Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions Pond holding water...success notes

Wow i'm starting to feel the pressure of everyone waiting on my results. I feel like if this product works i'm going to send this guy ALOT of business. Shouldnt I get a discount on my proudct or maybe even like a free demo? ha ha

I couldn't wait for your results and I hope I don't regret it. Went ahead and ordered two containers today. Hope to solve my leak problem before summer hits. Shouldn't be too far behind you with the results.

I don't know, but DB-100 sounds suspiciously like a product used as a surfactant in the crop dusting industry.

A friend used to use it, and would trick people into getting it on their hands. The real fun came when they tried to wash it off. It immediately became a thick, tenacious skin that got thicker and thicker the more they washed. It would absolutely make you fall down howling with laughter as they tried to wash it off.

Most surfactants in small amounts are fish friendly, but it it would warrant caution, if indeed DB-100 is a surfactant.

Wow you are alot like me! You want instant gratification! Mine should be here first thing in the morning and I have the whole day blocked off to spray, spray, spray! How may gallons did you end up ordering? What size is your pond again and how much water is currently in it? Mine is about half full so i'm going to have to soak the banks really good. The only thing is now we are closing in on Summer and i've missed out on all these 3-5 inch rains. My luck i'll spray this stuff and we'll start a 4 month drought..ha I'm tempted to leave the hose in there for a week or so to bring water level back up and see if it leaks back down. Thing is my wife may kill me when we get our water bill! :-(

haha bobad, did your friend play that trick on you : ) You could be onto something. It could be the same product. As long as it works, I will be happy.

belkins456, not sure I would say instant gratification. More like long awaited gratification. My order should be here tomorrow but I don't think I'll have time to apply it for another day or so. Good luck with your spraying. I modified my trash pump today so hopefully I will be able to easily apply it.

I ordered 2 containers which I think is 12 gallons total. My pond is full and ~.75 acres. I got lucky with the rain which filled mine up from the winter loss.

Looking forward to hearing about the results.

I'm confused on why you bought 2? My pond is .75 acres as well and he told me one 6 gallon container was more than enough for one treatment. Are you just going for the overkill hoping it will have a better chance to seal or did I not buy enough?? Let me know how the trash pump application works. If I have to treat this again I may not have 6 hours to stand around with a garden hose.

thanks.

Assuming that this stuff is a liquid and that you knew the general area of the leak, why couldn't you pour it through a hose that is weighted on the end? Seems like it would not disperse to other areas where you don't need it.

Gotta admit that I'm skeptical. Otto once told me that the toughest problem he runs into is a leak.

belkins456, I got two containers because that is what he told me I needed. I was wondering if that would be enough. Maybe it is because of the amount of water loss? or total acre feet? I'm loosing just a bit over 1/2 inch a day and have about 5 acre/ft. I don't think I will be using all of the product during the first application. I will be calling the sales guy once I get the product so we can go over the details on the application.

dave, I'm pretty sure it is a liquid but I don't know where the leak is on the inside. I use to think I knew where the leak was but now I'm not so sure. I can surely see the seepage on the backside of the dam, but can't be sure how/where it is getting through on the inside. I think you have a very good idea if a person knew for sure where the leak was on the inside.

Cheezy1963- Not sure about that. We have same size pond, same water loss yet I was told to get ONE 6 gallon bucket? Oh well I'm guessing too much of this is a good thing. I may order another 6 gallons if I see this slow the leak down considerably. I can tell you this. Do NOT try to apply with Miracle Grow sprayer. I spent 5 hours today spraying and spraying and I still have 2 or more gallons left for tommorrow. It seemed to clog quite a bit as well. I had to turn it upside down and shake it up to get it flowing again. Use the trash pump for sure! Also be careful trying to walk on banks. I busted my a*s several times. It's slicker than ice and thats a fact!

Bobad- You may be onto something with the crop surfactant. I tried to wash my hands off in the tub and it literally took 10 minutes of scrubbing to get it off! My hands were getting slicker and slicker the more water I applied..ha ha. This will be great for gags such as putting it on friends golf club..he he I can definately see how it works though because after I finally got it off my hands all the dirt that came off my hands was immediately collected together and almost etched into side of tub wall...nice! I'm hoping this stuff is plugging leaks as I speak..time will tell!

belkins456....Maybe I will have some left over. Sounds like the time spent modifying my trash pump was well worth it. Hopefully it won't make a big mess so I don't slip on the bank Sounds like you had fun anyways and thanks for the heads up.

What about water visibility? Mine is about 6 inches right now.

It sounds like you have but some out (not suer if you have or not) if you have can you tell a difference in the water loss.

when your water level receeds, you loose all the sealing ability between the new water level and the old.

otto, I haven't got the product yet. Hope to have it soon.

fixmypond, are you sure about this? why would it loose the sealing ability?

