New Pond

[dummy]

Nice photo Harv. With the shadows it almost makes it look like you have your own island there. Must make it tough to go back to "city life".

 

[Anonymous Poster]

One site I found that has a lot of info on ponds is <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.pondboss.com>http://www.pondboss.com</A>. If you visit the site, click on "Ask the Boss". I've been following the site for awhile and gleaned alot of good info. One point I will mention is that last week some butt head decided to show off his computer skills and wiped out a good portion of the message board. I'm not sure what info is available from previous posts but if there is something you have a question on, just jump in. Lot of good folks over there.

Russ

 

[rlk]

Dozernut, thanks for the advice. Is the collar you are recommending similar to the concrete collar shown in this link <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/fisheries/420-011/figure1.html>http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/fisheries/420-011/figure1.html</A>? I think that is what you are describing, but just want to make sure.

Thanks again for your advice. It is amazing how much helpful information this forum provides.

 

[Dozernut]

Yes, those are the collars. Concrete will work very well for this. If you do use metal, caulk heavy with silicone. As the diagram showed, use more than one collar. Don't know how big your pond is, but if it is a smaller pond, I don't believe you will need three of them. But overkill never hurt anything! Good luck!

 

[Buck]

Bill,

My pond is a lot smaller than yours -- it is only 50-60 ft. in diameter. Yet it consistently produces fish!

When I lived in Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin, it seemed that smaller ponds never had fish. I wish I knew what the difference was between where I live now (upstate NY) and the places I lived in the past, because the fishing is far better here than any other place I have lived.

Enclosed is a photo that I took last weekend of my son with his tenth fish of the hour.

Interestingly, my neighbor, last fall, dug an acre and a half pond and already small sunfish schools are swarming about! I am told that the birds bring the eggs on their wings.

Buck

 

[Anonymous Poster]

what if you have \'bad\' soil?

I live in Delaware and here we have a lot of sandy soil located about 24" below the surface (about 12" of good top soil). I would like to put in a pond (planning on renting a bobcat with a ripper blade-they move quickly and I can get a large bucket) about 60' x 50' (larger if possible). My neighbor has a pond in his backyard and its always full (we hit the water table at about 36"). My question is this: I would like a pond that is 'sort of' deep but not sure if my type of soil will support water retention. has anyone had experience with soil such as ours? I've read this thread and others on the net to famililarize myself with procedures to build a successful pond and know of the liner and kitty litter method (bi-carbonate something I believe?).

I 'suckered' my wife into letting me get a tractor to finish up yard work too-seriuosly though its a small ford 1520 w/ FEL and its great for small yard work (acre and a half). Its a 4wd and I installed 'bobcat' tires on the front (they were the same size) and the support is tremendious as compared to the original R4 tires (bobcat tires are 6 ply versus the original 4 ply tires).

Thank you for any help,

Paul

 

[Soundguy]

Re: what if you have \'bad\' soil?

Ponds are best built with a liner of some sort, whether rigid or flexible.

It is possible to 'build' a liner into place using bentonite clay mixed into the ground with a small roto tiller... You will find this very labor intensive. However the bentonite is very resistant to harsh chemicals.. but that is a feature that you probably wont need.

The last time I put in a bentonite liner, was as a water holding pond filled with water hiassins(sp?) at a primary water treatment plant in tavare, fl.

Let us know what you decide.

Soundguy

 

[Alan L.]

The problem I've seen with people digging/improving ponds around here is that it takes so long with the small equipment that it rains, fills it full of mud, and about the time it starts drying it rains again. You can never get your tractor back in there. A dozer could do it a lot faster, and give you a better chance of beating the weather.

 

[Buck]

Re: what if you have \'bad\' soil?

Iwantapondtoo,

No one around here uses liners. The soil is naturally clayish. Sandy soil is clearly the worst for holding water, but -- if your neighbor hit the water table at 36", you should too -- assuming land is flat, and he doesn't live too far away.

Now, the age old question of digging the pond with a BobCat or Compact comes up. To this, I promise you I will post a picture when I get a chance this weekend showing the vast amount of dirt you will be moving. My neighbor used two large excavators and the dirt is still there. Pictures are worth a thousand calculations!

Buck

 

[rmorgan]

Re: what if you have \'bad\' soil?

