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Joined: Jun 2009
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I have been asking for advise about my pond leaking so I thought I would share some pictures.I finally went out in a boat today and put a marker so I could tell how much actual water drop per day or two I actually have. I am still trying to find the right bentonite for the sprinkle method but nobody around here sells it.I called Volclay and they said I needed CC8 which is a crumble.Also been reading all I can about DB-100 pond doctors.Waiting For some more feedback from some members on this site to see if they have any luck with it.Even read on a post where a person had luck working on the back side of the dam where the seepage was coming through by digging out some of the dam and packing more clay in.This leak with the combination of not getting enough water shed to fill it is driving me nuts.My wife says I am even driving her nuts.lol. My pond is 3 years old and this is the fullest it has ever been.alot of rain this year.It is almost .75 acre.It is about half full or maby just a little over.I have die in it so it is green looking.There is seepage at the toe of the dam right in the middle.I also have a picture of the seepage.It is kinda a mossy discolored looking water in the field.First two pics are my pond.Next two are of the seepage at the toe of the dam and the last one is my marker so I will know how much vertical water loss I am getting so I wont have to just guess anymore. I really don't want to drain it cause I have fish in it already and with not enough water shed it takes to long to get to this point.Any suggestions I am all ears here.I have another smaller deeper pond on the other end Od my 11 acres that don't leak a drop.My contractor that dug it thinks that cause we had a drought the year he built it and what rain we did get had pretty good grooves washed down the inside of the dam and he thinks the seal broke on some of them ans that's why it is seeping through the dam.He said it is cored to good to be leaking at the core.Any suggestions?






Last edited by ymurf; 11/05/09 11:37 PM.
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Besides the couple of things you are already looking into: pumping and plugging/stoping your leak...

Try and maximize the runoff area you have. See if any small berms could be built to direct more water to the pond. Maybe pipe your rain gutters to your pond (helps more than you think). Depending on the area, you could add some clay on top of the top soil. And last but not least, a big circus tent over the pond to reduce the evaporation \:\)

Nice pond BTW.

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I am planning on some gutters this summer on my house and I also have a 28x42 garage next to my house I am going to gutter and pipe it to my pond.Think maby It would help for some water source.Also was thinking of putting a berm up in one spot cause I could get a little more water that way to I think.Never thought about the circus tent.Good idea. \:D

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Nice looking pond ymurf ( wouldn't smurf sound better ), good luck with your pond leak, I too am interested in the results of the DB-100 as my dam seeps and though I have plenty of water from April thru Nov., it's very limited in the winter and my pond drops too much.
For the price it sounds like it's worth a shot.



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ymurf are you the same ymurf that hangs out at VMF vintage mustang forums?


A little snow, Please!
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LOL..Thats me.I guess you must hang out there also.My mustang has took a back seat to getting my pond full for now.

Last edited by ymurf; 06/09/09 08:25 PM.
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I switch from this forum to the VMF depending on the weather. This forum is the best forum you could ever ask for, the people on here amaze me on how eager they are to help a stranger/fellow pond owner always polite and courteous, A great bunch of guys and gals. Do a search of my name and you can see some shots of my pond before I found pondboss and the poor shape that it was in to now a pond full of healthy fish, other then I noticed tonight that my spillway has eroded down on the back side to the point it is leaking around the tube which was make shift to start with. I need to get somebody in there to pack clay back behind it but I don't have the money to do so right now. Also check out VMF on my latest post I got the coupe running for the first time in several years. glad you found this place and good luck with your pond.


A little snow, Please!
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 Originally Posted By: trialsguy
I switch from this forum to the VMF depending on the weather. This forum is the best forum you could ever ask for, the people on here amaze me on how eager they are to help a stranger/fellow pond owner always polite and courteous, A great bunch of guys and gals. Do a search of my name and you can see some shots of my pond before I found pondboss and the poor shape that it was in to now a pond full of healthy fish, other then I noticed tonight that my spillway has eroded down on the back side to the point it is leaking around the tube which was make shift to start with. I need to get somebody in there to pack clay back behind it but I don't have the money to do so right now. Also check out VMF on my latest post I got the coupe running for the first time in several years. glad you found this place and good luck with your pond.

Small world isnt it.This does seem like a great place.Lot of knowledgeable people in here willing to help.I will check your pond out.

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I found one thread of my pond before and after click here There must be away to just search by the person that post but I haven't figured it out yet. So I had to go through all the post I have ever replied to.


A little snow, Please!
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I checked it out.Thats a big difference.

