A few years ago we converted one of greenhouses, which held multiple ponds, to 4 large ponds. The greenhouse  was divided into 2 pond systems of 40,000 gallons per system. This greenhouse was designed to hold large numbers of our larger koi for the winter months. With such large numbers of koi being housed in this greenhouse, we needed to take all precautions that these systems would not fail.

In the situation of a farm/ dealer, we have to take consideration the abuse our liners go thru each year. Koi are taken in and out of these ponds with hand nets and seine nets multiple of times. Each time we catch the koi there is risk of hitting the liner and damaging it and with our greenhouses filled to the max with koi, there is no easy way to move the koi out of the pond to fix a problem.

With this in mind we decided to use a spray on liner. Spray liners, but by different applicators over the years, have been used on ponds in our other greenhouses over the years.

Unfortunately, due to a terrible application of the liner this time the liner did not stand the test

When the liner was first applied and the pond was filled, the ponds leaked. The applicator returned to the farm to re-spray the pond.  The applicator went cheap on the second spray and the only placed a thin layer over top the first failed layer.

As seen in the pictures, most spots weren’t even a thick as a piece of paper.

The liners delaminated from each other, making the liner no longer water proof. When contacting the applier with our issues, he is no longer in business and is unable to help us at this time.

Our option now is to cut the liner out of the pond, re- prep the pond and fiberglass the pond.

This type of poor work not only cost us a full season with 40,000 gallons unusable, but $50,000 of a failed liner.

Earlier this week we had a visit from Arnie Slonaker.  Over the years he has worked with Quality Koi on the farm for various projects.  We also recommend Arnie’s services to many of our customers that are looking for new ponds, upgraded ponds, and pond repair.  Below are some pictures of his work.  If you visit his website http://pondsbyarnie.web.officelive.com/default.aspx you can see many more pictures of his work.  It is hard to find knowledgeable KOI pond builders, so we always recommend Arnie to customers who are looking for someone with experience.  It’s important to keep in mind that building a pond/water garden is different than building a koi pond. 

We are very fortunate to have been able to work with Curt Coucill.  Curt is a master craftsman by trade, concentrating mostly on wood working for most of his career.  We met Curt many years ago, and over the years he has worked on the farm for various projects.  In the beginning, his projects mostly included construction.  If you have ever been on the farm, then you have most likely walked up stairs he built, viewed koi from decks he built, or opened greenhouses with doors he built.  Over the years we have brought him back to work on projects far beyond the scope of construction, as he is always ready and willing to take on new challenges.  The most recent project he worked on was the new Grow-out Greenhouse.  We were fortunate to have him here with us on the farm for the past nine months, working on every single detail of the new greenhouse.  From pouring concrete pads, to constructing new types of filtration, to building the shed for the boilers, to sweating the copper, to installing the entire indirect heating system, Curt has been there to execute every last detail.  Since the greenhouse project is now complete and running beautifully, we had to say good-bye to Curt.  He will be greatly missed by all of us (especially Kiko), not only for the incredible skills he has brought to our farm, but also for his witty sense of humor and his admirable sense of character.  Although we officially refer to the new greenhouse as the Grow-out Greenhouse, we will always fondly refer to it as “The House that Curt Built.”