Replace liner late winter

[Scott Baldridge]

Hello, it is late winter here in Tennessee and spring is right around the corner. We have a well established 4000 gal Koi pond and the liner is leaking after our dog took a swim. We lose 80% of the water each day so we really have no choice but to do spring cleaning and now a liner replacement a little early this year.

We set up a 150 gal pond which has a 400 gpm pump/filter. We used the water from our pond and it has been running for about a day now. We have about 30 Koi which will have to live in close quarters for what I'm guessing is 2 days.

I plan to drain down, catch fish then clean it out and pressure wash some. I will lay the new liner on top of the old liner.

The original design has flagstone up the sides where the stones appear to be on top on the old liner. I plan on doing the same. The new liner is 45 mil Firestone EPDM.

What precautions should I take with the Koi? Will they be okay for two days in the temp pond? It is not supposed to get below freezing for about 5 days with daytime temps around 50 degrees.
I plan on stacking the rocks the way they were originally, but am concerned the dog will go swimming again and move those rocks getting out which may puncture the liner again. The current liner is about 10 years old so the new one should have more resistance?

Any tips and advise is welcomed!

A summer pic...

 

[addy1]

That is a lot of koi for 150 gallons, even short term, how big are they?

Love your pond, beautiful! If you are leaving the old liner in really slash it so any water between the two will drain out.
As far as the pup swimming, knocking in flagstone, no suggestion. Can you make a shallow easy to get out doggie steps? Train it to swim to that place to get out.

 

[tbendl]

Yikes, can you patch it? Even if it's temporary?

 

[Scott Baldridge]

That is a lot of koi for 150 gallons, even short term, how big are they?

Love your pond, beautiful! If you are leaving the old liner in really slash it so any water between the two will drain out.
As far as the pup swimming, knocking in flagstone, no suggestion. Can you make a shallow easy to get out doggie steps? Train it to swim to that place to get out.

haha I wish on the dog steps! Most of the koi are about 4-6 inches with a few that are about 12 inches. There are some smaller as well. I suppose I have to move fast.

We think the leak is near the bottom or on the bottom so we have to drain it regardless. The previous owners just told us the liner is nearly 20 years old! It is about time...

 

[Tula]

We had to put a decorative fence our pond to keep our dogs out. We bought it at Lowes, black wrought iron and it links together.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Putting that many fish in 150 gallons is a 'crap shoot'. Even at 2 days (that may be wishful thinking) expect a high mortality rate and permanent gill damage to the remaining fish from Ammonia. You need a much larger holding facility to which you can hook up your present filtration (if possible), if not--- lots of zeolite, activated charcoal, ammonia binder or other adsorption media.
Sorry for being blunt, but there is no way to 'sugar coat' this.

 

[sissy]

I used 3 tanks a 100 gallon a 150 gallon and a 300 gallon and kept an aerator in there with temporary filters .2 of the koi are over 2 foot long so they went in the biggest tank with every thing I caught then I sorted them out to the other tanks .I used all the water from the pond to fill the tanks .

 

[EricV]

Yeah, why don't you consider buying one of these Intex Pools: http://www.amazon.com/Intex-12ft-30...=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B00OX5BB6A

$100 for 1500 gallons of water storage. Your koi are worth many times that

 

[Smaug]

I will be no problem at all if yiu keep water changes going and use an ammonia neutralizer. I had about that many fish in a 60 gallon tank for over a week. I use seachems prime for such emergency.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

Prime works well but re-dosing is required every 12 - 24 hours.

 

[Smaug]

Prime works well but re-dosing is required every 12 - 24 hours.

Indeed.