please help!

[Jenni]

Hiya =)

This is the first time I've had a garden of my own, let alone a pond..and I am waaaay out of my depth (no pun intended!)
It's only a small ish pond..the previous owner built it and from what I can make out, its a hole with a pond liner and bricks round the edge..the bricks aren't cememted in or anything just sat around.
We've been having really bad rain and the liner has started bubbling up in a major way..from other sites I've worked out there is water under the liner...how on earth do I get it out?
I'd love to drain the pond completely and start again but there's loads of tadpoles a few frogs and today I discovered a small (I think) coi-carp in there..its the first time i've seen it and we've been here 3 months!
The pond keeps flooding too...I've bought a punp to help keep the water level down but the bubbles seem to be getting worse..worried I'll wake up and find my garden covered in taddies and fish!
Anyone got any advice? I'm at my wits end!!

 

[addy1]

Can you get a hose or something down behind the liner and use a pump or a siphon to pull the extra water out? There are some in there that have done that. I am sure they will chime in to help you.

And welcome to our group!

 

[Jenni]

thankyou! I can't use the pump I've bought as it's too large but I might be able to get a hose or something down...after spending 50 quid on the main pump I've gotta do this cheap before my tother half realises I've spent more money on the pond hahaha =D

 

[addy1]

lol can understand. also if you could start a siphon with a long hose, put it down hill (if you have a hill ) and it might suck the water out.

 

[fishrich]

Hi jenni, the liner is comming away due to the ground water pressure being equal to that of the pond, basicly flooded ground. The liner only stays in place when pond pressure is higher which is what would be normal. Imagine a plastic bag in a bath with water, it only takes shape when you take the water out of the bath. So you have a problem while the ground is so wet. You could try digging a soakaway near to the pond several feet deep to help the ground drain away faster which is filled with stones or even just a hole where you can pump the ground water around the pond away to help get the liner back into position. Hope this is of help

 

[Jenni]

Hiya! that makes sense..thankyou =) I'm definately gonna have to try the pump option. There is a sump type big hole thingy a few feet away from the pond to help drain the garden..I've been told though that the whole street is built on an old farm pond from way back...the soil is basically solid clay and every garden in the area is prone to flooding =( The sump is constantly full and I daren't drain it too much now as the tadpoles have escaped into there too! Starting to wish the previous owners has either built sthe pond properly or not bothered at all..I'm too attached to the pond now though to give up and fill it in =)

 

[addy1]

Aww don't give up, all is fixable, just takes time and patience. I had to put in some french drains around the edge of my pond to direct water away. It didn't get under the liner, but in a few places during a hard hard rain it flowed into the pond with dirt. Now all fixed.

 

[brandonsdad02]

I've heard of people using a hose like addy1 said and hooked it up to a drill powered siphon. I have never used one so I don't know how good they work, but here is a link to one I found and it happens to be in the UK.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DRILL-POWERED-PUMP-WATER-POND-POOL-SYPHON-ATTACHMENT-/270434867591

 

[j.w]

Jenni
Sure hope you can get your pond fixed and to your liking soon!

 

[Becky]

Welcome aboard! I can sympathise, it's just been raining non-stop today

 

[taherrmann4]

Jenni I have had the same problem before. What i did in the past for a quick fix to get the water out from under the liner was to put a pump between the liner and the ground. I just stuck the pump to the point where you could see water and turned it on. I never had too re-position the pump as I just pumped that water back into the pond and by doing this it would force more water from under the liner up to the pump. You will need to come up with a permanent solution if you get a lot of rain constantly.

 

[Jenni]

thankyou everyone!! I found a hand air pump with a deflate hose...so far I've emptied bout 20 buckets of water from underneath...rains forcast for the next few weeks at least so I'm keeping the pump in situ till I figure out a more permanent solution! =) I just need one week of sunshine and I can fix it all!

 

[Jenni]

got the bigger pump onto it...after some careful investigation it turns out I have more water *under* the pond than *in* it... =(

 

[addy1]

bummer this too will pass!