OP
DeSite ASM
New member
This pond is for my enjoyment and so will be the fish
Building a pond on my property to stock fish
- Thread starter DeSite ASM
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This pond is for my enjoyment and so will be the fish
Wow, just add water.:thumbsup:
OP
DeSite ASM
New member
Here is a funny story for you. I have an artisan well that produces 30gpm at 132ft just down from my pond, so I dug down another 30 ft at the bottom of the pond. I did not hit the water table so I filled the 3ft x 6ft hole that I dug and compacted it with the bucket as I went. I filled the pond for 3 weeks 24/7. I had the pond about 2/3 full when the water found its way to the water table through the hole that I had previously dug. The pond emptied itself overnight. I have now let the pond sit for 2 years to recompact the clay based soil naturally. This next spring I am building a man made creek and waterfall to aerate and circulate the water. I my natural compaction does not work I will have to line the pond, but I am hoping that I will not have to do this. I do not like lined ponds.
Larro Darro
Elite Member
We ran into the same problem. I wanted to get it deep enough to dive into, so we dug down a couple more feet in one end of the pond. We dug through the clay and hit sand. As much as we tried to patch it up with clay, we couldn't make it hold water. Like you, we have an artisan well. It has a good flow, but it would all run out. What we did was put a few hogs in there and scatter shelled corn on the pond bed. We were told the rooting around would help seal the clay. But two months later, the Chipola River flooded and the pond held water after that. Not sure if the hogs helped or not.
sld
Veteran Member
In my experience, the ground between the bottom of your pond and the water table needs to get saturated before the pond will hold water for long periods.
Also, hot and windy days can evaporate an inch per day. You could lose 2 1/2 feet in one hot dry month.
Also, hot and windy days can evaporate an inch per day. You could lose 2 1/2 feet in one hot dry month.
Grumpy Old Man
Platinum Member
I thought that soil looked pretty light with no clay base , If it were me I'd drop about 10 large loads of clay in the bottom and let it settle over the winter and with your nw Pa winters it would probably stay filled come spring ? a local neighbor dug his 4 years ago and it finally held water this year .:thumbsup:
OP
DeSite ASM
New member
what you are seeing is 2 inches of topsoil on top of the clay. I was not going to finish the pond right after I built it so I spread soil to grow good grass and not bad weeds. Here is the type of clay that I have to work with.
Grumpy Old Man
Platinum Member
looks pretty light ,if you pick it up can you make a "snowball" out of it with out it falling apart when thrown hard , that would be good clay .
SPIKER
Elite Member
To the guys with the "holes" in the bottom of the pond see if you can find some Bentonite clay, it is used in drilling wells and sealing it all up. It can be bought in bags and maybe contact local well driller to buy some.
Otherwise you can also add some heavy mil plastic sheeting or EDM rubber roofing over the areas that you suspect are leaking and add a layer of clay/sand on top..
M
Otherwise you can also add some heavy mil plastic sheeting or EDM rubber roofing over the areas that you suspect are leaking and add a layer of clay/sand on top..
M
OP
DeSite ASM
New member
I have used bentonite before and that may be the direction that I have to go. I usually mix it about 8 inches deep, compact the surface, and then cover it with about 6inches of heavy rock to keep the water from moving the bentonite.
