Small solar powered pond build

[combatwombat]

One thing he misunderstood was the manifolds were supposed to go under the gravel not on top of it.

That is a big red flag.

The solution was to cement the whole thing. They will add the top coat tomorrow and seal it with a fish safe liquid rubber in a few days.

That’s another one. If your bog liner is short right now in the very beginning, it’s going to be way too short once your plants all grow in.

You have a rubber liner, yes? Proper solution would be to replace it with a larger one, make the bog smaller, or seam on an extension.

I think your contractor’s proposed solution is going to work long enough to get them through their warranty period.

I don’t mean to be a Debbie Downer, just want to make sure you get the best pond you can!

 

[SoCal Pond]

That is a big red flag.



That’s another one. If your bog liner is short right now in the very beginning, it’s going to be way too short once your plants all grow in.

You have a rubber liner, yes? Proper solution would be to replace it with a larger one, make the bog smaller, or seam on an extension.

I think your contractor’s proposed solution is going to work long enough to get them through their warranty period.

I don’t mean to be a Debbie Downer, just want to make sure you get the best pond you can!

Unfortunately the problem is not so much the contractor but hiring good people. He has had a problem for the last year getting people he trusts working for him.

He will make good on any problems. He has done a lot of work for us. The guy that started the pond quit after a few days. The liner was plenty large enough but he did not lay it under the top flagstone but cut it under it then was never to be seen again.

He ended up pulling the guy who did the flagstone out of retirement again (The first time was to do the flagstone in the picture above) to fix it. I bought the fish safe liquid rubber that will go over the cement. It is made for just that. Link to it. as long as it's above the waterline I don't see why it wouldn't work.

 

[SoCal Pond]

I thought I should add that I spent a lot of time talking to the contractor yesterday on how to resolve it. He has built many waterfalls but has not made fish ponds before. His solution was to cover the cement with hot tar. I did some searching on it and it seemed to be toxic for fish in the long run so I told him that would not work for what we are making.

I found the fish safe alternative and hope that will make it work. I will update this post as it progresses.

 

[addy1]

Bummer hope you can get it fixed

 

[Doctor mcboy]

i have had a couple of home improvements in the last year. one was all new windows and new showers. when i called them on their sub par ( half ass ) installation jobs they cry we can not get good help it is not us. i call bs on that. the level of craftsmanship and pride in ones job has slid a lot in the last 10 years. now if you do not watch them they will slide one in you deep, with no remorse. and take your hard earned money for it.

 

[SoCal Pond]

It looks like tar but it's one gallon of fish safe liquid rubber. That should seal it.

 

[SoCal Pond]

The guys came back and placed the gravel back in the pond. This time they the placed the manifolds and the clean out bucket at the bottom of the bog.

I ended up placing clear liquid rubber from an inch below the black rubber to the top and any place that comes in contact with water.

My wife couldn't wait any longer so she placed the plants back in the bog. I will fill it up tomorrow after the rubber fully cures.

 

[mrsclem]

It looks like your plants are in pots. Are they planted in soil? The bog will work best if the plants are planted directly into the gravel. The roots of the plants do all the work.

 

[SoCal Pond]

It looks like your plants are in pots. Are they planted in soil? The bog will work best if the plants are planted directly into the gravel. The roots of the plants do all the work.

Thanks for the info, I'm working on it. We filled up the bog this morning and I waited a couple hours just to make sure there were no more leaks. Then I fired up the two pumps to the bog and let it get started. It sure clouded up the pond but that should clear by tomorrow.

Most of the plants are potted in clay. Like my hydroponic garden before I left the top part of the clay in place to hold the plant together and pulled the bottom of the clay so the roots can grow free.

 

[SoCal Pond]

The water was nice and clear by this afternoon. Then I planted the rest of the plants into the bog. You can't see the bottom of the pond anymore.

 

[SoCal Pond]

I had another leak where the skimmer was bolted and siliconed to the liner. I decided while I have it apart to convert it into a small intake bay instead. What a pain in the butt that turned out to be. I used a cleaner, Firestone primer, 3" seam tape and it works very well but is very sticky and messy. I think working in such a small area actually made it more difficult.

I placed a large liner patch underneath as well because of the bolt holes from the skimmer then had my wife hold up the liner as I put it in place. After a few hours I cut the liner to fit (intake end) and used Loctite poly under the edges and over to seal it as well as it could be done. I don't want any more leaks.

I will let it sit like this overnight before I do anything else so the Loctite can cure.

 

[SoCal Pond]

Still leaking. GRRR! It is on the left side of the first picture above, top on the second. I could see at night with a floodlight where the swirling was. It always drops to the same level.

Today I lowered the water and made a patch to cover the area. After the patch was set I used Loctite to cover the seams and used the rest of the cartridge to fill my gloved hand and smear it in the area that I could not see well between the flagstone.

Hopefully that is enough to stop the leak.

 

[SoCal Pond]

Well so far so good. I will let it sit like this until tomorrow and hope the water level does not lower.

 

[SoCal Pond]

Still leaking and so frustrating. It is in the same area and is hard to pinpoint because it is hard to see where it is. I added some water tonight and dropped in food coloring to try and see where it is leaking. It looks like it is dead center but I can't be sure.

It is harder since my work hours have me home after 8pm so my only time to work on it is Saturday. Then I have to wait and hope my fixes work by Monday, if not I wait until the next weekend.

 

[SoCal Pond]

Yay! the leak was finally stopped. I ended up pushing pavers under the liner to make a hard surface to work with. I then discovered a small flap that somehow did not have any adhesive between the old and newer liners. I filled it up partially late in the day yesterday and this morning it was in the same exact water level. This evening we filled it up most of the way and got the pumps going after three weeks of being down. I will finish it up next weekend.