Hi, I'm grateful for any guidance you can offer, and thanks for your time.
I'm here because I'm new to all this, so please no admonishing my ignorance or foolishness, I admit to it. Moving on.
I bought an older home a couple years ago with an impressive water feature. It's likely decades old, concrete lined (incorporating some boulders), ~5 medium sized pools (from 4-8' diameter), a long, concrete creek bed spanning about 15', several small waterfalls, and one large pond at the bottom (~12 diameter).
The intermediate owners said they infrequently turned on the pump when we bought it; we quickly realized why: It loses a significant amount of water when running.
When filled to capacity, it only takes about 8-9 hours to drain the bottom pond to a level where the pump is sucking air (though it will fill again when the other ponds drain back into it). When the pump is turned off, most ponds will hold a fair amount of water -- close to the level at which it would spill into the next section if it were running (this is good), and the bottom pond also holds a high level of water on its own. The creek bed holds no water to measure, as it drains downward by design.
I have identified a couple of ponds which drain lower than expected, however, which indicates some possible leaks in these areas above the standing water level. I greatly suspect areas where the concrete meets large rocks/boulders as points of stress, and any water level that sits lower than expected seems to involve a point where concrete meets rock, although I cannot see any cracks with the naked eye.
Long story short, I would like to attempt to patch/reinforce these areas and see if it solves the problem. I'm looking specifically for advice about how to go about this and what products people might recommend (as well as general thoughts/brainstorming about my predicament).
In my mind I've focused on two potential groups of products: hydraulic cements, or silicone/rubberized sealing products like Flex Seal, or even something like Gaco Roof. Obviously if there are more application-specific products along these lines you all might be the ones to know and I'm interested in hearing about them, and also which tactic you think is best (cement vs. silicone vs. another option).
I'm hopeful these efforts will stop the preponderance of the leaking, though if I'm satisfied these fixes are correctly applied and I still lose too much water I will have to look at two other possible areas of concern: 1) The long, concrete-lined creek bed which has embedded in it many protruding rocks, or 2) the PVC pipe buried underground (and inaccessible) which connects the pump at the bottom pond with the top cascading pond.
Thanks again for your time, hope to hear some good news or ideas,
-- Adam
I'm here because I'm new to all this, so please no admonishing my ignorance or foolishness, I admit to it. Moving on.
I bought an older home a couple years ago with an impressive water feature. It's likely decades old, concrete lined (incorporating some boulders), ~5 medium sized pools (from 4-8' diameter), a long, concrete creek bed spanning about 15', several small waterfalls, and one large pond at the bottom (~12 diameter).
The intermediate owners said they infrequently turned on the pump when we bought it; we quickly realized why: It loses a significant amount of water when running.
When filled to capacity, it only takes about 8-9 hours to drain the bottom pond to a level where the pump is sucking air (though it will fill again when the other ponds drain back into it). When the pump is turned off, most ponds will hold a fair amount of water -- close to the level at which it would spill into the next section if it were running (this is good), and the bottom pond also holds a high level of water on its own. The creek bed holds no water to measure, as it drains downward by design.
I have identified a couple of ponds which drain lower than expected, however, which indicates some possible leaks in these areas above the standing water level. I greatly suspect areas where the concrete meets large rocks/boulders as points of stress, and any water level that sits lower than expected seems to involve a point where concrete meets rock, although I cannot see any cracks with the naked eye.
Long story short, I would like to attempt to patch/reinforce these areas and see if it solves the problem. I'm looking specifically for advice about how to go about this and what products people might recommend (as well as general thoughts/brainstorming about my predicament).
In my mind I've focused on two potential groups of products: hydraulic cements, or silicone/rubberized sealing products like Flex Seal, or even something like Gaco Roof. Obviously if there are more application-specific products along these lines you all might be the ones to know and I'm interested in hearing about them, and also which tactic you think is best (cement vs. silicone vs. another option).
I'm hopeful these efforts will stop the preponderance of the leaking, though if I'm satisfied these fixes are correctly applied and I still lose too much water I will have to look at two other possible areas of concern: 1) The long, concrete-lined creek bed which has embedded in it many protruding rocks, or 2) the PVC pipe buried underground (and inaccessible) which connects the pump at the bottom pond with the top cascading pond.
Thanks again for your time, hope to hear some good news or ideas,
-- Adam
