this natural hole is about 1.5meters deep and 1 x 2 meters wide. I want to make a pond there, and the problem I have is this :
two sides are of solid rock, the other two show fissures in the rock and some soil here and there. The people who make ponds here only know how to cover everything in concrete. Is there another way to seal the walls without losing the appearance of the natural rock ??
Ponditis, here is food for you...
dp, Here in the states we have expanding spray foam. Comes in a can and you spray it into cracks etc. and it fills them in.
To hide it, I would top with sand while it is still wet.
hope this helps. or you could get pond liner. cut to fit andglue to the edge.
Check out www.backyardponderingsociety.com. this is a club I belong to in Michigan/Indiana, we have many links that you can go to for help.
Hope this helps, happy pondering
Ann
Some of your answer lies in questions. Do you want to make this into a bog garden or an actual fish pond? Are you willing or able to make the interior surface of the hole smooth? Is the surrounding area higher or lower than this area? (Fertilizer runoff can be of a detriment to your pond.) Would you be willing to actually rebuild the area with new stones to make your pond a better pond in the long run? Can you get stones similar to what you already have there and just transplant them into the area so you can just use pond liner and make a regular pond out of the area mimicing what you already have?
The expanding spray foam may work depending on how large the fissures are and how well the foam sticks to whatever surface you apply it to. Another thing that we use here in our area for natural ponds is a natural clay substance called Bentonite. It comes in 50 pound bags or by the ton and is used to line garbage dumps so the soil does not leach chemical spills into underground aquifers. I don't know if it will be available to you in Crete though. Pond liner sounds like it might be pretty hard to do as a lasting water containment as if it got punctured by the rocks it will leak but with a good amount of smoothing of the area or an underliner such as carpet or carpet padding it might also work. If we can't find the answers to your dilemma I will also ask around our Water Garden Club for advice for you.
Sorry for the late answer but Christmas only comes once a year. :) Let me know if I can help you further.
I don't know if fish will live there. It sounds nice, but requires feeding every day (I think) and they may boil in the summer sun. It is a natural hole in the rock, and the rock is not compound - solid - so it drains well. My problem is that I would like to show the rock sides disappearing down under the water surface, but I will have to use some resin to coat the not-waterproof sides at least, if not all sides. Any substance used for waterproofing will show, and I imagine the "transparent" ones will look more ugly than e.g. concrete.
Another theoretical problem is the fact that this is a natural hole in the ground, so it does not have any appeal to it unless you are standing quite near the edge.
Bentonite is not known here - but there are 3 - 4 types of concrete which are used in swimmingpools etc. PVC liner is out of the question in my mind.
thank you for your interest - already, the questions you asked are helping me visualise in a better way what I want to create. If you could please give a few more ideas, I would be grateful.
Best wishes
Dimitri
It is too bad that the rock drains well as that could prevent you from doing just as you want to. I have heard of people here using a product called Rhinoliner for pond liners (it is usually used for a hard liner for pickup beds). It would still be visible to you though so I don't think that would work either. If bentonite would be availble to you I think that might be the solution. It will fill crevases nicely and holds water well as it is used for lining industrial ponds in soils that would not hold water at all. The only problem with it in fish ponds seems to be that the fish stir it up so it stays in suspension a lot. I can get it here for $100 US for a ton bag. Shipping would kill you though!!!!!!!! LOL Just a thought.
Hmmmm There are pond liners that look like rocks imbeded in them. Again probably not available in Crete :(
Maybe you can just try doing a bog garden in that area by putting in some compost and wood shavings or dirt and polymers and see if it would hold water at least long enough that you could use it for some nice bog plants.
I will see if people at our next meeting might be able to think of something for you. The next meeting is January 12.
Lots of thanks.
In the meantime I will have a talk with an engineer who builds swimming pools.
Best wishes
Dimitri
There is a company here that makes fake rock that looks like the real thing. I wonder if you could do the concrete and then have fake rock added to make it look like the natural or add natural rock into the concrete before it cures?
My brain is spinning trying to figure out something that you can get in Crete that will look as you want it to. LOL :) Lani
That's a nice idea, one can mix supertufa (with less peat) and add small pebbles of a volcanic mineral that has bubbles in it, it comes from the island of santorini and floats in the water. The mix looks like a mineral itself, and perhaps it can be waterproofed underneath or be waterproof itself. I look into it. Thanks for your suggestion.
Dimitri
You are welcome. :) Hope it can work for you and make it as natural as you wish it to be. I will still ask my friends for suggestions. You know I want pictures of this thing when you get it done. :)
Good luck, Lani
