Nature on Your Doorstep Community

A place to learn, share and inspire others to create a haven for you and for wildlife.

Sign In or Register to join the conversation

Koi Pond Liner damage caused by ...... ?

If anyone can help with this, that would be great. Copy of email to the Natural History Museum, sent today.

Quote -

"Dear Sirs,

I spoke with ****************, this morning about damage to my pond liner, which may be caused by some type of invertebrate, scratching the surface of the rubber, which the opens up due to the weight of water and is causing excessive leaking. The liner has effectively become porous, with leaking when it is full of about two cubic metres per day. Also a few years ago, when the pond started to leak, some ornamental grasses growing nearby, must have detected the damp conditions and sent down roots which sent shoots, growing up through the rubber, under the water surface, presumably through the cuts or scratches in the surface. All the grasses were removed at that time including the roots, but the problem has only got worse. I had a visit from a pond contractor, who had seen the scratches on the algae, but had never seen these scratches, becoming cuts and then in turn becoming holes in the butyl rubber. I need to find the cause of the problem, since the new liner will need to be kept free of this damage if possible. It strikes me that this issue could affect reservoirs, constructed with this butyl rubber.

 

I have not seen any invertebrates other than soft bodied ones, like blood worms, no water snails, which I have in my small pond. I do have dragonfly larvae. Most things in the pond are eaten by the carp, except frogs and toads, but they usually steer clear of the fish. Also no mechanical cleaning equipment is used, since the system has a bottom and side drain and it is a gravity system, of filtration.

 

What I would like is an identification of the cause of the problem. I am assuming it is some type of invertebrate, scratching for food, or to lay eggs. Maybe in a natural setting, the scratches would be on stone or wood under the water surface. Any help you can provide, will be gratefully received. I attach four photos of the scratches, cuts and holes. I hope that the size of the image files, does not present a problem, with the email."

Some  pictures of the problem.

Any help would be appreciated.

  • Unknown said:

    Can that have caused the damage

    edit did you get a photo of the Heron jsb

    No, the surface is netted , except just now to allow access to the men in waders, to work, the netting looks awful, but necessary, because we see herons a lot around here. They are from local parks, used to humans, so really bold, you have to chase them away, otherwise they just move to a safe distance and watch you.

    The covers I have will do the trick. As regards photos, no sorry, I was just waking up, luckily opened the curtains, or it could have been messy, the herons do not always eat the fish and the remains are not pretty. It has only happened twice, to my knowledge, a fish too large to swallow, left dead on the grass and the same thing, but left in a neighbour's garden. Financially losses can be costly, but in these cases I had bred the fish myself, so it was a personal loss, rather than a cash one. But fish do die occasionally, I had a bout of losses due to dropsy and had to euthanise those affected, when they became distressed. So it is not always a bed of roses, keeping fish. The oldest koi I have is an Ogon, a yellow one, which is 29 years old.

  • I have not found out the cause of the damage to the pond liner, but I have cut some samples of the old liner, to research in the future. I believe it was caused by some water-borne organisms and on taking professional advice, in order to protect the new liner, I shall treat the pond each year with a product that attacks ectoparasites. Which will kill any invertibrates that may be responsible.

    The fish were housed in a temporary above ground swimming pool, with aeration, during the reconstruction. The new filter has produced clear water and the notrobacter are populating the filter rather slowly due to the colder weather. All the fish survived the transfer out of the pond and back again into their, refurbished home. The electrics are working well, but the timer that brings on a second pump to work the heater that runs on Economy 7 electricity is being watched, as on one night this week, it failed to come on and as a result I was lucky, that the thermal cut-out on the heater tripped and prevented the heater from melting, which could have been really serious. Although the whole supply is protected by an earth leakage detector, on the consumer unit, which should give overall protection.

    For anyone with a large leaking pond such as I had, the method of constuction involved the following. To save having to completely rebuild the whole pond from scratch, a compomise solution was, to keep the concrete edge of the pond intact, so saving rose spanish quartz, crazy paving, which is very attractive (when it is cleaned). Abandoning the old liner, pipework and drains and laying a new liner inside the old one and fixing it with a plastic strip, actually a curtain track product, which is then hidden by folding the liner back over the plastic and sealing it in place with a special adhesive.

    This is a compromise solution which now means that I have a pumped system instead of a gravity fed one, which less efficient in cleaning and clearing debris from the bottom of the pond, but it cost considerably less, than a complete rebuild, which would have been too costly.

  • Last week Ray Mears was on ITV in the wetland forrested area of Argyll. Something he said and showed was some lichen on a tree and he referred to lichen 'script' as I recall and it made me take notice as it had the same pattern of short lines, as I had in my old pond. I still need to get to the botttom of this problem, as I do not want a repeat of the phenomena again in years to come. Lucky for me I had recorded the programme, since ospreys were due to make an appearance. I have some more information of the same thing happening in a friend's aquarium and I intend to continue posting here to help me come up with an answer.

  • I was searching high and low for answers too. Unfortunately There are some who can pull any answer out of a hat. :(  I have contacted Geothermal Synthetics for their professional opinion. Also, according to the company I purchased the liner from have sent me a letter stating the reason for this. Now After I read the letter it states, "Exterminators have.." . Well that does not fly with me. I also contacted Texas AM  department of Entomology for specifics them being professionals in this field. Insets, bugs, whatever they call them will not eat or burrow liners. I am presenting my findings as soon as I receive my designated letters. Also there is another factor to consider.

    PLease email me. We are  not alone unfortunately, yet some just give in to these mega companies. Sorry I cannot, too much invested.