Starting Over

[Stingroy]

I've had a pond now for over 12 years. I love my pond!!! I've had koi and goldfish and have had to restock a few times because of blue herons. I'd start with just a few fish (5-10) and in a few years I'd have 30-50. Have a waterfall that feeds into a pond around 2,500 gal. I live outside of Denver Co. and have successfully kept 99% of my fish alive through the winter. Last October my pond started losing water. I've had small leaks before but always found and repaired them. I was very upset because winter was coming I couldn't find a leak. My pond liner is EDPM. So long story short, I've lost all my fish. I couldn't keep up with the leak. My fish are probably all dead under the ice.
So now I'm going to completely start over. Not an easy task. My main reason for joining is to get advice on doing things right. I know I made a lot of mistakes when I first built the pond. Things I've had to try to fix to keep my pond alive. Sorry for the long story. Looking forward to getting to know some of you and maybe help along the way.

 

[Meyer Jordan]

We are all here to help in any way that we can.

 

[Stingroy]

I've had a pond now for over 12 years. I love my pond!!! I've had koi and goldfish and have had to restock a few times because of blue herons. I'd start with just a few fish (5-10) and in a few years I'd have 30-50. Have a waterfall that feeds into a pond around 2,500 gal. I live outside of Denver Co. and have successfully kept 99% of my fish alive through the winter. Last October my pond started losing water. I've had small leaks before but always found and repaired them. I was very upset because winter was coming I couldn't find a leak. My pond liner is EDPM. So long story short, I've lost all my fish. I couldn't keep up with the leak. My fish are probably all dead under the ice.
So now I'm going to completely start over. Not an easy task. My main reason for joining is to get advice on doing things right. I know I made a lot of mistakes when I first built the pond. Things I've had to try to fix to keep my pond alive. Sorry for the long story. Looking forward to getting to know some of you and maybe help along the way.

 

[Gemma]

I love your pond! Welcome to the group!

 

[Stingroy]

So I've always have had a problem with crud building up in the deepest areas. Ive read about having a drain at the bottom to remove the crud. I understand how that would be great to remove the crud. What I'm wondering is what happens in the winter when anything above ground freezes. So I run a pipe underneath the pond and then my pipe has to come above ground where the crud water is pumped out, but in the winter there would be water in that pipe. It would be full of water at the same elevation of the water in my pond. Anything above at least two feet in the ground will freeze.I always blow the pipes (I have two pumps) that go to my waterfall from two skimmers out before things might start freezing. Anyone have some great ideas. I tried one winter keeping both pumps going to my waterfall but had so much ice build up it was draining my pond. I was out on top of the ice with an axe chopping the ice away. Ha. Help

 

[Stingroy]

I love your pond! Welcome to the group!

Thanks. I'm glad to be a part of pond people. Ha

 

[JBtheExplorer]

Well, I hope you do something similar with your new pond, because your pond looks amazing!

Would love to see more photos!

 

[Stingroy]

Well, I hope you do something similar with your new pond, because your pond looks amazing!

Would love to see more photos!

Thanks. Somewhere I have more pics, but been looking and can't find them. I really don't want to change much just make it deeper in some areas and make it more maintenance friendly. Mostly I don't want it to leak anymore. I have a feeling I had a vine root from nearby that broke through the liner. Guess I won't find out out till May!

 

[Tula]

Welcome

 

[Big Lou]

Good luck to you. I've been there and feel your pain. Take care.

 

[Becky]

Great to have you here!

 

[cas]

You have a very nice pond. Sorry to hear about the leak. Do you know the thickness of your EDPM liner?

 

[Lisak1]

Very pretty pond!

I am curious about your "leaks" - were these holes in your liner? Or low spots that needed lifting? I think someone already asked what type liner you used - that's because 45mil EPDM liner should last more than 12 years and is pretty impervious to most roots. Plants tend to be rather lazy, preferring to go around a liner rather than through it. I'm not sure what a "vine root" is though, so maybe it's a really invasive type plant?

 

[Riftlake]

The rocks in the pond look natural, but they trap the crap which decomposes making the pond into an unflushed toilet. A bottom drain leading to a mechanical filter of some type which removes the crud would be a huge improvement.

A filter pit with a cover could solve the problem of the pipe freeze up in the winter if you shut the circulation down. The benefits of a filter pit would be the filtration could be gravity fed from the drain thus being more energy efficient when circulating water through the filter. The filtration and piping could be more easily kept from freezing being underground. The filtration system would also be easier to keep out of sight.

 

[Stingroy]

Welcome

Thanks