Loch Ness Monster in the Garden Pond

Reader Question (summarized):
We installed a large pond last summer and after we received 10 inches of rain the pond liner in the bottom lifted up and it now looks like the Loch Ness Monster resides in the pond. Can you help?

Answer:
This is not an uncommon problem in garden ponds, especially if the pond was built in a low spot of the garden. It is also a very difficult problem to solve short of tearing the pond back out and moving it.
We encountered the same type of problem with one of our display ponds. The pond had mortared field stone around it and three waterfalls and we did NOT want to tear it back out.

We finally solved the problem by using a Danner pond pump (see link below) to drain the water from under the pond liner whenever it rained. We used a Pondmaster 1800 pond pump which has a threaded intake. We attached a threaded hose-tail fitting to the intake of the pump with about 20 feet of of 1" tubing and about 50 feet of 1" tubing to the outlet. We then carefully (without damaging the pond liner) made a small tunnel under the pond to the edge of the water bubble and threaded the intake hose under the pond liner.
Whenever it rained we just plugged in the pump and drained the bubble.
We eventually made this arrangement more permanent by threading PVC pipe under the pond to the bubble and digging a sump basin behind the pond that the PVC pipe drained into. We put the pond pump in the basin to empty it when it filled. Problem solved!

Featured link: Danner Pondmaster Pond Pump

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To line or not to line a Rock Pond or Garden Stream

Dee from Texas asked an interesting question:
How to cement rocks together to make a 50 ft gently sloping stream in her garden.
Waterproof cement can be used for this task, but...we STRONGLY recommend lining the stream with EPDM liner. The rocks can be mortared on top of it so it is completely covered and not seen.
Failing to line the stream (or pond) will almost certainly cause leakage over time when the mortar gets brittle and/or tiny cracks develop. It is amazing how much water can be lost out of a garden pond, waterfall or stream through even the smallest crack or fissure.
Lining the water feature will help prevent that problem.

Today's featured link: Pond Liner

Feed Pond Fish in Winter?

Should we feed our pond fish during the winter if the weather and the water warms up?
The answer is: It depends!

If the pond is located in the southern half of the US, then the water will probably stay warm enough to feed the fish and let them digest it.

In the northern half the water usually does not stay warm for long enough to give the fish a chance to digest the food before the water turns cold again and it is best to refrain from feeding them until the water warms up to and stays at or above 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

Featured link: Different Pond Foods

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Koi and Goldfish Disappear from Garden Pond

We get inquiries all year, but especially in the winter, from pond owners who's pond fish have disappeared.

Sometimes signs can be found around the pond that give hints who the perpetrator was: Footprints, Droppings, knocked-over rocks, destroyed plants, etc... (that scenario usually points to a racoon).

Often, however, there are no signs to be found, but yet the fish are simply gone! When absolutely no visible signs of a visitor can be found the culprit is usually a bird. Many birds prey on pond fish. The ones most often at fault are Hawks, Owls and Herons.

Pond fish like Koi or Goldfish are usually pretty adept at hiding from these almost silent predators, but in the fall, winter and early spring we pond owners sometimes deprive them of the ability to hide by removing all the dead plant foliage and cleaning the pond too thoroughly.

I like to put a couple of big terra-cotta pots in the pond. Laying these on their side gives the fish a place to hide. This trick, in addition to netting stretched over the pond, discourages most predators from making a meal of my colorful Koi and Goldfish.

Today's featured link: Pond Netting