Over winter I have been getting holes in my pond liner (in basin for a waterfall). These are large holes not tears. Last year noticed for first time a hole about 3/4 by 2 inches but it was right at the water line and hidden in a fold. I assumed that I had damaged the liner when installing and patched same. This spring I found two additional holes one about size of a quarter the other about 3 quarters edge to edge. The rubber from the hole is missing completely (ie no tear no flap). Now in fall I drain the pond and no one goes near it. But by spring with melt etc (and late fall rains) the pond is always about 1/2 full and almost frozen solid. Now if my assumption that ice is causing the problem is correct then I should be able to cover the pond in some manner to alleviate the problem. Only problem with assumption is that my first hole was near the water line and 10" below max high point of any ice that would have formed.
Has anyone experienced problems like this and what was the solution.
Also just to relate an experience i had when patching. Last year I bought Flex Seal and Flex Tape to fix the patch. I found that the Flex Tape was useless and did not stick to the liner at all. I wound up using the flex seal spray as an adhesive to hold the patch on and then sprayed the edges and back of the patch to ensure no leakage. This year used a drill with a wire brush to buff up rubber around holes then cleaned with acetone, then washed.
This time Flex Tape did stick but not with grip I assumed it should. Sprayed edges also and then a day later started using waterfall. Found that water overnight leaked down to my patch. Could not see any weakness but it was leaking. Went and purchased Gorilla Seal Tape, cut 1" wide strips and went around all four edges of the patch. The Gorilla Tape stuck to the liner no problem even the one edge that was underwater. Has been about 5 hours since I did this this morning and have not seen a change in water level so appears to have solved the problem.
Anyone else have a bad experience with Flex Seal or did I just get a bad roll?
I have had problems with rodents and rabbits going for the salts on the liner at the water line in the past or just chewing through. Either they eat at the edge typically bringing it below the water level or go straight through. This has happened to me twice during especially heavy snow winters. I turn off my waterfall during the winter so it's "dry" when they are going for it. I have a EPDM 45 mil liner and have been able to fix using the EPDM patch kits, solvent, roll of softer rubber and section of liner for patch. Patch and area being patched need to be very clean, i use sandpaper to get fresh rubber surface and make sure to roll out bubbles under the patch then apply some pressure over the whole patched surface for a couple of hours until it sets. It helps to have a solid flat backer to work on.
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