If a pond liner gets a hole, it's annoying. In order to seal the pond liner, you must use different repair methods for different liners. You can read in our article what you can do with which film and where there may be problems with sealing.
First of all, it can be ruled out that the problem really lies with the pond liner
Leaks in the pond liner
Even the highest quality pond liner can get a hole at some point. This is usually noticed by massive water losses in the pond.
If there is a leak in the film, action must be taken as soon as possible. Before doing this, however, you should rule out alternative causes:
- Leaks in the filter system (especially in the hose area)
- Pond liner not pulled up far enough (especially with new ponds, liner must always be over the soil protrude)
- strong evaporation through high border planting (especially with reeds or sedges)
If alternative causes are ruled out, the first step is to find the damaged area.
limit the area of damage
Finding the leak in the pond is often not that easy. The best way to do this is with the water level:
Completely fill the pond and mark the water level each day. From the day when the water level begins to drop only slowly, the water level is at the height of the damaged area. You must then examine this area more closely.
First try to find a larger crack or damaged area by feeling. If this is unsuccessful, you must take a very close look at the affected area until you have found the damaged area.
repair damage
The sealing is done in different ways depending on the type of pond liner. There are special repair kits on the market for every pond liner, depending on which liner is installed in your pond:
- PVC film (the most common and inexpensive alternative)
- EPDM foil (a very high quality and durable foil with very good environmental properties)
- PE film (slightly better than PVC film)
- special geotextiles
The repair is usually done by applying a sufficiently large patch (overhanging at least 15 cm). The patch is glued to the cleaned and dry damaged area and is best pressed down with a wallpaper roller.
You can also repair EPDM foil with liquid pond foil. This liquid film is very easy to use. It is simply painted over the damaged area in 2 - 3 layers, with each layer having to dry.
After about 2 days you can fill up your garden pond with water again.
tips
With older PVC foils (after a few years in service), adhesives often only hold very poorly, since the material has changed in the meantime. In many cases, repairs are then quite problematic.