Evaporation, or leak?

[Lisak1]

Sounds like a good plan @Bluerooster - I think evaporation can account for a portion of that, but you maybe do have a low edge somewhere.

 

[qclabrat]

Sounds like a good plan @Bluerooster - I think evaporation can account for a portion of that, but you maybe do have a low edge somewhere.

Monitoring a potential leak as well, what's a low edge?

 

[Lisak1]

An edge where the liner has slipped below water level. Usually behind or under a rock, in a water fall, etc. Maybe it got stepped on or knocked out of place. It’s the most likely cause of a “leak”. The liner can even get a fold that can wick water up and out of the pond.

 

[addy1]

I had something, deer, ground hog, critter, step on a rock folded the liner right under it in my small pond, which gets water from the big pond.
Well the next morning the pond was down by over a foot of water. I did not see the fold, the liner displacement. Assumed the liner itself had a leak so we turned off the water feed, drained the pond thinking we needed to replace the liner. Well as I moved rocks there it was a nice big rock pushing the liner down, the water nicely flowing over and out.
It can happen. Years ago, 10, I had a fold that let water leak out of the bog, took a bit to find that leak.

Water takes the easiest path.

 

[Lisak1]

Water takes the easiest path.

Exactly. And once it finds a path, the rest of it will follow! Plant roots will also push down a liner edge. We've had plants that were on the outside of the pond make their way to the inside of the pond over the liner edge and push it down in the process. I feel like I wage a battle against my garden on a daily basis. Haha!

 

[Bluerooster]

Well, I made a mistake in my calculation of water loss.
I used the total surface area times the loss indicated in only part of that. So, water loss is only about half what I first estimated.
But still, quite a bit. It would be obvious if the liner had slipped, as the liner extends well past the waters edge, by about a foot or more, and has to go over a berm around the pond. (The edges are higher than the surrounding terrain, to prevent stuff from the yard being washed into the pond) I checked all the wrinkles, and folds for capillary action, and found none. Will be sticking to my plan of shutting down the pump, friday evening, and see what happens. Don't really want to let the bog sit dry overnight, but I suppose it will be OK.

 

[Bluerooster]

Suspected leak has been located! Part of the liner at the falls has a seam. Part of it came unglued allowing water to seep under and out. The seam was under some rocks so it couldn't be noticed. I got some waterfall foam, and after repairing the seam, set about the task of ensuring that no water could ever get there again. I now have foam oozing out between the stones. When it sets, I'll trim off the excess, and see what happens. I suppose, after I trim off the blobs, I'll need to seal the foam somehow to prevent it from absorbing water, and defeating the purpose.

 

[Lisak1]

Good news!

You can trim it without sealing it. It won’t absorb water.

 

[Bluerooster]

Good to know. Thanx

 

[addy1]

It gets covered with muck, algae and does not let water soak through. I have used it to direct water before.

 

[GBBUDD]

in the 90's if you shut down the pumps your o2 levels can be depleted very quickly . i would take steps to add air to the pond some other way while the pump is down.

 

[texmaster]

I was fixing some problem areas around my waterfalls this weekend and turned on a bubbler machine for the fishies while the pumps were off. It was going full board so a lot of bubbles. Can that speed up the evaporation process because it seemed like the pond went down a lot.

 

[qclabrat]

Suspected leak has been located! Part of the liner at the falls has a seam. Part of it came unglued allowing water to seep under and out. The seam was under some rocks so it couldn't be noticed. I got some waterfall foam, and after repairing the seam, set about the task of ensuring that no water could ever get there again. I now have foam oozing out between the stones. When it sets, I'll trim off the excess, and see what happens. I suppose, after I trim off the blobs, I'll need to seal the foam somehow to prevent it from absorbing water, and defeating the purpose.

What's waterfall foam?

 

[Bluerooster]

What's waterfall foam?

A product very similar to "Great Stuff" insulating foam. Comes in an aerosol with a nozzel, to squirt it in cracks and crevasses between stones.

 

[Bluerooster]

Anyhoo, It's been 3 days now, and only about 3/16 inch of water loss. Mabe that's evaporation.