New house with natural stream needing repair - help required

[UkKiwi]

T2 you are a star and it is a pity you are not somewhere nearer.

Caveats noted and in answer to your questions:
1. Pictures were taken this morning. At various times during the day each pond finds itself in full sunlight. Right now (2pm) Ponds 1 and 5 are in full light. There are overhanging mature apples trees along the edge and once we know what they produce (apparently last year was a bumper crop) we will be bale to decide on cutting them back a bit to expose the ponds more. Stream runs roughly West to East and I was facing South. Basically the entire backyard is flooded with sunlight from early morning till late evening.
Will keep in mind your comments regarding the need for sunlight when we do look at pruning the apple trees back.

2. I understand they are fed by a natural spring a few gardens up (although I have yet to sight this). Planning a "meet the neighbours" opportunity soon and will try and get a look into their yards as well. However we are in a gully and so I would expect any runoff should be primarily from gardens only.

3. As for the plastic, I can see bits of it amongst the rockery on the sides. Doesn't seem to be overly thick and I have no idea how thick the concrete is. No idea either when it was put in but the people we bought off had the place for over 7 years and have done nothing to it so am guessing it was a fair bit before then.

4. Noted on the kiddie front also. Older two are proficient swimmers and keeping close eye on littlest one. Very competent also and actively teaching safety around water. Just found the local pool so no doubt a few more lessons to be done. These guards were here when we got here and will rebuild them soon. Also looking to put a handrail over the bridge for asthetics as much as safety. No idea where that is coming from at this stage though.


1. Kind of what I had thought also. Being new to this and knowing it has survived this long then another year shouldn't cause any great issues. Not sure about the plants (bullrushes or Iris's? and as for the weed in Pond 1?) and might take a sample down to the shops later today (have to replace one of eldest's tank fish that past away last night!) to see what they say. Mind you, given the amount of fish life we have I wouldn't expect anything untoward as yet.

2. Onto it (although suspect it may cost a few beers - tough job)

3. Yep, liked that idea of yours. Have plans to build our own place some day with full reed bed for all the house grey water etc but don't think we will try with this little area just yet. Will investigate that futher and try and find suitable plants for it. Any ideas on which plants are best for this?

4. Also kind of resigned to having to dig these out. Will touch base with a few local fibreglass companies to see what they offer however would like to maintain the depth here if possible. You mentioned before Plastic over concrete? Is this a way I should go or would Butyl rubber be an option? Not sure the pro's and con's of each of these. Mad English Springer loves to play around the pools and would hate for him to puncture one of them. Has yet to go into them though so will keep the training up.

Longterm aims are to simply enjoy it. Kids are learning loads from it already and simply having the room to kick a ball around (not one of those round ones though) is great. Want to keep it a natural as possible though and set it up for the long term.

May even investigate putting a Summer House / Office as I work from home most days and can really see myself going across the bridge to work!

Talk soon,

[lol geoff]

Originally Posted by UkKiwi

Hi Geoff,

Any idea how thick the fibregalss would need to be? Also I am guessing I would have to dig out the surrounding rockery first, line with fibreglass and then resite the rocks?

Cheers for your ideas.

As you would be using the fibreglass for waterproofing only and not structural you would be looking at 2 layers of glass and a top coat which would equate to about 3-4 mm. As for digging out the rockery you only need the fibreglass where the water will be and to finish a couple of inches above the intended water level. When it is wet you can lay the stuff into almost any shape or angle and when cured it will give you a resilient and resonably flexible skin over the excisting concrete. Ater laying up the pond you need to apply a top coat that finally seals the fibreglass much like the gel coat on a boat. The usual colour for a garden pond is dark green or black. The Koi boys however prefer a light blue that shows off the colour of the fish.

To lay up the pond it needs to be fairly clean, but it definitely needs to be dry as any moisture will kill off the catalyst stopping the curing process. So you need a dry day, and if it is in an area shaded fron the morning sun, it will need to be covered the night before to stop any dew forming.

The main draw back is you need to leave the pond empty for about 5 days to allow the styrene to escape, it doesn't mater if it gets wet during this time but the finish is far superior to a butyl liner.

[UkKiwi]

T2,

Just had the local Pet Shop do a quick water analysis - slightly alkaline and a bit high on the Ammonia. Salesgirl thought I was thinking of putting goldfish in and was horrified but calmed down a bit once she saw the water results. Will head to a local Nursery which has an ouotdoor pool group and see what they make of it all.

Cheers

[UkKiwi]

Thanks Geoff,

Didn't realise it could be so thin a layer for waterproofing and as such, may well be an easier solution all around. Really appreciate your knowledge.

Cheers.