I am SOOOO happy! I spent a day off (mostly waiting for the rain to stop, then about 3:00 finally made a go of it, working 'til 8:pm or so) working on my slow-leaking bog filter.
The problem was that the liner was about 1" too short, and there was a fold or two were water was able to "wick" itself between the layers, and, drop by drop, it was able to drain my pond by 100 gallons a day. And this is from a 550 gallon pond! Not good!
I thought I would have to drain the whole thing, and had bought a new, one-foot longer liner, to redo the pond and bog. This, of course, in Houston's June heat, would stress the fish, living in 5-gallon buckets while I worked, not to mention me doing all that work.
But at the last minute, it flashed on me that, without draining a drop of water, all I had to do was to raise the back (leaking) end of the bog filter, to above the level where the water goes over my waterfall into the pond.
And that's what I did. Removed the plants, then 600 lbs of gravel. Raised the 3'x2' frame made of 2"x4" lumber, shoved some pressure-treated boards under the rear end, washed the gravel (amazingly full of fish poo and plant bits, after only 3 months existance) and replaced all the gravel and plants. Then put back the really cool trough-shapped stone that is my waterfall, and replanted the bog.
Took 5 hours and a sore back. But it works - and no leaks!! Soooo happy!
