I've had my PVC pond liner for about 7 years (dug it myself :-) it's
about 300 gallons and it suddenly sprang a leak. I bought some patch
material and it didn't work (I assume it has more than one leak).
When I was patching I noticed that it looked like it was about to
crack in a few more areas too (near the shelves). I went ahead and
bought new liner and I have a few questions about replacing it!

What are the pros and cons of leaving the old PVC liner in and just
draping the new stuff over it? This is what the guy at the pond store
suggested to me and that just seems like it would be a big mess to me
but I have no idea. I'm inclined to just start over (and I'll have a
few feet of extra liner so I can make it bigger...did I say that? No,
nobody wants a bigger pond!).

Do I need to concrete the edges if I take the PVC out? How stable
will it be? A friend seems to think without the PVC the whole thing
is going to fall apart and cave into the center of the earth.

If I do remove the liner, should I go shelves or no shelves? I've read
"how to" faqs. They seem pretty 50/50. What can you guys tell me from
experience? My pond guy shelves are needed if you want plants. I only
have plants so my fish can have a space to hide, so the added "volume"
sounds good to me.


Thanks for reading my post and extra thinks if you can answer some of
my questions. I plan to drain and move all the landscaping material
tomorrow. My poor fish (just three little koi...they probably need a
little bigger pond anyway) are sick of swimming in a foot of water and
I'm afraid for their lives!

If you have more liner than is needed for the old pond, then I would remove
the old liner and dig the pond deeper. Deeper gives much more volume for
the same amount of liner. As for the shelves, that is a personal choice.
The more straight up and down the sides are the more water in the pond, and
the less likely of heron or raccoon attacks. You didn't say what type of
ground you have. If it is real sandy, then a concrete collar about 6 inches
thick and a foot wide around the perimeter will offer stability. If you
have a fair amount of clay in your soil, then it probably is not needed,
since the soil has good adhesion anyway. The plastic milk crates that are
sold in office supply places make good stands for plants and they have the
benefit of being able to be moved to the location that you want them,
whereas the shelves are there for ever and ever.

Good luck with your improvements. I know the koi will really like a bigger
home, and they really like deeper.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html


"Amanda Galiano" wrote in message
om...
I went ahead and
bought new liner and I have a few questions about replacing it!

I'm inclined to just start over (and I'll have a
few feet of extra liner so I can make it bigger...did I say that? No,
nobody wants a bigger pond!).

Do I need to concrete the edges if I take the PVC out? How stable
will it be?

If I do remove the liner, should I go shelves or no shelves?

Thanks for reading my post and extra thinks if you can answer some of
my questions. I plan to drain and move all the landscaping material
tomorrow. My poor fish (just three little koi...they probably need a
little bigger pond anyway) are sick of swimming in a foot of water and
I'm afraid for their lives!

Thanks for your advice. Now that I got the old PVC liner up (that was
easier than I expected...I don't see any reason to leave it when it
comes up that easily) and unfolded the new liner to see how much I
actually have, it seems like they sold me at least twice as much as I
needed (and I put inside the old shell to make sure I wasn't
overestimating because of the depth)...I'm gonna have some fun! I
plan to make it deeper and a little wider too. If my fish survive the
tramua of living in the little kiddie pool, they'll be happy.

And how about a bottom drain while you're at it? ;o) ~ jan


On 1 Sep 2003 08:26:16 -0700, (Amanda Galiano) wrote:

Thanks for your advice. Now that I got the old PVC liner up (that was
easier than I expected...I don't see any reason to leave it when it
comes up that easily) and unfolded the new liner to see how much I
actually have, it seems like they sold me at least twice as much as I
needed (and I put inside the old shell to make sure I wasn't
overestimating because of the depth)...I'm gonna have some fun! I
plan to make it deeper and a little wider too. If my fish survive the
tramua of living in the little kiddie pool, they'll be happy.


See my ponds and filter design:
http://users.owt.com/jjspond/

~Keep 'em Wet!~
Tri-Cities WA Zone 7a
To e-mail see website