First pond

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I have a new fish pond and fountain. Brand new to this and built it myself.

I know it’s summer and 98 degrees each day but I am losing 3” of water per day. I only lose about a half inch in a day when I don’t run the fountain. Therefore it must have something to do with the fountain.

I have all the rocks invaded in concrete then a layer of mortar to fill small gaps between rocks. I then brushed on two layers of Thoroseal for water prodding in all the grooves between rocks. I have checked it multiple times and can’t find anywhere water is leaking in the piping nor behind the fountain. It is possible water is getting through near the bottom of the fountain as I can’t see nor check that.

The fountain of rocks sit on a 6” thick concrete pad that is connected to the concrete of the pool.

The pond has all the same layers of concrete, mortar and two layers of thoroseal.

I am wondering if any of you experts know what is more likely here to be my problem.

A- leaking through the pond itself.

B- leaking between the rocks still.

C- leaking somewhere in the pipes

D- Sun is evaporating it fast.
 

Mmathis

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Hello and welcome!

Evaporation is the first thing that comes to mind, but then reading through…..do you have a liner under the rocks?
 
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Cool feature. Congrats on your pond. My guess is option B, but we need more details.

Is everything in your feature lined with concrete? Is there a synthetic liner involved anywhere?

Was the concrete for the pond and the falls placed at the same time or is there a cold joint between them?
 

JRS

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Welcome!

Some nice scenery in the back, looks arid, what's you location? Barring a leak, splashing water can also evaporate fast, especially in a dry climate but not sure if it would account for that much.

Some calculations:


 
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Hello and welcome!

Evaporation is the first thing that comes to mind, but then reading through…..do you have a liner under the rocks?
No. I have wire mesh then 4” of concrete then mortar then one layer of waterproof thoroseal then another layer of marine thoroseal for extra measure. Then a third layer of gray thoroseal to create the concrete color look I want.
 
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Cool feature. Congrats on your pond. My guess is option B, but we need more details.

Is everything in your feature lined with concrete? Is there a synthetic liner involved anywhere?

Was the concrete for the pond and the falls placed at the same time or is there a cold joint between them?
There is a cold joint between them. But the water falls off the rocks and isn’t falling back in the joint. I have done thoroseal all the way up to join the pond to the underside of the rocks as well with several coats.
 
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Welcome. Nice looking pond. I'll hedge my bets, and say B+ C+ D = 3 inches. What does the back of the fountain stack look like?
Can you put a temporary tarp under the top outflow to block the water going down the fountain rocks themselves so the water goes down the tarp into the pond for a day to see what is the water loss from just evaporation?
To check the hose / piping, is it possible to run a temporary hose line from the pump directly to the fountain and see that impact? even a pinhole in a hose line can cause measurable water loss.
Lastly, a leak in the rocks themselves? Maybe get a lot of nice marine grade caulk and caulk away?
Good luck.
 
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View attachment 152587View attachment 152588
I have a new fish pond and fountain. Brand new to this and built it myself.

I know it’s summer and 98 degrees each day but I am losing 3” of water per day. I only lose about a half inch in a day when I don’t run the fountain. Therefore it must have something to do with the fountain.

I have all the rocks invaded in concrete then a layer of mortar to fill small gaps between rocks. I then brushed on two layers of Thoroseal for water prodding in all the grooves between rocks. I have checked it multiple times and can’t find anywhere water is leaking in the piping nor behind the fountain. It is possible water is getting through near the bottom of the fountain as I can’t see nor check that.

The fountain of rocks sit on a 6” thick concrete pad that is connected to the concrete of the pool.

The pond has all the same layers of concrete, mortar and two layers of thoroseal.

I am wondering if any of you experts know what is more likely here to be my problem.

A- leaking through the pond itself.

B- leaking between the rocks still.

C- leaking somewhere in the pipes

D- Sun is evaporating it fast.
MARK THE WATER LEVEL AT DUSK.. NO WATER FALL.. check the mark you made in the morning before the sun starts backing the pond. it should be close to 12 hours and double that . and that should give you a bench mark to start with. Now do the same time frame the next night but running the water fall make your mark and then check it again in the morning. the next day run the waterfall and in the day time whats your numbers tell you.

if you don't have a liner under the water fall area and the rocks are set in the concrete like you would building a wall . I'm affraid you'll never stop the leaks. you can try sealers but like you said the rocks absorb water they have fractures and the rocks will expand and contract differently then will the mortar .
 
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You did a fantastic job it looks very nice . nothing is the same all the way down the falls the water bounces as it drops it looks very nice.
 
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Nice pond! The loss cannot be evaporation. 3 inches a day is way beyond evaporation in those temperatures.
there should be some sign of that water somewhere after a few days. Without a liner I suspect it is a crack in the concrete somewhere. I would place a liner over the bottom of the pond and I would suspect that the leak would be gone then.
 

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