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Ok guys,I have been away for awhile working lots of overtime. We have got allot of rain here and my pond has more water than it has ever had. I checked the back of the dam today and you can actually hear water coming through the dam.Or at least that's what it sounds like to me.I had some more ground cleared last month and had the guy run his dozer up and down the dam where the seepage is but still leaks through.Didn't figure it would do anything but it was worth a shot.sounds like I can here seepage about 4 feet or so up on the back of the dam. Short of draining the pond which I would hate to do cause of the fish and I don't get much run off what are my options?Anyone had any luck with the DB100 or whatever that liquid stuff is called? I havnt heard of much success from anyone from using Bentinite. Any help would be appreciated.

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ymurf - I've got a very similar problem that I've been trying to figure out how to fix without breaking the bank. I've got an idea that I am going to try but have not been able to find any literature about or anybody else that has tried this yet. Since, like you, I can see the part of the dam that is leaking, I plan on focusing my efforts in the vicinity of the pond near the portion of the dam that is leaking. Anyhow, I am planning on buying several hundred pounds of the regular powder form of bentonite, mixing it with an electric trolling motor in a large trash can filled half full with water, adding the bentonite powder slowly until the fluid reaches a consistency like very very thin pancake batter. I will then try pouring this thin mud in the pond in the area of the leak. My thought being, that as a very thin mud, some of this fluid will reach the bottom and get drawn into the leaking area before the bentonite particles become fully hydrated. As this very thin bentonite mud travels through the seepage paths, I am thinking it will adhere, continue hydrating and swelling, and eventually seal the seepage path. I am thinking that I will begin mixing a very thin mixture and gradually thicken it up (to the point that the trolling motor can handle) after I have added a few trash cans full of very thin mud so that a thicker and thicker consistency of mud will get drawn into the seepage zone, eventually sealing it off. I want the thinner mud to start with so that is will hopefully get drawn into the seepage paths deep within the dam. Since the seepage zone in both of our situations is apparently near the bottom, as long as the pond has a decent level of water in it, the bentonite should stay fully hydrated, and shrinkage cracking should not be an issue. Also, once the bentonite "cake" stops, or substantially slows the leak, erosion of the seepage paths should slow to the point that natural sediment will eventualy more permantently seal the seepage paths.

Maybe somebody else here with more experience can provide some thought as to whether this idea has any shot of success?

Its going to be a while before I can try this on my pond, as I have a lot of work to do to clean up the bottom and make a few upgrades which will have to wait to the water level subsides after all of the recent rain we have had. I'll let you know if I try this and how it works.

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You had better make that a disposable trolling motor. When wet, that stuff is slicker than snot and adheres really, really well. I learned to never mess with it on a hot day when I am sweating.

I'm not sure how long it takes bentonite to completely swell up. It might grow and overflow the trash can before you can get it to the leak.


It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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From what I have read, bentonite should continue to swell for up to 24 hours.

I figured that the trolling motor would turn fast enough and cause enough turbulence in a medium trash can to keep the bentonite from building up on the motor. Could be very wrong about that. I'll let you guys know how it works when I get a chance to try it out.

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I have heard that larger grains of bent. would have a better chance of getting to the bottom and being drawn to the leak. That is when applied dry, of course.

I saw a couple of vortices of in deep water near dam a while back. If I could get a pipe long enough to try and hold over the vortex, I am thinkiong I can pour some inside pipe.


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If the pond has water they suggest the pellet bentonite.

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All of this sounds good to me. Try everything you can and let us know how it works.

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I don't have much experience with leaking ponds, but I have used quite a bit of bentonite. The way I have used it is by pounding holes into the soft poorly compacted clay in my dam and pounding dry bentonite grains into the hole till it is stuffed and won't take any more, or by making a bentonite soup mixture and pouring this into the cracks in a dry clay dam in the middle of summer.

Both of these methods seem to have worked for me.

But having now mixed over 150 lb of bentonite into slurries for pouring into a dry dam, and having a lot of very hands on experience as to what betonite does in water, I really doubt bentonite would be able to stop even a minor leak if it is put into the water. Without some sort of containment, bentonite in contact with water doesn't seem to have any cohesion that would keep it together to resist even a small current. Without being constrained by surround soil, where ever any water was moving or even seeping, I think it would probably wash away in a short amount of time. Once bentonite is in water it becomes pretty close to liquid itself within 24 hours.

Thats probably why people don't seem to have a lot of success just dropping it in the water.


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