New to this site, question about my pond

[ripleystar57]

I live in Annapolis, MD and have a small Koi pond in my backyard. The pond is 15 x 10 feet wide, and on average, about 4 feet deep. I have a strong plastic liner, and the pond is surrounded by flag stones.



I have some large koi, some fan-tailed gold fish, and quite a few smaller ones. In total, I probably have around 35 fish in my pond. In the summer, I usually have around 3 or 4 frogs who like to make my pond their home.

About a year ago, I got a black lab puppy. She is now quite large and has taken an interest in the pond. She doesn't jump in the water, but she keeps pushing the stones in the pond. As a result of this activity, she has also created a few small tears at the top of the pond that I intend to patch this weekend.


My question is, if I mortar the rocks together, will it make it more difficult for her to push them in? I need to know how to secure them. I will also need to obtain more stones to make it a nice, thick band around the pond. My problem is, the stones that circle the pond now are laying on the liner. So they won't adhere to the liner. If I use enough stone and mortar the second and third level of stones together all around the pond, how strong can I expect this to be. Has anyone else created a rock structure around their pond like this? If so, what kind of mortar should I use? Also, do you have any photos of what you have? Does anyone else have any tips for keeping my dog away from the pond?


Community Stats

 

[HTH]

Do you have a PVC liner?

Can't really say about the rocks but if you mortar enough of them together she should not be able to move them? Maybe get a gallon of bonding liquid to help the mortar better stick to the rocks. There are others here that are better acquainted with rocks. With some luck they will post.

 

[sissy]

welcome but labs love water and you may have to invest in a kiddy pool just for the dog

 

[addy1]

Maybe invest in some huge boulders.............. You could mortar rocks together on top of the pond edge rocks, seems like that should work.

If you want to keep the pup away from the edge, you could put up some fencing, like deer netting, strung fishing line (might stop the pup) I have it up due to a heron.

 

[Becky]

Hey there welcome aboard! :wave:

 

[don't ask]

welcome

ripleystar57... mortar can be used but sadly I'm not experienced in using it. My guess will be once you have enough mortared together your dog hopefully will not be able to push them since they will all be bonded together.

 

[ALLINKDUP]

Hello Ripley.....you would want to dig a footing a few inches deep and get it nice and flat...pour a skim coat of mortar a couple of inches deep and be sure to put it wide enough to achieve almost full coverage on the bottom side of the stone and spread it with a flat trowel...let that dry for a couple of days and then mortar the rocks you want to the footing with part of it laying over the liner...realize that mortar will never stick to the rubber liner permanently...only temporarily...e.g. that is why you lay the rock partially over the liner ...be sure to use rocks that are wide enough to comfortably span the footing and the liner and pond edge and mortar between the tops of the rocks into the joints for added support....if you aren't adept at doing the mortaring, just get a pair of rubber gloves on and pack the mortar into the joints and smooth with a sponge..for better effect, leave the mortar not as wet when mixing and go easy on the water when washing the excess off...this will give you a better bond and cure.....I have been doing tile,marble, stone work for 30+ years and I highly suggest you heed the advice about the rubber gloves as the mortar is very alkali and it will eat away at your skin and leave very painful "strawberries"....Billy

 

[j.w]

ripleystar57