Posted by denmennis on September 03, 2002 at 15:14:32:
In Reply to: Re: fish pond construction posted by dviech on August 08, 2002 at 19:19:47:
I have a water garden similar to what you are describing...constructed out of masonry. It is waterproofed although I am not sure with what since it was built before I had any interest in establishing a garden pond. I have heard of people using Thoroseal and Drylok. Regardless of what you use, your pond needs to be "cured" to neutralize the action of the lime which will cause your water to have a very high pH. To properly cure the pond, you will have to fill it with water and let it stand for 5 days, empty the pond and repeat the process and check the pH. The pH in my pond is consistently at 8 which might horrify some fish keepers, but it has been well tolerated by my koi, plants and snails. In my case, the high pH is intrinsic to the water supply and so I don't try to fight it. Good luck.
