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Is Your Pond Liner Leaking?
It is coming to the time of year where ponds can become vulnerable to water leaks, often caused by winter frost damage to ponds. Most commonly known to concrete pond structures, seasonal damage can also occur in fibreglass and butyl, Firestone or PVC liner ponds, although this is less common. We’ll take a look below at some of the steps to finding a leak in a pond liner and ways of repairing the pond liner not only throughout the autumn and winter periods, but all year round too.
At Stephens Industries, having been established since 1956, many of our customers are faced with the issue of leaking ponds and cracks that form around the edges or where harsh objects have come into contact with the liner since its installation. Having witnessed many occurrences, our diligent team are on hand to help with any leaking pond you may have. Alongside the colder weather, there are also other factors which may heighten the chances of a leaking pond including the liner age, incorrect installation process and its surrounding environment.
Pond Liner Leak Detection Methods:
Firstly, to confirm your pond liner is leaking we recommend 2 main steps to take to eliminate some possibilities.
- Fill up the pond
If you have witnessed your pond decreasing in water capacity over a short period of time, we suggest that you first fill it back up to its maximum volume to then monitor it closely ~ we recommend around 7-10 days.
- Switch off any running pond equipment
To eliminate the possibility of pond equipment affecting the water level i.e. “splash leak”, we recommend switching off any pond equipment you may have running. The observation period can then begin.
After these two steps are taken and the level of water has happened to have decreased within a short period, the leak can be narrowed down to the main pond basis area. If the water level is reduced to a serious amount that may be affecting pond life, we suggest fish are eliminated from the pond and put into a temporary suitable environment until the leak is fixed.
Water isn’t reduced in the observation period:
If however, the water seems to have stayed at a profound height during your period of observing the level, this means that the main pond structure isn’t the cause of the leak. Other factors can include: Waterfall, Streams or Heavy Evaporation.
Repairing the Pond Liner Leak
If you have a pond liner leak, here is what to do:
Dependant on the size of the hole within the liner, there are a set number of things that can be done to help with retaining the leaking water.
- Order a Pond Liner Repair Kit – Most pond Liner repair kits contain several items to get your pond back to its maximum capacity and efficiency as soon as possible. Available as a home-remedy, these are an inexpensive way of fixing holes within the liner materials.
An average pond liner repair kit can include:
- QuickPrime Plus – This is used for preparing the liner for the patch
- A Scouring Patch – Preparing the Liner and applying the QuickPrime Plus
- A section of QuickSeam FormFlash – A repair patch for covering the damaged section of the liner
- A Roller – For ensuring adhesion between both pieces of liner
- Fixing the Hole with Joining Tape
Although joining tape is primarily used for joining multiple liners together, it is also used on various liner materials when a hole is apparent. Being a very economical way of fixing the leak, the downside to using this pond lining joiner tape is that as the adhesive tape is sticky both sides, debris and stones may stick to it in the water.
- New Pond Liner
An alternative to pond liner leak repair kits, dependant on the pond liner age and the size of the leak/ hole within the material, could be a new pond liner. This may be an option for those who desire a more future proof option.
For more information or guidance, please contact a member of the team who will be able to assist you.