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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 103
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 103 |
An old farmer with some ponds said to caulk a leak in a pond by putting in large amounts of "newspaper" to find the leak and plug it. I've never read this here and I might assume his pond sealed itself, but you just never know -- sometimes the oldtimers know things I could never imagine.
I have a leak that I believe is coming through a rock ledge and finding it's way to the bottom backside toe of the dam at about 2 gallons a minute. Have a spring feeding the pond so it does not drop until July -- Sept, and the leak has not gotten worse. Have a very large watershed - so at the first good rain this 2 acre pond fills again.
Newspapers -- is that crazy? I throw away a bunch of them and well, I'm grasping at straws and have no more money to dump into this pond.
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Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043 Likes: 1
Hall of Fame Lunker
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Hall of Fame Lunker
Joined: Aug 2002
Posts: 20,043 Likes: 1 |
No I think you're grasping at newspapers!
Sorry i couldn't resist.
Seriously... newspapers are made of wood pulp and will break down to an organic material which sometimes over time helps seal a pond. But I'm skeptical...
If pigs could fly bacon would be harder to come by and there would be a lot of damaged trees.
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,139 Likes: 487
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,139 Likes: 487 |
Ability of newspapers to seal a leak would depend on the type of leak and the soil conditions. I think it might work once in ten or twenty different situations or types of leaks.
aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine - America's Journal of Pond Management
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 128
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Hoo-boy! When it comes to plugging leaky ponds, I've heard some dillies . .. but stuffing it full of newspapers? Surely you jest.
Once again, we see there's an pond expert on every bar stool.
Mark McDonald founding editor
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Joined: Dec 2005
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If the newspaper had a good article written by Bob Lusk on sealing a leaking pond, it could do wonders. What was the material that worked so well in Bars stop leak? I have seen a radiator gushing water and pour in a can of that stuff it would stop immediately. Probably some kind of poison.
Please no more rain for a month! :|
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Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 8,854 Likes: 1
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 8,854 Likes: 1 |
Hello, Editor, Mark McDonald! It's been awhile. Where ya been??
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 3,347 Likes: 99
Editor, Pond Boss Magazine Lunker
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Editor, Pond Boss Magazine Lunker
Joined: Apr 2002
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Hey, Little Dog...There's lots of suggestions out there to plug the leak. Actually, plugging the leak is not usually the hard part. The hard part is figuring out where and how there is a leak. It's not just simply looking and seeing and knowing. If it were, newspaper may be a good answer. But, so would clay, bentonite, grits and organic stuff. When we think about leaky ponds, it's not as much of an issue of what material to use as much as it is an adventure to find out the mystery of the leak.
Teach a man to grow fish... He can teach to catch fish...
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Joined: Jul 2004
Posts: 103
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Oh boy -- I figured that would get some funny replys and yes I am "grasping at newpaper" -- just anything. You folks are great -- thanks for the dialog -- it is appreciated.
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Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 95
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Feb 2003
Posts: 95 |
Here's one...
How about taking the trees you've removed from the site where you are going to build your pond, burning them, then spreading the ashes over the bottom of the pond to help improve marginal soils? I know a particular guy who swears by it. Not sure I'm convinced.
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Joined: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,934 Likes: 2
Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Robinson shares a pal's method of pluggin a leak: The leak was sealed by using shredded bank paper I wonder how many leaky ponds have been fixed with Enron-quality Seepage Control?
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Joined: May 2004
Posts: 13,963 Likes: 276
Moderator Lunker
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Moderator Lunker
Joined: May 2004
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Trent:
Wood ash is usually considered pretty mediocre fertilizer. While it would be of some benefit, I suspect it would pale compared with the application of liquid or chemical pond fertilizer as it is normally practiced.
"Live like you'll die tomorrow, but manage your grass like you'll live forever." -S. M. Stirling
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Joined: Jan 2005
Posts: 320
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Wood ash works as well as gypsum to break down clay. It also is quite acidic depending on the type of trees that were burned.
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Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 8,854 Likes: 1
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Aug 2004
Posts: 8,854 Likes: 1 |
My very, very limited knowledge on this subject is that acidity in some way affects the charge of clay particles (as does alum) causing them to attract one another and form clumps, which are heavy enough to fall out of suspension. Is this inaccurate?
Holding a redear sunfish is like running with scissors.
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