New to ponding: Pump and concrete questions

[nicksat77]

Hello all,

Looking for some general help on some questions. We are looking to restore a pond that was buried for we do not even know how long. I dug out all of the dirt and pea gravel that was in the pond. When I dug it out I noticed a few spots where the concrete was not really there any more. I attached a picture on this. Should I just reconcrete that portion? It is approximately 1' by 1.5'. After fixing that I am not entirely sure what pump/filter I may need. I have attached another picture that shows some of the PVC pipes, where I believe the pump would go. It looks like the pump sits outside of the pond as the piping starts at the bottom of the pond and then goes through the concrete to the outside of the pond.

I am very new to this, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Nick
Nick

 

[Phaewryn]

Is there another pond nearby? How much gravel did you dig out (how deep was it)? Can you post more photos that show the entire area from a few angles?

 

[j.w]

@nicksat77
Can't help ya on concrete. Only have had liner ponds.

 

[nicksat77]

Is there another pond nearby? How much gravel did you dig out (how deep was it)? Can you post more photos that show the entire area from a few angles?

Hello Phaewryn,

Please see the below pictures. The deepest part of the pond is a little deeper than 2.5'. I have three trash cans of dirt along with two decent sized piles of pea gravel. The pond is approximately 15' long and about 2-2.5' deep and 3' deep.

 

[Phaewryn]

Ah, now I see what you mean with the missing concrete chunk! Some concrete is porous, so if you go the patch route, you want to be sure to patch it with one that isn't porous (and hope that what is there is watertight). That might be as simple as reading the bags/labels at Home Depot and buying the right combination of products. That being said, putting in a liner is a better and sure solution, if you can find a way to anchor it. That might mean pulling the top stones around the edge, or it might mean going over them and then finding another way to finish the edges (looks like that might be possible because the pond appears to be at the bottom of an incline on at least one side). I'm going to assume that with that set-up, they were just circulating the water from the deepest pool up to the top of that watercourse via underground plumbing. It might be possible to salvage it, if you've uncovered it at both ends? Chances are extremely high that it was abandoned because it wasn't holding water, and with that much dirt/moss it will be impossible to get it clean enough to seal with a concrete sealant. Many such concrete water features were built when the water table was higher and the cost of water was lower, and were abandoned or buried when the costs of living made constantly refilling the water feature unmanageable.

 

[zeuspaul]

I would use Rapid Set mortar mix available at Home Depot. You could use Rapid Set concrete mix but the mortar mix would be better where you overlap the existing concrete because it will be easier to feather in. Rapid Set is strong, will adhere to the existing concrete and is water proof. Clean about two or three inches of the existing concrete adjacent to where you overlap.

 

[nicksat77]

Thank you both for your suggestions! I am going to try the Rapid set mortar mix and if that does not work, I will get a liner.

My guess is it was abandandoned because they were selling the property and the new buyer did not want it. Could have been buried for a long time.

Would either of you have an idea of what type of pump/filter I would need to have? Considering putting some small fish (goldfish probably) in the pond.

 

[zeuspaul]

I can't help with a pump. Rapid set is what it says it is...rapid. You should be well organized in advance. It has a working life of about ten minutes. I used it to seal a 7500 gal, 10 ft. deep tank that I made with concrete block. I applied it about 1/2 inch thick. That was about 8 years ago an it is still holding water. For your horizontal surfaces I would go a little thicker, an inch or so with good overlap would probably work well.

 

[addy1]

Welcome to our forum of pond lovers.

That will be a neat set up if you can get it running again. If you can, maybe put water in it and see if it holds any, if it leaks it will stop at the leak level. Give you a good idea if it leaks everywhere or just one spot. To keep it cheaper (if you are on city water) fill the bottom, wait see if it holds if it does then add more water until it leaks or does not leak.

 

[GBBUDD]

I would finish cleaning out the entire pond. including pressure washing everything that will be in or in contact with the water . I would be suspicious of the logs on end as well. if the area where the concrete is missing is more than an 1 deep i would not use mortar but i would use high early 5000 psi concrete , mortar is not strong over an inch thick and high early is close to the same mix but has stone for thicker applications. i would then once you get everything cleaned and patched i would look at a concrete coating to make every thing water proof you might want to look at an acrylic bonding agent where your new patch will be so the new and old bond well

 

[zeuspaul]

I agree portland cement based mortar mixes are not very strong. Rapid Set is not Portland cement based and is rated over 6000 psi. It is recommended for applications up to 6 inches thick.

MORTAR MIX Datasheet | CTS Cement

www.ctscement.com