Help: My pond is leaking after I power washed it.

[EAC]

So, I have a waterfall/stream that's about 25-30 feet long that travels to my koi pond. The waterfall was pretty crummy looking, so I power washed it last weekend. I look this morning and my pond has lost about half of it's water. I think it's a 180 gallon pond. So, what could have caused my pond / waterfall to leak?

I didn't clean the pond itself, just the waterfall.

Here is a picture for reference.

 

[dieselplower]

Is that your nsx?
Is there a liner for that waterfall or is it all concrete?

 

[EAC]

Hey, yeah that's mine

There is no liner on the waterfall. It's just stones held together with mortar.

We just purchased the house a few months ago, so this is all new to me!

 

[JohnHuff]

Nice NSX. Unfortunately, it looks like you've powerwashed a leak somewhere. I think you're gonna have to take the waterfall apart and check for leaks and see if anything has been dislodged.

 

[EAC]

Thanks!

Do you mean that I've removed some of the mortar with the power washer? I know that I was giving those stones a pretty good beating with the power washer to make them extra clean.

 

[slakker]

Stone is pretty water proof, but mortar and concrete isn't... So maybe the power washing dislodged or cracked something...

 

[sissy]

power washing is a bad thing I have even seen dummies here that break windows in there house or power wash there vinyl siding pushing water behind it causing mold .Power washing a liner can even cause leaks as there was someone else just on here that power washed holes in his 45 mil liner .All you would have to do is spray it with peroxide with your waterfall off and hosed all the gunk off you don't want

 

[Waterbug]

There are probably 100 times more Aquascape ponds in the US compared to DIY ponds. Most of those Aquascape ponds are power washed once or twice a year.

"I power washed, now I have a leak, therefore the power washing must have caused the leak" is less logical than it sounds. My money would be on you walking in and around the stream causing something to sink which allowed water to escape.

I would also be betting serious cash that this stream/fall does indeed have a liner...it's under the mortared rock.

If it really is just mortared rock I'd make a second bet that it doesn't have a proper foundation. Walking on mortared rock, a stream of that length, you're going to open up cracks. That type of deal is never going to be water tight for very long even without walking on it.

If I were called to fix this here's what I would do:

1. Confirm there is a leak and not just evaporation. Because of the large stream size compared to a very small pond it would not be out of the question to see the pond drop by 3-6" per day in Aug and depending on weather.

2. Confirm the leak is in the stream. Turn off the pump and fill the pond and see what the water level does. That would also allow evaporation rate to be tested and compared.

3. Find some loose bits of mortar or rocks in the stream and remove to confirm liner or no liner. However, in either case it would mean removing all the rocks/mortar and rebuilding the entire stream/falls. There's a bottom line here, if walking around this, or even power washing it, caused a leak then I would expect a another leak to appear next week or next month even if you could find and repair this current leak. Finding and repairing a leak in this type of stream is just about impossible. Much easier and much more reliable to rebuild it correctly so people, dogs, deer, racoons, etc., can do what they will not cause a problem every few months.

However, in 20 years of reading pond forums I don't think a single person has ever done a repair like above. By far the most common fix is to go to the hardware store and buy whatever goop strikes your fancy. Then you just start filling stuff. Keep repeating. Try different goops. Then after 10 or 20 tries just turn off the pump and quietly fill in the pond. Fixed.

Similar to how DIYers "fix" roof leaks.

 

[PondLinerExpert]

Hello there! Maybe you uncovered a previous blocked leak! - That gunky stuff has its uses! :banghead3: i agree with JohnHuff, you'll have to take the waterfall apart and check for leaks... Goodluck!

 

[Dave 54]

One of the finest sealants I know acctaully can be used to seal ponds etc without the need to remove the water, it sets over 24 hours and is good at its job :- .

http://www.thepondoutlet.com/home/t..._pond_aquarium_sealer_by_hutton_aquatic_.html

You can, it now appears, get it in the US which is a major plus for you guys it saves having to contact its makers

rgrds

Dave

 

[EAC]

Thanks for the advice. Now that I think about it, walking might have just did what you said. I'm a good 280 lbs! The stream is long, but there is only a small route that the water actually takes. I'm going to turn the pump off and look around and see if I can find something dislodged or cracked.

