Tips for finding a liner hole

[James_Pond]

I've changed the edge of my pond, which has involved digging up to a foot wider than it was and putting some rocks inside the pond edge that weren't there before.

When I fill the pond up, the water level drops by about an inch so I've got a hole somewhere. I've checked the obvious places and made sure the edge is high enough. All that's left is that one of the rocks has nicked the line somewhere along the way.

Are there any tips or techniques for helping to find the hole other than working my way around the waterline to try and find it? In doing this, I'd have to remove each and every rock as I went round until I found it.

Any help is appreciated, as always.

 

[morewater]

If you've used 45mil EPDM, that chances of one of the rocks having "nicked" it to cause a hole are pretty slim.

You most likely have a low spot in the liner that the water is able to flow out of, until such time as the water level drops even with the low spot and then the "leak" ceases.

Let it leak until it stabilizes, then pull each of the stones out, one at a time, to ensure that the liner is in fact upright and that you don't have a fold or a low spot.

 

[CometKeith]

Finding leaks is always tricky. Last time I "thought" I had a liner leak actually one of my hoses was leaking. As a last ditch effort before changing my liner I went and recut all my hoses going to my filter and replaced any old gaskets on the nozzles of the filter. Problem solved!

 

[addy1]

Check for folds also, water likes to track along them.

 

[Mmathis]

@James_Pond What kind of liner [material] do you have [as @morewater mentioned]?

Also, what is your weather/climate like right now? Are you still having warm temps? With the extra rocks, you could be seeing the effects of evaporation over the extra surface area of the rocks, as well as any of the other things mentioned above. Where I am, our temps are dropping [a relative statement -- "dropping" here means daytime temps are pleasant, in the 70's to 80's], and our humidity level is dropping just a bit, as well. I still notice high-water marks on some of my rocks, esp. if the day is a little breezy.

 

[James_Pond]

I think I've found the problem - I think. As @addy1 suggested, it was a fold. I still can't work out how. I had one of those a few months ago and that one was obvious. This one seemed ok, though.

The water level has still dropped a little - maybe 1cm in a couple of days - since I've sorted the fold. I wonder if evaporation could be to blame for that bit? I'm never sure how much of an affect evaporation would have. I know it's Oct/ Dec but it's been pretty dry here.

I'm near Edinburgh, Scotland and temperatures for the past two weeks or so have been between 10 and 15 deg C, mostly. It's dropped to around 2-10 deg for the past couple of days though.

My liner is EPDM, I think.

 

[addy1]

Glad to hear you might have it fixed. I kept losing water when I first built my pond, Checked everything, finally found a fold in the bog liner that was allowing water to escape. It is unreal how it tracks. I had to pull the liner up and place some rocks behind the edge, didn't have enough to refold and it was full of pea gravel, did the easy fix which has worked for many years now.

 

[Nepen]

I think I've found the problem - I think. As @addy1 suggested, it was a fold. I still can't work out how. I had one of those a few months ago and that one was obvious. This one seemed ok, though.

The water level has still dropped a little - maybe 1cm in a couple of days - since I've sorted the fold. I wonder if evaporation could be to blame for that bit? I'm never sure how much of an affect evaporation would have. I know it's Oct/ Dec but it's been pretty dry here.

I'm near Edinburgh, Scotland and temperatures for the past two weeks or so have been between 10 and 15 deg C, mostly. It's dropped to around 2-10 deg for the past couple of days though.

My liner is EPDM, I think.

the evaporation rate can vary day to day. I once have pond water dropped about 1 inches in a few days and all from evaporation. (couldnt find anything else and it stopped dropping). Especially in the cold where the air is dryer...

 

[ChrisP]

Things settle, leaks pop up...

All my water loss is typically from that - usually in the waterfall and stream section.

 

[James_Pond]

the evaporation rate can vary day to day. I once have pond water dropped about 1 inches in a few days and all from evaporation. (couldnt find anything else and it stopped dropping). Especially in the cold where the air is dryer...

That's interesting, and confusing, because you would of course think that evaporation was a problem on a hot summer's day, not necessarily during Oct/ Nov. It has been fairly mild and very dry. Ok, it's chucking down today, but I was playing golf in short sleeves last week.

I'll keep an eye on the evaporation and hope that's my only remaining cause of water loss.

 

[Lisak1]

Water will evaporate quickly in very cold weather, too. The air is dry when it's cold. We keep our pond running all winter, so we keep an eye on the water level. We make sure it's full to the brim before the snow starts to fly.

Edit to add: If I were going to write a new pond owner's manual, my number one tip would be "That 'leak' is rarely an actual leak." Low edges, liner folds, plants that have crept over the edge, algae diverting water flow from your waterfall, rock out of place, plumbing parts that have come loose... lots of other things to check before you start looking for holes in your liner.

 

[Linda Robert]

Regardless of the climate, splashing and moving water has revelation to additional evaporation than does the still water in the pond. It becomes the reason of ponds leak or pond liner leak they may find it difficult to locate since the pond liner is often dark and mottled from use and dirt accumulation. Pond liners develop wrinkles and creases as well, making it more difficult to see cracks and holes.

You would need

· Cleaning Soap or pond liner cleaner

· Cloth, brush, and towel

· Heating Hairdryer and extension cord

 

[morewater]

Don't stand in your pond with your hairdryer.