finding a small leak in concrete ponds

[avgtiger]

i have 2 small concrete koi ponds that i first filled about 7 months ago. recently, the water level on the bigger pond started dropping about an inch a day more than normal. first i checked and made sure there are no leaks coming from the waterfall, the bio filter i made from a five gal bucket, or any of the piping. i removed the fish and the water, and i cannot find any apparent leaks.
The concrete surface is very rough, and it is coated with a black neoprene coating from a company called Herco fish pond coatings. if there were a small crack, it seems like it would be impossible to find.
any suggestions?

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome!

How big are your 2 ponds, and are they connected? And do you have any plants? Sometimes plants can wick and divert water and or DRINK the water.....especially in warmer weather.

Where do you live and has your weather been hot and dry lately? This time of year, the first thing I would think of is evaporation. And yes, it’s a real thing! Since your ponds are fairly new, this would be your 1st time to experience summer.

 

[avgtiger]

Hi there,
and thank you for the reply. it's my first. Anyway, i live in central FL and yes, it is very hot. i am concerned about the water getting too hot for the fish which is why i recently added many plants. i see what you mean about them drinking, and yes, i understand that because of the heat there is more evaporation this time of year.
What i don't understand though, is why does my small pond not seem to loose much through evaporation, even though it gets more sun, and isn't as deep, and has equal amount of plants?
the ponds are 2 feet apart and not connected. the small one holds roughly 65 gal and the bigger one holds approx double that.

 

[sissy]

You sure no animals are not drinking from 1 of your ponds .I had deer drinking from mine .Could a plant root be wicking water out of the pond

 

[avgtiger]

hi there.
well, my cat always drinks from the ponds. i guess other animals could too, i recently had a racoon raid my small pond so i put up a motion detector alarm, but so far it has only been tripped by the cat. also, i just don't see why the bigger pond has suddenly started loosing more water, but the small one still looses hardly any. they both contain the same number of plants, and the small one gets less shade