David had a beautiful backyard pond installed about six years ago. Early in the spring, a large section of the wall near the patio collapsed into the pond. The dirt under the exposed liner that you see on the left felt spongy, and obviously wasn't holding a shape.
We started draining the pond and moved all the fish to the holding tank at the top of the photo. Once we were able to peel back the liner, we found rotted carpet pieces at the bottom of the pond, and the entire side had turned to mud. When the overflow was put through the liner, the installer did not use a properly placed bulkhead fitting - he wadded the liner around the pipe and put a hose clamp on it. The clamp rusted through, and water had been leaking out for months.
Once all the mud was hauled out, the shelf was re-shaped, synthetic underlayment was placed and we were able to restack the rocks. We also replaced the thin, brittle vacuum cleaner hose with thick, flexible PVC pipe for more durability and better water flow. We'll get a few more large rocks to place at outer edges to help tie the pond into the landscaping.
NOTE: When choosing rocks for your pond, check the shape and edges. Rocks used to build up the wall should be relatively flat and there should be no sharp edges. Fish love to root around and push their noses into gaps in the rocks. The installer of David's pond used rockery rocks, which stack fairly well but can break apart, creating very sharp edges. Talk to the people at your local stone yard about the many different options available.
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