Wantapond--

Along the lines of Buck's post, here's our front yard in early May 2000, about a week into pond construction. In terms of being able to do this with the TC33D . . . not.

 

[rmorgan]

Oh, ok, since you asked /w3tcompact/icons/wink.gif, here's what it looks like now . . .

 

[Buck]

Re: what if you have \'bad\' soil?

rmorgan,

That is a dam, correct?

Buck

 

[rmorgan]

Re: what if you have \'bad\' soil?

Buck--

Actually, that picture is across the dam where they carved down a hillside to provide a watershed for the pond and scalped clay which they used to build up the dam and line the pond. Here is a picture of the dam keyway being dug; the grey is where the keyway is going through the stratum which passes for bedrock around here.

 

[Buck]

Re: what if you have \'bad\' soil?

rmorgan,

I saw the finished pond on an eariler post. That is a very nice pond.

I took a look at your profile, and see that you live in the Greater Cincinnati area. I was born in Maderia. Just recently, traveled there. It is a wonderfully attrative area to live.

Buck

 

[rmorgan]

Re: what if you have \'bad\' soil?

Buck--

My wife went to St. Gertrude's in Madeira; we live in Clermont County now. Nice area, but I sure can't catch 10 fish an hour!! By the way, since you're going to be in the neighborhood off and one--doe does your son do with grass carp!?!

 

[Buck]

Re: what if you have \'bad\' soil?

rmorgan,

One of my best friends went to St. Gertrude's -- and I grew up with several Catholic girls from the school.

As far as Grass Carp go, he's never seen one. There are plenty around here, though.

I assume your pond has them? Did Carp eggs get to your pond through Geese or Ducks? I am told that that is how a lot of the fish (all types) get planted around here. The Geese fly from one pond to the next, like retired Italians going to visit Grandmas, Uncles, Cousins and Aunts.

They supposedly bring fish eggs on the wings and through feces.

Buck

 

[glennmac]

Re: Harv\'s Pond and Tree

Harv,

That certainly is a lovely picture. I'm interested in trees, and was wondering what month the picture was taken and whether you know what that tall tree is in the back on the right. It almost looks as if it has a fruit or flower among the leaves.

 

[Harv]

Re: Harv\'s Pond and Tree

Hey, Glenn!!!

Tax season over already?

That pond picture was taken on November 24, 2000 at 7:08 a.m. (PST). Not sure what month that would make it where you live. /w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Now let's see how badly I can embarrass myself here. As far as I know, there's nothing but oak and pine where that particular tree is, and it sure don't look like no oak. I think it's a pine tree that forked a time or two, giving it that rounded top. The ground in that area is frequently covered with giant pinecones (big enough that I drive around them with my tractor), so that may explain the "fruit" you see, brightly lit by the early morning sun.

Attached is a higher-res image, cropped to that tree.

 

[glennmac]

Re: Harv\'s Pond and Tree

Tax, schmax. I've been lax.

Interesting tree. Magnified, si. High-res, ???

There are "things" in that tree. Could be a conifer given that it's green when the other November trees aren't. But a pine? Very fastigiate tree to be a pine. Very fastigiate.

Big cones? If they are very big cones, up to 24" long, we could be talking the magnificent and nonpareil pinus lambertiana. The sugar pine is the tallest pine in the country with the largest cones. Usually not found below 2500', though, and I thought you were lower than that. The national champ sugar pine is 232' by 29' and is in Dorrington, CA. But so fastigiate.

I still have a barrel full of sugar pine cones that I collected from outside Yosemite 20 years ago. Was stunned by their size. Have been thinking of trying to plant a sugar pine here as an experiment. I have planted many, and mostly, unusual trees on my property since I got into dirt three years ago.

Dirt is better than tax.

 

[rmorgan]

Re: what if you have \'bad\' soil?

Easy on the goose-poop imagery, Buck--we SWIM in that pond!!/w3tcompact/icons/hmm.gif (Lends a new meaning to the thread subtitle, no?) Actually, the grass carp are <A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.warrenswcd.com/using.htm>triplod white Amur</A>, a sterile fish which can arrive in the pond only in plastic bags from the fish store. They are introduced to control weeds, broadly defined to include the entire plant kingdom except for algae (okay, and and water iris), and are voracious eaters. Good for heavily-weeded ponds; bad for ours.