Hi all,
I have an Aquascape liner pond with skimmer and Biofalls. I have a leak that I've been trying to figure out for a couple of years now. I added water and shut off the pump. Seemed to be pretty stable so it seems to be related when the flow is going. I have looked for all the obvious stuff - around the skimmer, etc. Assuming it's not in the return line between the skimmer and falls (hopefully!), what are the places I should look? This is a 4 year old pond that is surrounded with mature (4 yrs old anyway) plantings. I can't be ripping up everything. And I know it would probably cost a fortune to get someone to check it out. The guy who installed it is no pond specialist so I would not even bother with him.
Pond is not good to me lately. Lost all my koi this past Winter. Been battling gross amounts of string algae - still going with that. I am using peroxide. Should I be doing something else. This is the first year the pond is in real full sun as I removed a nearby tree last Fall.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much.
Regards,
Victor
Leak driving me nuts!!
How fast is the leak?
What makes you think its a leak?
Are you loosing more than 1" of depth in summer, because if its less than that, it may be evaporation.
That's right!! It's amazing what evaporates. The first year I had my pond I thought the same thing. Backwashing causes alot of water loss also.
I had 3 small ponds, and they lost 1" a day in 90s weather.
Last year, I built a 120' long pondless creek for some folks in Phoenix, Oregon.
With just the black liner down, it evaporated about 100 gallons in 2 hours !!!!!!!!!!
Much, much less though, once the rock went it and the surface area was reduced. Not too mention the black dissappearing.
I lose an inch a day to evaporation/splash out.
Our home pond is surrounded with quartzite flagstone, from one side of the falls, around the pond and to the other side of the falls.
I slightly angled the flagstones toward the pond, by like one degree, so any splashing runs back in.
There's always some that splashes on rock and evaporates, though.
Yep, I'd consider evaporation, especially since it appears to be significant only when the water if flowing. Moving water evaporates more quickly. Also, I'm thinking that if you had a leak in the water line, you'd likely know it because the soil would be extra moist in that area. So you have any kind of a stream? Or does your water splash on to rocks in the waterfall? If so, these could be your problem areas.
Thanks to all for replying. It does splash a bit on the rocks but I would say it's about 1 1/2 inches in one day. That seems like a lot to me. It's about 12 - 15 feet in diameter - about 2400 gallons.
No I have not seen any wet area near the return line so I don't think it's that. I am thinking it's somewhere where the liner meets plastic - like the skimmer or falls. That's where it can come loose and create an area where the water can escape. Thanks again.
Make sure that all water coming off the side edges of your waterfall is flowing back into the pond. When I begin to lose large amounts of water I usually find that the liner edge, which is hidden in rocks, has been folded down in a way that lets the water go behind it into the garden.
We had this problem and it turned out to be the neighbors dog. Every morning he made his rounds and took a small dip in the pond. Never disturbed a plant or a thing but always took his morning dip.Boy when he came out and shook the amt of water was surprising.Are pond is just small and it really brought the level down.
Both good points. I have addressed the fall edges once already but I do believe some water may still be escaping. My neighbor's dog does roam my garden, though I have never seen him in the pond yet. Thanks!
Did you ever figure out the source of your water loss Victor? I am having the same problem right now...can't figure out if it is a leak or evaporation and it is driving me nuts! Though I have not been looking for it for years, only about 2 weeks. :) I enlarged my pond and butyl taped two liners together. After filling it, and waiting over night I lost about 4 inches...yes that was a leak surely! So I drained it again and found an obvious gap in my taping, so I patched that and hoped for the best.
So today I finally refilled it over the spot of the former leak, and made a chalk mark of the level and I had about a
Hi Susanne. I think (hope!) that it is in the skimmer. I plan to lower the level any day now and re-seal around the overflow.
That's weird, where did the rest of my post go? I hope you can find it this time! Let me know how it goes. Unfortunately I don't have a skimmer or even an out of pond pump system. Mine is most definitely a problem in the liner if it's not evaporation.
The rest of my post said --
So today I finally refilled it over the spot of the former leak, and made a chalk mark of the level and I had about a a 1/2 centimeter drop in about 4 hours. Sounds like more than evaporation, no? I'm going to watch it over night at any rate. My pond is in full sun and there is nothing in it but the black liner as of right now, so that might emphasize any evaporation. Does that sound like a feasible amount in half a day of afternoon sun?
Yes, I was wondering about your post. Thought you just lost interest...That still sounds a bit high for me unless there is a lot of splashing as well. That's 3 cm in 24 hrs - more than an inch.
Lol, lost interest ... I have been known to have a little ADD, but not that bad Victor!! heh. I agree, it is too fast for my liking. I'm just going to watch it over night. My DH has volunteered to hold up the liner while I pour water in it slowly to find the leak...that's his bright idea by the way.
The next and worst option is to buy a completely new liner. I have read not to cut corners to save money with ponds, I should learn to listen!
Argh, woke up to pond 7 inches lower. Back to the drawing board.
Ouch. Is it still possibly the new seam??
I think it most likely is ... I should've kept looking once I found the first one, but I was too excited to have pinpointed the problem to think there could be multiple leaks..durh!
Don't feel bad - we all do that. I just hope mine is in the skimmer. Would be a major problem if it is not.
I'll cross my toes for you...my fingers are already crossed for me! lol ;-)
Time for Twister!
When we built my waterfall the builder explained to me that any connections of liners needed to be made at the falls with the upper pond liner being over the lower pond liner never on a flat surface. He showed me and it made sense. I hope I'm conveying this correctly so you can understand.
Jeri