We’re on year #4 for the backyard pond. The biggest of the goldfish is probably close to 10″ after another long winter in their basement aquarium home with nothing to do but eat. The pond itself is looking pretty good now, after a few false starts throughout the month of May.
As expected, it was leaking badly, and unusually wet weather last spring hampered efforts to complete a major re-sealing and liner upgrade. This pond is obviously not your typical square/rectangular thing you can just throw in a liner, trim it up and be done. It’s very unusual shape extends into all 3 dimensions, 4 feet deep in the center with a straight line nowhere. Initially, this called for a thin, cheapie liner that worked well last year, and that was it. The thicker, higher-quality EPDM liners simply cannot be wrangled in effectively. Adding a new liner is also confounded by the fountain, plumbing and electrical lines. The long-term solution was simple, effective and difficult: Glue down all the folds and creases, apply roof sealant in the nooks and crannies, then re-coat the entire surface with truck bed liner – 5 times. I’ll put one more coat on it every spring until I’m satisfied it’s good to go – forever.
Here’s a link to the Photo page with all the 4th year pond pics…