Refurbishing a Koi Pond

dj, What state are you in...

the drooping sides - is it steep enough to have water leaking in one area?
In order to build it back up you need to remove the rocks and ‘pack in’
the dirt under the liner and then put the rocks back.

Do you have a dog walking on the edge...Whenever we experience a leak
it due from our dog smashing it down in an area. Then we build it up with some dirt and rocks...etc.

You should start with exchanging water...empty out about a 1/3 of the water
and replace it with fresh water..

Run your pumps - do you use any cotton batter in your filter? It would help
if you could place cotton batting to absorb the gunk. Rinse them out as much as
you can and put them back.

We have several compartments of batter in our pond, however our filters
chambers are bottom drain gravity fed filters - so the water easily flows through
them..make sure your water will flow easily through the cotton batting. If it
doesn’t then rig up a bucket with holes and secure it to the bottom of the
waterfall so that after leaving the waterfall the water will first enter rage bucket
with the batting before entering the pond. This will help filter out the fine muck.

Remove all the gunk that you can by vacuuming and netting all the leaves.


You have to remove all the gunk on the bottom

djdemers1 said:

The average water level is about 3 inches under the rim, which seems to be lower than it has been in the past,



Any thoughts on the drooping sides?

Click to expand...

The two may be directly related.


When a pond is built using a liner the correct method is to bring the liner up the side and tuck it under the border rocks. As they droop and as the dirt settles a low may be created.


My liner is 25 years old and as fas I can tell no leaks. I did have to rebuild one side of the edging. I did that last Fall.


You need a level or a combination of a very straight 2x4 and level that will span the pond in any direction. Then determine the low points. Assuming this was built correctly and you have liner tucked under the edging the fix is fairly simple but it is a bit of work.


I found my pics but they are on my phone and I need to transfer them to the computer.

Thanks @Two Knots and @Colbyt!

Progress in progress. Here's an update. Any thoughts are much appreciated!

Rebuilding the WallsYou were both right that water was escaping out of a low in the sides rather than a leak. It was partially hidden by the bridge, but explains why the bridge began to sink and twist on one side, as any rain would end up draining into it. The back wall was also disrupted by a collapsed retaining wall last year as the ground shifted.

I've drained half of the water and peeled back the liner to rebuild the back wall. I have some left over edging stones which will I think will be more solid than the smaller piecemeal granite that was used originally. I am also mixing in a good amount of gravel to hopefully reduce the washing away that was bulging under the lining.

It was a long afternoon of scooping out dirt, but there is light at the end of the tunnel now. Can't wait to split some grassy perennials for a backdrop (now that the whole yard isn't collapsing!).

Filter Pump IssuesIn the course of draining, I discovered not one but two pumps in the water. The main one, a Laguna Max-flo with a Powerjet 900 motor is not working, and well past warranty. I've taken it all apart, but I'm not sure whether to order a new impeller, or a new one entirely.

Getting a Vacuum In Lockdown? It seems like shopvac rental will not be an "essential business," but I'm tempted to fix an old towel to my garage broom and mop away.

Sorry for the sideways pics. Thanks for your thoughts!