There are probably 100 times more Aquascape ponds in the US compared to DIY ponds. Most of those Aquascape ponds are power washed once or twice a year.

"I power washed, now I have a leak, therefore the power washing must have caused the leak" is less logical than it sounds. My money would be on you walking in and around the stream causing something to sink which allowed water to escape.

I would also be betting serious cash that this stream/fall does indeed have a liner...it's under the mortared rock.

If it really is just mortared rock I'd make a second bet that it doesn't have a proper foundation. Walking on mortared rock, a stream of that length, you're going to open up cracks. That type of deal is never going to be water tight for very long even without walking on it.

If I were called to fix this here's what I would do:

1. Confirm there is a leak and not just evaporation. Because of the large stream size compared to a very small pond it would not be out of the question to see the pond drop by 3-6" per day in Aug and depending on weather.

2. Confirm the leak is in the stream. Turn off the pump and fill the pond and see what the water level does. That would also allow evaporation rate to be tested and compared.

3. Find some loose bits of mortar or rocks in the stream and remove to confirm liner or no liner. However, in either case it would mean removing all the rocks/mortar and rebuilding the entire stream/falls. There's a bottom line here, if walking around this, or even power washing it, caused a leak then I would expect a another leak to appear next week or next month even if you could find and repair this current leak. Finding and repairing a leak in this type of stream is just about impossible. Much easier and much more reliable to rebuild it correctly so people, dogs, deer, racoons, etc., can do what they will not cause a problem every few months.

However, in 20 years of reading pond forums I don't think a single person has ever done a repair like above. By far the most common fix is to go to the hardware store and buy whatever goop strikes your fancy. Then you just start filling stuff. Keep repeating. Try different goops. Then after 10 or 20 tries just turn off the pump and quietly fill in the pond. Fixed.

Similar to how DIYers "fix" roof leaks.

 

[sissy]

weight verse ground wet and you get a leak .I have seen the video's of them power washing liner ponds and if you listen over and over again they say use the lowest pressure nozzle you have .I know here they tell you them same thing when you power wash a house no matter brick ,wood vinyl or cement siding ,you will see a home owner go out and buy a pressure washer and look at the nozzles and say well if I use the high presuure one it will get cleaner and i will get done faster and what happens they end up with a major problem .The siding is ruined beyond repair .Seen it time and time again and even auto shops will see it in paint jobs on vehicles and engines .I have a pressure washer and you know what i use it for ,to spread liguid fertilizer and liquid lime over my 3 acres of lawn and gardens .

 

[EAC]

I'm usually very careful with my power washer. I was using the same nozzle I use on my car, so the pressure wasn't very strong.

 

[EAC]

So, I refilled my pond two nights ago and this morning, it looks to be sitting at the same height. Weird.


Offtopic question. I don't have any sort of Filter on my system. There is just a pump sitting at the bottom that pumps water to the top of the waterfall. My pond needs a cleaning pretty bad, there is lots of junk floating around in there (Lots of build up). The previous owner of the house said that I need to rent a vac from the pond store and clean it that way. Is that correct or do I need to drain and refill? Also, should I go ahead and setup a filter system? I want my Fish to be happy

 

[sissy]

I use peroxide in a pump sprayer that is used only for that reason my pond .Spray it and hose it after 20 minutes and all done .geeze these people with draining and cleaning ,never drain and clean the good stuff ,you will be starting over with the pond that way ..I have seen it time and time again on you tube and cring when i see it .A pool net and a filter is all you need .It is up to you what type filter you want to build .Pond vacs can suck up fish also .Easy to build a filter you tube has your pick of builds and there are many on here also .I used you tube and I love my lava rock ,sorry guys out there but it is cheap and has worked for me for almost 10 years .My dad used it also .Many types of filter media to use .I built a new filter I went bigger plus I have had 2 filters for 5 years now
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