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How to Safely Seal a Bog Garden Crack

Hey everyone,

I just thought I'd get some advice about my first bog garden. My plants finally started taking off. They're various VFT's and Sarr. I'm definitely going to have to split at least one pot, maybe two. I'm also getting flower stalks, though I didn't manage to properly pollinate them last year, so I may have seeds to work with this year.

It also happens that I have a damaged Rubbermaid 100gal horse tank. It somehow got a large crack in the bottom. I drained it and filled it caulk and let it dry. However, when I refilled it, the weight of the water forced the crack open and ripped out the silicone. I've tried products like JB Weld in the past and they'll work for a season and then let loose. I don't know if there is another good product out there. We've since bought a new tank, but I have the old damaged one left. I turned the last one into a vermicomposting bin. I want to turn this one into a bog garden. I live in SC and leave all my plants out year round anyway, so I thought it'd be a great idea. I plan to put a screen and some gravel around the drain plug and back fill the rest with a mix of peat moss and sand. I'll use a jigsaw to cut the height down some. I'll stick a piece of pvc with a cap in the back to guage the water level and to fill it up. The drain will be an overflow, so I can fill it till it runs out the front and refresh the water.

I could use suggestions from you guys about whether it should be just a little gravel in front of the drain plug or if it should be almost all gravel up to the drain plug and only have a well where the peat goes to the bottom so it can wick it up. I suppose I could also do the same thing with plastic and water permeable ground cloth. I'm still working those kinks out. The real reason I'm posting is to find out what a safe way to seal that crack is. If I'm leaking water out of the bottom, it's going to be a huge amount of work to keep water in it. My first thought it just to flex seal the whole thing, because I'm thinking that it'll be ~18" tall overall, leaving 3-4" for the water reservoir. That would be about 14" of soil. I don't know if that is too much, too little, etc...

I don't know if the flex seal would be toxic or not, though. Does anyone have any thoughts or ideas on this. It's a good size for this project and the plastic is made to withstand years of outdoor exposure. I can also use the tractor to move it if I ever need to, which I hope I won't. Thanks for the help.
 
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A pond liner to line the inside of the tub. Fiberglass may work though, but I would be very concerned about the chemicals in the resin releasing into the soil.
 
I suspect the water weight is pushing the silicone out but if you have enough plastic from cutting the sides down to cover the hole and it is stiff enough, take a large piece, far bigger than the hole (to spread the load and stop the bending) and silicone it liberally and place on the inside over the crack and let it set for a day or two. If it is flexible find a more rigid patch and use that. I must say I'm a bit of a silicone admirer and haven't found a leak that me and it couldn't seal yet!
Not sure how deep a horse trough is but in my bogs I use upturned bucket with holes in to let the air in and out and strong plastic pots as my reservoir, with a ground cloth over and a few stacks of peat through it into the water as wicks.
cheers
Steve

Cheers
Steve
 
Im with steve on this one. You need to find somthing to hold the weight. I would consider drilling a hole on both sides of the crack so it cant spread. Then put rigid plastic on with your silicone to steal it.

Sent from my S7 Edge via Tapatalk
 
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