Hole in EPDM Liner

[Diver]

Hallo together,
I have one pond with an 8 year old epdm liner. Somewhere there is one (or more) hole. I shut everything off and let the water drain to hopefully where the hole is.
I have done this several times before with great success. This time however the water would possible drain all the way to the bottom of the pond. I stopped when there were only 2 inches of water left. Revoming the fish is not an option at this time. I have checked the liner inch by inch but cannot find a hole or tear this time.
My wife and I are currently unemployed so replacing the liner is not an option!
Any ideas on how to find a leak in the liner? I am out of options.
Thanks for any ideas.

 

[fishin4cars]

If the hole is that far down you'll probably need to remove it anyway just to patch. If it's at the bottom you should be able to feel the general area where the hole would be as it will be a lot mushier mud under it than in any other area. With only two inches of water walking around should allow muddy water to flow back in the pond side when walking around. patches need to be throughly cleaned before applying so I really don't see how you can patch without removing the fish. personally I would patch both front and back once I found the leak. I've seen to may patches fail over the years from many different reason's.

 

[Diver]

Thanks,
Forgot to mention that i tried the "muddy water backflow" and had no success. What else could I do?

 

[sissy]

I hate to say this but know it is a bad option but if you really can't find it and don't have the money for a new liner they do sell the heavy duty black plastic in most stores and you can get an 18 mil thick for like 30 dollars .Not sure how big your pond is .Try craigs list or you can get rubber roofing at builders discount center cheap or any other roofing place or lowes has pvc liners really cheap now for smaller ponds and maybe you could just build a smaller pond to put them in for now .I saw a 10x15 one in lowes for 79 dollars

 

[Mmathis]

Do you have an alternate container that would be large enough to hold your fish, even temporarily? Or know someone who could help with that? If it was me, just knowing that my fish were safe would take away a lot of the stress and worry, then I could concentrate on the liner problem.

What kind & how many fish do you have?

 

[Diver]

It's a 15 by 20ft 3 1/2 deep pond with three one foot koi. What do you mean by rubber roofing?

 

[sissy]

Rubber flat roofing membrane is the same as pond liner and you can sometimes get lot a lot cheaper .They use it on all flat roofs .I have a piece in my water fall ,just have to make sure you was it well before putting it in .Sometimes a roofing installer has extra and wants to just get rid of it as it is very heavy and a bear to install .You can google it and then look for local roofing people and tell them what you need it for or if you know someone you can have them get it at cost .I know lowes hardware has pvc liners cheap and not bad for the price saw a 18 by 20 for 139 dollars .You may end up having to do a smaller pond for now until you get extra cash .Check lowes on line you will see they lowered the price of the liners .

 

[Diver]

Thank you

 

[sissy]

I think your best bet is just do a smaller pond and pull that liner out and maybe you can find the hole patch it and put it back in .

 

[sissy]

I was just thinking and you said it almost drained to the bottom are you sure it is not a hole in one of your hoses rather than a leak in your liner .I know I had that happen and also had a clamp loosen up and it was leaking ,check your hoses and filter something could be leaking .Not many liners get holes in the bottom as the epdm is pretty thick .Something would have been dropped pretty hard to put a hole in the bottom of the liner and the water would slow it down as it was falling in .Check all your hoses and filter .

 

[addy1]

good point sissy!

 

[Diver]

I am anal about the creek overflowing and i had just installed a new pump. Everything checks out. After that, I shut all water movement off. That's how i know it's the liner.
Over a week with no pumps, filters just water sitting in the pond.

 

[brandonsdad02]

Find a cheap kiddie pool and put the fish in there for a day and drain the pond all the way. Its gotta be there some where or you got some thirsty critters roaming around your house.

 

[sissy]

Sometimes even though you shut off your pumps water will keep draining from some of the hoses ,I found that out .I had pulled my pump and took the hose off and set the hose aside and did not notice there was still water flowing out of it ,I found out when i noticed my water level was dropping fast ..If you have plants around your and there are some that are greener than others that will give you a clue also where it could be .Even if the hole is down low the plants roots will seek it out .

 

[waynefrcan]

Hello, I think pulling the liner in many large ponds is a nightmare. I have 300 pd rocks in mine that I needed a backhoe to place them. Along with thousands of smaller rocks.

Silicone with edpm liner patch

or

edpm liner patch that is heat treated to bond to liner

both work well if done correctly

thks