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Old 16-05-2012, 10:46 PM posted to rec.ponds.moderated
Rodney Pont[_7_] Rodney Pont[_7_] is offline
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First recorded activity by GardenBanter: Jan 2011
Posts: 8
Default Advice New to Ponds

On Tue, 15 May 2012 22:55:13 EDT, Phyllis and Jim wrote:

Overall, I would be amazed at 18 gal/hour evaporation. I would search like
mad for leaks. Ponds first, then, starting from the bottom, add one link
at a time to see about loss of water. I would not sign off on the project
until I was sure about the 450 gallons per day loss. I would make him sign
a statement that he declares there to be no leaks, that 500 gallons per da
y is normal evaporation and that he will repair all leaks if that turns out
not to be the case. Unless you have a well, 450 gallons a day will surely
cost you an arm and a leg.


I agree with Jim, this is a lot for evaporation. You might get that
much on a windy day, wind causes more evaporation than heat since it
blows the water vapour away allowing more to rise from the water. Foam
isn't a good sealant for pond liner and I'm not even certain it will
stick properly. You need to use a proper liner adhesive.

Look for wet areas as Jim suggests. Were the ponds made from one piece
of liner? If not a leak in the join is going to be hard to locate in
which case Jim's idea of turning off the pump(s) is good. See if the
pond level drops to a point where it stops dropping , if this happens
that's the level of the leak. See if you can lift the liner at the foam
joins to see if they are properly sealed. The adhesive has to go right
to the edge of the liner otherwise capillary action will still suck
water out where the liner isn't stuck.

I would be really interested to hear how you get on with this.

--
Regards - Rodney Pont
The from address exists but is mostly dumped,
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