Has anyone ever used a product called Marbelien, distributed by

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If so what has your experience be like?

Would you use it again?

Doesn't look like anybody know this stuff ... I have used Coprox.

Ok...I have just skimmed through a couple of the posts here and am now a little concerned about leaks and waterproofing ! Anyone think a fibreglass shell with 3 layers of Superlaykold is not good enough ? I am starting to wonder if it is....

Other than this there is another little point I should mention . I have already installed a bottom drain into the pond...but yo do this I had to break through the shell...then through the cement layer (about 10cm)...install the drain...and the re-cement the gaps and re-fibreglass over thge lip of the drain. I think I have done a prety decent job but any suggestions or comments would be welcome.

If the fibre glass are done properly nothing will go trough it you can paint it with glatex 8 ass well no need for extra waterproofing if the fibre glass are OK, somebody else mentioned pratley putty to seal around the bottom drains to prevent leaks am just not sure who. with the superlaykold you have to do maintenace in a couple of years time.

Further to my answer on your other thread, I agree with Nelius that the Superlaykold will not last. Just use topcoat resin. You should not mix other products with fibreglass. It is quick and easy to apply and there a various colours available to mix with the topcoat resin and I have used it on an old fibre glass shell with good results.

Nelius wrote:

somebody else mentioned pratley putty to seal around the bottom drains to prevent leaks am just not sure who.

You only need todo this when applying bitumen products like the ABE superlykold onto raw cement surfaces with fiberglassing you dont need to bother. The raw cement will pull away from the plastic bottom drain in time, the pratley helps to stick to the cement and plastic.

The process: Chissel a gap around the bottom drain about 1cm deep and 1cm wide and put the Normal pratley putty into the gap and smooth it of with water. Do not use the Quick set type as it goes brittle overtime.

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with the superlaykold you have to do maintenace in a couple of years time

Jip, this product is a real pain as you need to redo it every 2 - 5 years.

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The formula for putting this stuff on is as follows:

1. 50% water + 50% bitumen – Paint the whole surface of the pond and leave to dry for about 30 minutes.
2. 100% bitumen. Add a thick coat of bitumen to a area about 50cm by 50cm and then while the bitumen is still wet place the water proofing cloth over the paint and make sure that there is no wrinkles. After you have smoothed the surface of the cloth put another thick layer of bitumen on the cloth and surrounding areas. Repeat this process until the whole pond has been done. Make sure that cloth overlaps each other with about 5cm.
3. Leave the pond for 2 days and make sure that it does not come in contact with any water! After 2 days apply another coat of bitumen on top of the painted cloth.
4. Here you can decide to give it another coat or not after 2 days.
5. After 14 days has passed you can add water. This is important – WAIT 14 Days!!! It might seem dry after 2 days but it is actually not dry below the surface. I Only waited 7 days here and it was a disaster. If you add water and after a day you see that the black paint seems brown then you must know that the paint was not dry and that the paint is being dilluted by the water...You might as well start over as you will probably have leaks.

Thnx for all the advice and suggestions. How about a layer of superlaykold and then 2 layers of clear resin ?

That wont work, bitumen goes toffy like when heated up. Resin requires a chemical reaction to set...so basically the resin wil melt the bitumen.

Wayne, wish i read your quote before i put in the water. I only waited 7 days as per the manufacturers instructions and it started peeling with bubbles forming. Have to now take out the 12000l and wait for 14 days this time.

What a mission.

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Have to now take out the 12000l and wait for 14 days this time.

Its probably worse than that - if you used the ABE matting you might need to remove ALL of it and redo.

Here is a link to the construction of my first pond - have a look through it. The water proofing procedure is on page 6.

Personally i will never - ever use a bitumen product again. Ill rather go the fireglassing route. If you buy the materials yourself and do the job yourself then it does not work out that expensive.

My only thing is that I already have another layer below that is dried properly. I only really needed to paint a half metre squared area (as per the post Rust in pond removed ). My dad suggested that i redo the pond as we had enough bitumen (he owns a hardware store). My pond is in 2 sections. the main section is the deep side as per the pic. The other is a shallow 60 cm deep L-shaped passage.

In the deep section i used a fan to blow air therein for at least 5 days. In the shallow i did not, but it does get more sunlight than the other side.

When I put the water in, the shallow side peeled when you ran your finger on it and had the bubbles thereunder. (but it only peeled to the previous layer).

The deep side did not peel (when you run your finger on it) but it is brown.

What happens if I leave the deep end as is. Do you think that the waterproof will come out over time, or should i redo the whole darn thing again. Is this toxic to the fish if it is not dry.

Also someone from the company is coming through today (my dad organised). I will post anything he says.

PS: What a lekker website around your pond!

Hi, i also tried to help the paint dry with a fan - it did not work. I went as far as to place a heater infront of the fan so that it would blow hot air onto the paint....No joy. Dont ask me why... I just know it takes longer to dry than what the packaging says.

If the paint turns brown then its going to come off with time. The paint is water based - so what is happening is that the "wet" paint is being diluted from black into a browny colour. I think you can get away with just redoing the deep parts thats peeling.

The paint is not toxic to the fish but it leaves a oily later on the water when filled the first time. If you can i would suggest overfilling the pond so that the top layer that contains the oily bits get pushed off to the sides.

Which product did you use? ABE or waterblok?

Website around my pond? The website belongs to the Koi club of wales.