Some people use additional sealer paints after the use of coprox. You have a natural pond and I would not even use a final sealer except coprox.

If you use coprox at 1 kg per 10 kg cement mix as a render in your plaster together with salt and thereafter paint with undiluted charcoal coprox at 1 kg per 2.5 square meters, you don't need anything further. You also do not have to wait for the plaster to dry properly. You do the plastering the one day and paint with undiluted coprox the next, two coats. You will never have paint pealing off, it looks natural and it should be 100% waterprooof.

Coprox also comes in earth blue, earth yellow, sand, and a brownish terracotta colour, but I would stick with charcoal, as the fish shows much better with charcoal/black.

Albie, two replies at almost exactly the same time, same advice.

One thing that you should bear in mind when using coprox as a paint, when you paint it undiluted, do not put on on too thick. It will crack. Put one layer, wait 6 hours, and put another layer.

A while ago one of my large glass fishtanks had a leak, and had no silicone or waterproof paint. Without thinking, I grabbed the coprox and painted the bottom of the tank with it. It was not long before the whole bottom started to crack and the whole tank broke into pieces due to the expansion of the coprox. That was a real stupid mistake but it showed me how effective the coprox expanded to block any water..

I've bought everything for the plastering tomorrow as well as the charcoal coprox for final painting. The guy at the shop was pretty adamant that I should wait 3 weeks before painting the outer layers, because of the salt that will come out. He also emphasized that I should regularly spray the walls to get the salt off.

Quote :

If you use coprox at 1 kg per 10 kg cement mix as a render in your plaster together with salt and thereafter paint with undiluted charcoal coprox at 1 kg per 2.5 square meters, you don't need anything further. You also do not have to wait for the plaster to dry properly. You do the plastering the one day and paint with undiluted coprox the next, two coats. You will never have paint pealing off, it looks natural and it should be 100% waterproof.

There are salt spots on the concrete between the brick layers.

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1. So, what do people say, is it ok if I plaster tomorrow and paint on Sunday, try a second layer 6 hours later, or else on Tuesday, or should I wait the 3 weeks? (if I paint on Sunday, wont the salt push the coprox away, or is it to embedded/fixed with the cement)

2. I bought the 5kg Coprox masonry waterproofing. It says that 1kg should be mixed with 1 l of water. Is that what you regard as undiluted, Paul?

3. Then another thing- any trick to get the 25kg salt per bag cement completely dissolved, before adding it to the plaster mix- it is quite an effort. We try boiled water, but still struggling

Thanks
Albie

albie wrote:

2. I bought the 5kg Coprox masonry waterproofing. It says that 1kg should be mixed with 1 l of water. Is that what you regard as undiluted, Paul?

Albie

Yes, undiluted means only water, 1/1

[quote]

3. Then another thing- any trick to get the 25kg salt per bag cement completely dissolved, before adding it to the plaster mix- it is quite an effort. We try boiled water, but still struggling [/img]

I have used my concrete mixer but have to admit, I never used so much salt. I used one 25kg bag for my entire plastering of a pond.


The nice thing about Coprox is that you can use it in damp situations, allowing you to get on with the job. I don't really know what the effect of the very high concentration of salt will be on the Coprox.

Albie,

nadat jy gepleister het moet die pleister heeltemal droog wees voordat jy die "verf". "n Week behoort voldoende te wees.
As jy die Coprox met die water meng, moet jy dit oor die water stroei en dit in roer om te meng, terwyl dit aangeverf word moet dit die heel tyd geroer word.
Om die sout op te los, plaas ek die sakke in groot dromme met water, so 'n dag voor die tyd, die sak sal bo dryf sodra die sout opgelos het, skep dan water uit die drom om mee die meng.
Om te seel tussen "plastic" en "concrete" gebruik Prostruct 617ns van StonCor : [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Well, we have decided to go the pebble route- my family likes it. I have added some plaster to paint as rock art and the bottom will be finished this pm.
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If I paint on Saturday (one layer in the morning and one layer 6 hours later), when can I start to fill the pond?

Regards

Albie

That pond is looking good. Well done.

If you paint with COPROX it is better to allow it to dry properly before adding water because water will dissolve wet COPROX.

Drying depends on temperature mostly.

