I finally started my pond

[bindian]

Brandi---hi--

I was wondering if by chance you could not put a small shallow water well in? If lucky it might provide enough water to keep the pond topped off....I know wells are tricky, and personally I am lucky to have just enough water (now) for the house..In the beginning it pumped a good number of gallons a minute ....Tony

Tony,
You know, this was mentioned to me when I was building the pond. I brushed the thought off then.:thumbdown: But now, in this drought, I think you are on to something.:thumbsup:

I got a wet season gully about 50 yards away. I could drive the Big RED Beast down into it and dig.:licking: I have a 12 inch diameter black culvert about 8 feet long to use as a casing.:drool:

But I can't do it until after knee surgery and I am back to work, so I won't bust any company OJI work restrictions.

How big of a pump will I need to raise it about 15 or so feet and pump it 160-175 feet?:confused3:
Thanks and double hugs, Brandi

 

[bindian]

The water level keeps going down. I was hoping the thunder storm that dumped 2 inches in an hour on Lake Livingston (just northeast of us) would make it to us. It didn't. We only got 1/4 inch of rain this morning.

I got a shot of Booger down in the pond chasing frogs. Next to chasing squirrels, let loves doing this. I don't know if he has caught any frogs, but has caught numerous toads at night and the toads always foam his mouth while Booger shakes his head sideways from the awful taste.:laughing:

The second photo shows the underwater island starting to stick out of the water. This is about 4 and 1/2 to 5 feet higher than the bottom. I shot it from the pier.

Third shot is from the opposite side showing the pier, the island, and the minnow hotel of cinder blocks. Far left in the weeds is the small forklift pallet for fathead minnow reproduction. Kind of a nursery. I am told this kind of structure is best to keep them away from catfish.

As long as I aerate every night from midnight to about 10 am, the catfish only come up for food. Which I am feeding every other day now instead of twice a week. If they clean the food up in 15 minutes today, I will start feeding every day.

It seems the cats feed in two shifts.:confused3: The first 5 minutes the larger ones come up. Minutes 10-15, the smaller cats feed.
hugs, Brandi

 

[tony Cecil]

Hi Brandi

I really don`t know about the culvert as a catch basin I was sort of thinking of possibly back washing a pipe , and putting a screen on it, particularly if the ground water was say twenty five thirty feet down---shallow well----and attaching the proper sized pump and pumping to the pond.....I think this would involve an electric motor and that would involve electricity.....My well is at least four hundred feet from the cabin, and a one hp motor is really too much for the well side, but I have left it alone, as I dn`t have a person whom I trust now....My son in law has several large ponds with professionally installed well that are either really deep or shallow...He says the shallow well is the best of them all.....I hope this helps...Tony, and a hug back to you

 

[bindian]

Hi Brandi

I really don`t know about the culvert as a catch basin I was sort of thinking of possibly back washing a pipe , and putting a screen on it, particularly if the ground water was say twenty five thirty feet down---shallow well----and attaching the proper sized pump and pumping to the pond.....I think this would involve an electric motor and that would involve electricity.....My well is at least four hundred feet from the cabin, and a one hp motor is really too much for the well side, but I have left it alone, as I dn`t have a person whom I trust now....My son in law has several large ponds with professionally installed well that are either really deep or shallow...He says the shallow well is the best of them all.....I hope this helps...Tony, and a hug back to you

Tony,
I mentioned digging to hit water then put the culvert on end is because this is what is on hand here. I would have to get the equipment to back wash a pipe. Besides, this side of the gully is solid clay. The far side up the hill is sandy loam. I have only dug down about 2 feet in the gully before. That was sandy loam, or bank sand also. The pond is 11-12 feet down and is solid clay. Either way I would need a pump.

A back washed pipe would be cool as then I could just pressurize it to pump the water up. Like windmills use these days.

Thanks for the idea.
hugs, Brandi

 

[jinman]

Brandi, I'm sorry to see your pond is turning into a puddle. That must be very disheartening. I'm pretty sure I'd be putting a garden hose in there and adding water if it were my pond. A stream directed out over the pond would also aerate as it added water. Keeping your water aerated and feeding your fish is very critical at this point. If your water gets much more shallow, you may also have gray herons coming to visit.

BTW: Every time I look at how blue your water is, I think of the first time I went to Six Flags Over Texas and saw their water in the park. It was the same color blue and probably for the same reason as yours.

 

[bindian]

Brandi, I'm sorry to see your pond is turning into a puddle. That must be very disheartening. I'm pretty sure I'd be putting a garden hose in there and adding water if it were my pond. A stream directed out over the pond would also aerate as it added water. Keeping your water aerated and feeding your fish is very critical at this point. If your water gets much more shallow, you may also have gray herons coming to visit.

BTW: Every time I look at how blue your water is, I think of the first time I went to Six Flags Over Texas and saw their water in the park. It was the same color blue and probably for the same reason as yours.

I will water hose it if needed. I don't water much grass and only three little trees, so I have not been paying attention if my water company has any restrictions right now. I think they purged the lines this morning and that put some clorinated water into the pond.

I don't like spraying water into a pond, as too much evaportes in the air.
hugs, Brandi
The blueish green color sure looks better than the clay red color.

 

[bullbreaker]

Here you "BOOGER"
Just for you !
A girlfriend and bone all at one time :
Does'nt get any better than that ole boy !
I know you look at the pic's on TBN.

Boone

 

[bindian]

Here you "BOOGER"
Just for you !
A girlfriend and bone all at one time :
Does'nt get any better than that ole boy !
I know you look at the pic's on TBN.

Boone

Boone,
I gotta laugh.:laughing: Booger brought a huge rawhide bone home from some where. He never touches it unless we walk over to it. Then he takes it and runs. Never chewing on it.:laughing: I think he got it from his grownup girlfriend.
hugs, Brandi

 

[bindian]

I forgot to turn on the air compressor last night and when I got home from PT today, I had 21 dead catfish and one perch. The perch I don't care about, but the 21 cats equaled 28 pounds. I had five left when I fished out the dead ones and they were gasping. When I finished burying them, all live ones had disappeared. When I went out at 7:30, one more had died. Now I only got 4 cats left.

I ordered a dedicated pond aerator last week:thumbsup:, so hopefully it will be here in a few days and get hooked up real fast. So the 3rd Saturday in Oct, I will get more channel cats and some blue cats. Sadness prevails.:ashamed:
hugs, Brandi

 

[tungularafishcamp]

bummer about your fish Brandi, I thought with the rain things would be improving waterwise there.