leak test

[ty714]

is there any way we can test to confirm of a leak in a liner pond?
Ty

[MCA]

watch the water level. If more disappears than is reasonable from simple evaporation....a leak is very likely.

[schildkoi]

Shut down all pumps, Take a turkey baster or syringe full of cream and gently release some around all fittings. If a bulkhead is leaking then the cream will be drawn through it disclosing its location. You can also let the pond leak down to a stable level and then use this same technique along that water level after refilling slightly.

YOu should also look for wet areas around piping routes and waterfall.

Steve

[Birdman]

1st thing to do is shut down the waterfall and or stream to see if the leak stops with that. If it's not the waterfall sometimes you have to just let it leak with out replacing the water to see where it stops leaking. Then you know where at the water line it will be. You can slowly drip liquid coffee mate under water, if done slowly it will stay together in a ball sort of and if the leak is big enough you can see the coffee mate get drawn to and through the leak.

[Otter]

Why do you suspect a leak?

[ty714]

Thanks for all the response guys. I love this web-site.

I've seen 1/4 inc drop in water line in 3 days period. Not sure if that is from evaporation or a from a small leak. I'm praying that I didn't screw it up when I installed the 4inc BD. That's the only cut I made w/ the liner.

what is the reasonable drop in water level for you guys? The weather at my area has been at the low 80.

I'd feel very guilty, if I need to drain the pond to confirm if there's any leak. California is on a water shortage. It doesnt feel right to waist all that water

[Motown]

In three days you only lost 1/4" of water? Did I read that right? If so, it is easy to lose 1/4" of water to evaporation. In my opinion, if you had any type of leak at your bottom drain (under pressure) you would be losing much more then a 1/4".

On a different note, what quanity of water changes do you do per week? What does water cost out on the west coast? Here it's sold in units of 100 Cubic Feet (750gal).

Motown

[MCA]

Quote: watch the water level. If more disappears than is reasonable from simple evaporation....a leak is very likely.

1/4" ain't nothing. If is dropping more than 1.5" in a week...maybe there is a leak worth worrying about.....maybe.

[Otter]

It doesn't sound like you have a leak. When it's warm and windy, evaporation losses of 1/2" per day aren't too uncommon. Keep a log of your water loss, air temperature, wind, and humidity. A leak will lose about the same amount every day regardless of the weather. With evap, you'll loose hardly anything on a cool, dry, still day, but might loose as much as 1" on a hot, dry, windy one.

[ty714]

Thanks God for WWW and you guys. I've been worry.

Motown: I've yet to do any water change. The pond is 1month old and has just 2, 7" koi. Got them a week ago from Enkoi. They're a bit shy, but sure is relaxing to watch them. As for water rate, I pay some $20/month for services + $2/unit of water if usage is less than 6 unit/month, it goes up if usage is more than 6unit.

The problem now is the suspense algae. I wonder if my 20kilo diy baki shower can do the trick.

Thanks again guys.