I have, what I think is, a 65 gallon prefab pond, like the ones from the big box stores... and I have discovered that it is leaking, about 4 inches a day or more. Needless to say thats a lot of water and it appears that the leak is near the bottom of the prefab pond, I did check all connections, waterfalls, and pumps to be sure none were the cause and it wasn't one of these easier things to fix. so I went hunting for ideas on what to do to fix the problem however when I looked at liners, repair kits, and a new prefab - well the choice was very easy - new one was only $30.
I am wondering if anyone has ever had to replace one of these and the logistics behind accomplishing this daunting task. I am also looking for any good ideas on how I should proceed, if anyone has any. I have been told many things: clean out the old one and drop the new one inside, pull out the old one and drop it into the new one , or just replace it. I really wanting to pull out the old one - at least to inspect the hole and make sure it still has integrity. Just not sure where to start or which one of these I should try. Thanks in advance for all your help!
Prefab pond liner - replacement HELP?
Think of this as an opportunity in disguise. Have you already purchase the new prefab? If not my recommendation would be to get flexible liner. You can use old carpet from a carpet store as an underlayment and in most cases they would almost pay you to haul it away. You could probably make a bigger pond for the same amount of $$ and be able to make it look the way you want it, not the way some manufacturer says it must look. I constantly see posts about how once you have a pond you want to make it bigger or just do it differently. Here is your chance!
I agree, liner is the way to go and much more durable. Go bigger!!!
I must admit the thought has been there over the years to expand on the existing pond but after much contemplation I just dont want to deal with digging the hole bigger and everything else that comes with it... right now I just want to replace the existing prefab with one the same size. I think that is already more work than I wanted to do this summer... Thanks though!
I went nuts last year with our water loss --that stream/pond was upsided more times than I care to remember. Before you do anything --shut the filters/pumps/waterfall down... stop all movement. If your pond water continues to fall ---I guess you have a leak. But if it stays put -- it could be evaporation. It seems like a lot but it can happen. Ours would sink that much in maybe a day and a half. Maybe you will get lucky and it will be evaporation.
If you do not want to expand right now I have to agree with missingrosie. Stop the pumps and water movement for a couple of days and see if you still experience a high rate of water loss. If the water level stays constant your culprit is evaporation. You would be amazed at how high the water loss can be just from that. Another thing to consider is the local wild and not so wild life. If that is a favorite watering hole for some of the local critters that could be part of the reason that the water level is dropping.
If you determine that the liner is your problem I would say that the easiest thing to do would be to drain it and put the new one right over the old one of they are the same size/type. That way there is minimal labor involved and the old liner makes the pond more stable. The trick is that the old and new liner have to be the same or the new one will not fit. You may have to work a little to get it in as the ground has settled and locked the old one pretty tight so there will probably not be much "wiggle room".
missingrosie - I wish it was evaporation, but alas it is a leak... I was hoping it would be a leak in the connectors, but it is the bottom pond... I stopped all water flow and it dropped four or so inches in the course of maybe 5 hours...
tetleytuna - I have gotten lucky in that I dont have much wildlife willing to come that close to my house - I have six dogs that bark at anything that close... the most I have is mice and snakes.
I think I will take the advice to put the new one in the old one, I bought one identical to the old one so I wouldn't have to dig anymore.
Thanks so much everyone - I will let you know how it goes, as I am hoping this will happen tomorrow or Sunday... wish me luck!
It could be possible to use a piece of thick rubber liner and use silicone to patch the hole, and not have to spend the money for a new one?
I've not ever did that so don't know for sure if it wold work , just an idea.
Well, thank you everyone for your support and ideas... I 'fixed' the problem over the weekend. I took out everything in the old one and then removed it from the hole - the hole itself was in good condition though a bit of wash out near the leak. I was able to find the leak and it was on one of the shelves, I hear this is the most common place for these types of prefabs to spring a leak - so nothing new or out of the ordinary. I decided that placing the new one inside the old one would give it more integrity, we will see how that pans out... But I moved all the fish, frogs and the plants, they are doing great! the water is so clear now, Im not sure thats a good thing... Im thinking of placing the wire thing I use to keep out leaves during fall over it now - just as a precaution. Yippie - no more filling up the pond!!