The pond must be bone dry, at least seven days but depending on rain, up to 14 days. Then it is also very important to check the PH. Not only should it be more or less 7, but it should also not have up and down swings. The lime tend to leach out of the concrete as coprox is porous, and makes the water alkaline(high ph). It might be neccesary to flush with pool acid once should your PH be very high.

Your pond looks very good Albie, and the pebble look adds a nice finish. I eventually went with Sika's Cemflex for the final sealer. (Had Sikalite in the plaster mix). They reckon I can add water after 72 hours...tomorrow....that will be 96 hours. Delaying because I'm too nervous, and I have to finish my piping.
Jack.

Hi Albie

The pond looks great , im hoping to plaster this coming weekend and am also going the coprox (masonary) route for the final waterproofing.

Cheers
Lee

Hi Albie,

I sent you a mail.

Basically what I asked is seeing the size of your pond is similar to mine that I am busy with, how many 50kg cement bags did you use.

I spoke to a consultant at coprox for pricing on the Coprox cement addititive as well as the Masonry Waterproofing at what they told me is that I will need 5 bags cement and 1 cubic meter of Plastering sand which would then use 5 2.5kg bags of Coprox cement additive and then on the masonry side they said I will need 5 5kg bags to do the waterproofing which just seems excessive to me....so if you could please advise on the amount of material you used on your to give me a better idea.

Thanks

What we used for my plastering of the sides and bottom was 6 bags cement, 18 wheelbarrows sand, 6 Coprox additive (2.5 kg each) (one box per each bag of cement) and 25 kg sand per bag cement i.e 3 bags of salt of 50kg.

(Therefore mix per bag of cement: 1 bag cement:3 wheelbarrows sand: 2.5 kg Coprox additive: 25kg salt. )

The salt is an issue to dissolve- start tonight.

For tomorrows painting I bought 2 bags of carcoal coprox masonry. I hope that each layer will require a bag- this stuff is expensive! (See Pieters advice on the mixing of the Coprox Masonry)

Will post after the painting

Hi Albie, ok, similar to the amount I have for plastering. I've decided against using the salt....will that be an issue at all???....Basically just doing the 1 bag cement - 3 wheelbarrows sand - and 1 x 2.5kg coprox to each bag of cement.

I'm interested to know how much masonry coprox you use, the rep at coprox was telling me I would need 5 bags and u'r right....at R350 a bag it is expensive......The guys helping build my pond say I must just use waterblok......do you or anyone else here know if it's any good??

Will be using thermastop for sealing my bottom drain as well after plastering

Thanks again for your reply

I painted my small 4000L pond with waterblok 3years ago the black is still almost as black as the day I painted it. A year ago I painted my large pond with it as well and paid +-R150 for 5L. First layer you mix with 50% water and second layer undiluted. The place where I got it from painted a cardboard box and filled it with water. No leaks. The paint will dry fast and you use turpentine to clean your hands, legs and face. Thinners don’t work and ever an hour long bath won’t remove it. I looked like Bekko koi after the job

I haven't any building experience, so I basically go on advice. Apparently farmers mix salt with cement for their dams? Collin and Pieter advised it, so that's what I did.

My son has been wetting the sides and he said that apart from on top of the pebbles, there are no more salt coming out.

I have filled the bottom now, just to backwash and to get rid of some of the debris/salt that would have collected on the bottom.

Hydroseal from Danny Williams is another product (I repaired the rock art with it)(might be family of Coprox-but you mix it wit a milky fluid). Cell: 0832744082.

Well painting the 2 layers tomorrow and next Saturday will add the water.

Lyk baie goed sover, wel gedaan Albie.

Some quick/urgent advise please, if someone is online.

We are painting today, but the charcoal coloured Coprox looks to light for me. Is their something like that Buffalo black stain or black PVA that I can mix with the Coprox for the second layer?

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Hi Albie
Ek sal nie iets anders bymeng nie, kan net giftig vir visse wees, dit is maar die kleur en die alge sal gou saampak en 'n mat om die dam vorm.
Jou dam lyk baie goed, ek beplan nou geruime tyd my tweede dam, ek is jaloers dat jy al sover gevorder is.

Ja, ek het bietjie rondgebel en dit is die algemene gevoel.

Dankie vir jou inset ook

Albie

Well this is enough for one day. Will fill it with water next week en hopefully there wont be a leak?!

