Leaky Pond

[twentysix by twentyfive]

I fitted a new pond liner a while back and all seemed well. Then the pond level began to drop noticeably. I was able to discover the level to which it drained and found some smallish holes which were obviously made by the heron which had been seen after tadpoles and frogs. So, with the approved patch kit for the liner, I sealed the holes. But the pond level continued to drop, just more slowly. So I let it drop to "that" level and went around again, this time with a torch after dark and found some tiny little holes which again I patched. I went around this process a few times and I thought I had found all those pin pricks. But still the pond level drops. Does anyone out there in CC land know of a way of tracking down very tiny pin prick holes in a pond liner other than by my torch/eyeball method? I'd be very interested if there was a method that would work. These are pin prick holes.

I've started to prepare the liner for another hunt. And who showed up overhead but that dratted heron. I've made a heron fence according to the spec from (I think) the RSPB. To work on the pond the fence has to be removed. Heron has a keen eye

 

[annedonnelly]

Sorry can't help but I'm interested to hear that the patch kit seems to work. I had to re-line mine after some plant roots worked their way through. Mind the liner was out of its 10 year warranty period. And the holes were quite large once I'd extracted the roots.

Do you think the heron is making the tiny pin prick holes too? I assume you have fish. I don't, just a few frogs, sadly not as many as there used to be.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I saw a think on the WWW saying to put a small amount of milk in the water near the suspected area - it will create a cloudy pool if there is no flow nearby
If there is a hole then it will clearly flow towards it

whether or not this will work with small hole I have no idea
and it will clearly only work if there is little wind to disturb the surface


BTW - my wife used to have a pond in her old house
she had a wooden frame around it and a thin net stretched across it to stop the herons - seemed to work

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Do you think the heron is making the tiny pin prick holes too?

I can't think what else would do it. The Heron certainly has "form". I think the pin pricks occur when the bird stabs above the liner but just gets it. The holes are of differing sizes suggesting that the aim depth is different each time.

No fish. Frogs, newts and tadpoles. Attempting to sort this now before the spawning season. I missed the time slot last year and by the time the tadpoles have matured the nights are too short. Then the Xmas dark is just a difficult time of year.

small amount of milk in the water near the suspected area

Yes - I've seen that too. I suspect that the flow would be too slow through any these little holes.

 

[annedonnelly]

No fish. Frogs, newts and tadpoles. Attempting to sort this now before the spawning season. I missed the time slot last year and by the time the tadpoles have matured the nights are too short. Then the Xmas dark is just a difficult time of year.

Oooh, I know that herons eat frogs, etc. but I didn't think they bothered with garden ponds for them. I'm pretty sure I've never had one visit my pond.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Oooh, I know that herons eat frogs, etc. but I didn't think they bothered with garden ponds for them. I'm pretty sure I've never had one visit my pond.

I do like Herons but not when putting holes in my pond. I think they eat pretty much anything available around the wetlands. Even the eggs/chicks of other birds.

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Just set up the outside extension lead and some powerful lights for a bit of a go at finding problems once it gets dark. Now where did I put my head torch? Don't want to fall in as I've only drained it as far as I think I need to.

 

[Ridgeway]

I can only suggest that you let it naturally drain to the lowest hole level, find that hole, mark it and seal it. Then refill and let it drain to the next lowest hole which should be higher than the last, mark it and seal it etc etc. At some point the pond should stay full.

The challenge i suppose is if these holes are so small then monitoring the drop in height may need some time.

 

[Bazzer]

^^^WHS^^^
As you don't have fish, the threat to animal life, at least at this time of the year, is minimal.
Herons can be a PITA. I didn't have a problem with them until the pond in my back garden was stocked with fish from my indoor aquarium, when I changed to tropical freshwater. Then I had to net it, which looks crap.
If the search for the holes becomes endless, it might be that you end up replacing the liner. Were you to do so, if practicable, I would make the pond deeper and make the shallower parts difficult for the herons.

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

I heard from somewhere that herons are anti-social and so a statue of a heron by the pond stops real herons visiting

Clearly it won;t fix the holes - unless you have a TARDIS and go back and install it a few years ago - but it might be a useful idea for the future

 

[Bazzer]

I heard from somewhere that herons are anti-social and so a statue of a heron by the pond stops real herons visiting

Clearly it won;t fix the holes - unless you have a TARDIS and go back and install it a few years ago - but it might be a useful idea for the future

IME that doesn't work.
I have two metal "herons" given to me by my Mum, both of which are by my back garden pond. My next door neighbour went one step further and bought a life like model. As he described it, the bird just ignored the model and started feeding on his fish.

 

[Alex H]

 

[twentysix by twentyfive]

Thanks for all the thoughts.
With my flood lights arranged appropriately I've been able to find some tiny little pin pricks. However, the original patches seemed to be a bit hit and miss so I've gone around the whole lot and replaced every patch I could find with new. The original patch kit was liner with double sided sticky tape. I've now gone for liner + a Sealant/Construction adhesive. So when that lot has cured I'll go around again with the flood lights in the dark. Flood lights are better than the torch as they illuminate a much larger area so hopefully I won't miss any pin pricks as I did when the torch was used.
I actually feel like I'm making progress at long last.

 

[Dave7]

IME that doesn't work.
I have two metal "herons" given to me by my Mum, both of which are by my back garden pond. My next door neighbour went one step further and bought a life like model. As he described it, the bird just ignored the model and started feeding on his fish.

@Dirk posted that he has a "cat wacker" (one of those water jet things). When I googled it the blurb says its very good for deterring Herons.

 

[Gwylan]

Sorry for your challenges but thank you so much. I now have many arguments to deter my wife from driving me into installing a pond.
Rah, rah, rah...