move the rocks around for the over spray, I added/ moved rocks until the over spray hit the rocks and trickled back into the pond. Went to the only water loss was due to evaporation.
Put liner under the rocks I added lol, just laid it on the other liner to path the water back into the pond.

 

[JustJack]

Addy, that's exactly what I'm doing. He really didn't think when he was laying the liner and it's bunched up underneath the big rocks, letting the water run out and underneath the deck. But those rocks are so heavy! I have some liner scraps I'm using to try to fill in the gaps behind the rocks so the water will drip back into the pond but there's one spot I haven't figured out what to do with yet. I'd like to get it to where I don't have to go mess with the rocks every day, but right now I'm just happy we found the problem and it does seem to be the only place it was losing water.

 

[addy1]

You could also get some of the black spray foam, fill in the gaps, it will help get the water to go where you want it too. Did that also for a few problem areas. And rocks are heavy totally agree.
It is so easy to mess up when you are laying a stream/waterfall because of the water flow.

 

[JustJack]

Yeah, and the guy that did this was...shall we say "under the influence" when he did it so nothing he did made sense. Wish we'd known what to look for when we bought the house, but oh well--we're getting there. I did buy some spray foam, but do the rocks have to be dry before I spray it? That will kind of act as a glue too, won't it?

 

[addy1]

Water actually helps cure it, damp moist not under water............
So they do not have to be bone dry to use it.

ummmmmmmmmmmm stumbling lol!

 

[JustJack]

Oh, that's good! I really didn't want to have to wait for it dry out again before I did it. It's supposed to be gorgeous this weekend so that's the first thing on my to do list.

 

[addy1]

Great let us know how it works

 

[CometKeith]

Hey JustJack, Glad you found the problem. It seems like I have had almost every problem that has come up here on the forum including yours. I followed the instructions that came with my pond kit from Menards, but they left a lot of information out! I rebuilt my pond 3 times the first year!

 

[JustJack]

Wow! Well, we haven't had to do that yet (knock on wood), but it's taken us a whole year to find and fix problems that have come up with ours. Looks like we're finally getting there, though. Apparently the neighbors are well aware of how things were done here and they're all helping us get things fixed, including rebuilding the deck that the pond surrounds. I'll post new pics as soon as it gets done. They're also going to build me a bridge like DrDave and a lot of you guys have--I can't wait!

 

[addy1]

Fantastic you have great neighbors! Calls for a it's done bbq! well when done lol

 

[JustJack]

Oh yeah, a party is definitely in order! And yes, I do have wonderful neighbors! I don't know what I would have done without them this year. I'm a little bitty thing and my husband is, um, not. I was so grateful for my neighbors when he had his knee replaced and I couldn't get him in the house after we got home. Two of the big guys on my street actually carried him in the house and put him to bed. So yes, once this is finally done, we'll have to have a neighbors-only party as a thank you.

 

[addy1]

Steak, hot dogs, corn on the cob lol................or alligator if that is what florida panhandle peeps eat.......lol

We have great neighbors also, they take care of my lil pup whenever we go to florida to take care of honey's parents.