This is what we did today- two layers of Coprox (2 bags of 5kg each). The art work still needs some work.

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Any ideas what I can plant below the waterfall?

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The water will probably fall in front of the central area.

Previously- but I have flatten the horizontal part to some extent:

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Albie

I need urgent advicev please so that I can work tomorrow in the pond!

I planned to fill the pond tomorrow, a week after painting the 2 layers of Coprox. Was away this week and saw some small areas (app 5) where the Coprox was pealing, exposing the plaster.

Some other areas had a salt deposit, but I sprayed it last night and it is gone this morning. The areas where the Coprox pealed off, I gave 2 layers today.

But my big problem:

I wanted to prepare the flower box this afternoon, to plant some ferns, before adding the water tomorrow in the pond.

So I tried to fill the flower box with water- there are some holes for drainage in the front, but the bottom was not sealed properly, so water ran down behind the either outer or inner layer of the dam i.e. collected somewhere on the outside of the dam near the pipes.

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Water then started streaming into the dam past the lower inlet:

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I removed some of the plaster and tried to fix it with Quickset Pratley Putty. Waited 3 hours and filled the flower box again.

To my dismay, it was still leaking slowly, at the junction between the putty and the cement, but not as bad (basically trickling into the pond).
I did not see a leak between the pipe and the putty.

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I will seal the bottom of the flower box tomorrow (so hopefully there will not be pressure from outside), but what advice is there for a proper seal around that pipe, that water does not escape from the inside?

Any help please!

Would like to work tomorrow as I'm on the road on Sunday for the whole of next week. And if I fix it with something, how long can I wait before filling the pond?

Pieter, jy praat van "Prostruct 617ns van StonCor". Is dit 'n moontlikheid en waar sal ek dit more kan koop?
Any other suggestions?
Would Flash Harry with a big sheet of material not stop a leak from inside the pond?

Or should I remove the plaster around the pipe, get a proper seal (?type), plaster over it and repaint with Coprox?


Albie

(Forgot to mention- that pipe was sealed on the outside of the dam with Flash Harry and that material)

Hallo Albie

Ek het soortgelyke probleme as jy ondervind toe ek my dam gebou het. In my geval was dit haastigheid omdat ek min tyd tot my beskikking gehad het om alles klaar te kry. Volgens my gee die bouers wat mens gewoonlik gebruik min aandag om behoorlik te bou waar pype tersprake is.

In my geval het ek 7 return jets ongeveer 500mm van bokant van my dam en 2 het bietjie gelek maar 'n klein lek verloor baie water oor 'n gegewe tydperk. Wat ek toe gedoen het was om 'n klein gedeelte reg rondom die pype skoon te maak dat die sement uitsteek. Het bonding liquid aan geverf en teel sement gemeng met onverdunde bonding liquid en reg rondom jets aangewend. In jou geval kan jy dalk 'n groter area om jou pyp skoonmaak en 'n groot hoeveelheid aan smeer dat pyp en damwand nie 90grade teenoor mekaar is nie. Maak dit basies soos sy die hoeke onder in dam gepleister het. Om die pype op die manier meer 'toe te bou', sal ook verhoed dat visse nie seer kry as hulle daarteen vas swem nie.

Jy kan sekerlik weer Coprox daaroor verf maar is nie seker hoe lank jy sal moet wag voor dit droog is nie. In my geval het ek waterblok gebruik en dit is binne een dag droog.

Dit is nou 11 maande gelede wat ek dam gebou het en ek kan jou verseker dit lek glad nie om die pype nie. As jy sement dik genoeg aan wend sal dit ook nie 'los' kom van pyp nie.

Daar is 'n Mica naby die ou 'chinese take-away' asook een in Festival Mall oppad dorp toe. Blykbaar 'n nuwe Builders Warehouse in Kempton asook een oppad Boksburg toe.

Hoop die info is van waarde want ek weet hoe dit voel as daar min tyd tot jou beskikking is en dinge loop verkeerd.

Dankie Marius

Maw verwyder al die putty en sit 'n redelike massa teelsement rondom die pyp. Hoe lank sal dit vat om droog te word voor ek daaroor kan verf? En ek wonder as ek waterblok gebruik of dit 'n groot verskil gaan maak.

Ek ken nie bonding liquid nie- as ek vra by Mica behoort hulle te weet waarvan ek praat?

Groete
Albie