I finished spraying the rest of product today and I will be closely monitoring water level. I have to keep in mind that it's mid 80's and very humid right now so I will be losing quite a bit to evaporation as well so may be harder to actually monitor right now.

fixmypond- What you are saying is in direct disagreenment with the sales person of this product. I was told it works well when you saturate the banks and will "reactivate" to form a seal once rain saturates it. You could be right here? I'm definately no expert but I hope you're wrong. Either way I put alot on the banks and directly into the water so I should have it covered. This is the final straw for me I think. If this doesn't make a huge difference i'm going to put a sign up that says dump site and start filling it in so I can plant grass on it and not have a huge mud hole out in front of my house!! I never knew a leaking pond could drive you so insane! but man something is going to have to give sooner or later!!!

belkins456, do you have any visible water loss or a spot where you can see the water leaking? Once I apply it, it will be easy for me to tell because I have visual seepage on the toe of the dam. I feel your pain. My leak has been driving me insane also.

Don't you hate it when someone rains on your parade. I would like to know why fixmypond thinks it wont reseal if the water level fluctuates.

jlodestro, I forgot to ask how you found out about the DB-100. I thought I had just about researched all the possible solutions. Makes me wonder if there maybe any other products out there.

Cheezy1963- My pond is in a bottom in a bowl shaped area so there is no dam or any obvious spot for water to escape except for straight down. I've determined I don't have a "hole" or an obvious leak point. I think mine is just a slow seepage leak over entire area of pond basin. I'm going down this morning to mark water level on banks and then sit back and watch. I'll give everyone results in a few days. If it moves more than an inch in a few days I'd say even with evaporation I have a leak wouldnt you say?

Fixmypond is trying to rain on my parade when I really just want it to rain on my pond instead..ha

Cheezy1963 - I found DB-100 & the PondDoctors web site via the internet & google - just searching. I found multiple products - like Ess-13 (really expensive. Candidly - the only reason I went w/ DB-100 is because the guys called me back & talked to me...couldn't get a call back from some of the other shops.

With regards to Dave Davidson1 - as I understand it (and I have seen it) - if you just take the liquid and drop it into the water it forms a gooey ball - that sinks. But I think because there is not much agitation of the water - the ball doesn't get very big - therefore the probability it hits the hole probably isn't good.

When I applied it we had a 300+gal brine tank on the back of a truck. You are supposed to mix it 500:1 - min. One half gallon of the stuff turned that entire brine tank into a jello like consistency. We took a 2" trash pump and sprayed it - on the bare banks - we drained the pond pretty much. Even in this jello form - it sinks - you can see it.

Good luck gentlemen - I am interested in what happens.

Well I wanted to post my results so far. It has been a little over 48 hours now since I applied DB-100 and the water level has receeded right around an inch from the marks I had made at several locations at water line on banks. It has been really hot the last two days but that seems a little excessive for evaporation in just two days so I assume i'm still seeping. I'll give it another few days and monitor losses more closely but at this point it may be time to go ahead and start making those "dump site" signs to post out by road.

belkins456, are you measuring the vertical water loss? I never had much luck with really measuring the water as it recedes down the bank. You may get a better idea with a yard stick in the water or something. Did you notice if your water cleared any?

It has been 24 hours since my application of 4 gallons of the DB-100. The only change that I noticed is that my water is just a bit clearer. Went from 5 inches to 6 inches. Was pretty simple to apply with a 3 inch trash pump and mixed very well. One thing I would note, don't let the pump run out of gas. It is very hard to get primed with a pump full of DB-100. I will wait a few days and apply some more.

Cheezy1963- I will put a yardstick in it and measure it that way. My water definately cleared quite a bit. I had some floating algae on it and it seemed to clump it together and force some of it the bottom. I'm just still unsure about the sealing principles of product but maybe I haven't give it enough time to dillute entire pond yet?

The trash pump definately seems like way to go. Did you get any product on your hands? Slick stuff huh!

Same here, I'm not sure exactly how it works but do think it does take some time to work and maybe a couple of treatments.

I managed to stay pretty clean. The only mess was after the pump ran out of gas and I had to restart it. The stuff clogged up the hose and took a while to get out. Came out on the bank and made a mess. Took a while to wash it off the bank and that was the only time I really saw the product in the water. I expected to see the product mix with the water but was surprised that I really couldn't see it. The pump must have done a real good job mixing it. Judging by the amount of floc, I don't expect to see results until after a couple of treatments.

First
Welcome fixmypond Hope you stat with us.

Please keep me posted to the success of this stuff it could be a complete business on to itself.

also watching for results here. IMHO, if you're looking for less than an inch drop in 2 or 3 days, ya'll are dreaming.