Is there anything to put in a pond to keep it from leaking?
Are you having issues with pond leakage? Bob Lusk, the pond Boss, is here to explain if there’s anything to put in a pond to keep it from leaking.
Hey Larry. Larry’s on the line from North Carolina.
Yes, I’ve got a pond it’s 15 years-old and it’s leaking. It’s always leaked is there anything you can put in the pond to stop the leakage?
You know I know there are those the actual the pond sealers but are those safe when you have fish?
Sure.
Really?
The ones that are approved for use are. You know I think the wisest thing I’ve heard about leaky ponds is that the tightest thing in the world that holds water is a bathtub except for that little bitty hole there at the end of it.
Exactly.
The problem with a leaky pond is you can have all kinds of products to put in the leak, but you’ve got to find it.
Right.
You know, so if you knew where it was leaking then the odds are repairing it go up, but if you really want a foolproof answer let it go ahead and drain which is painful after 15 years not a bad idea anyway and then go back in and line the bottom with clay if you have clay available. If not then there’s liners, plastic liners there’s sodium bentonite which is drilling mud which is a mineral that when it’s wet expands anywhere from 3 to 15 times its size. It will expand into those leaks but in order to do it properly you need to get all the water out to get in there in the bottom of it and fix it.
And the ones that you can put in that the sealers that you can put in when there’s water in a pond essentially they’re granular they go down how does that work?
You know what. I’m glad you mentioned that there’s a company in Arizona I think it’s ESS 13 is their product and that’s the same it’s a polymer that they mixed with vegetable oil that you can actually mix into the water and it will settle out over the entire bottom of the pond and seal the whole thing
Okay.
But the way they like to of it is to come you know inspect your pond see what they can figure out why it’s leaking
Sure
What it does is it attaches to the soils you’ve got and makes them grow to really compact better.
Okay
and so that’s that product does exist.
Like clay almost.
Almost like clay.