Silt Happens!

[jinman]

If you're looking for a stalled project, I have one for you. My pond project has been suffering while I get my garden planted. Of course, I'm watering my garden, but I don't have any hoses set up to water grass seed arond the pond and we are still in drought. If I put out my grass seed ( I have it in my garage, ready to go.) the birds will get most of it. If we don't get rain by this weekend, I'll bite the bullet and set up sprinklers.

In the meantime, I have about two feet of water in the pond from the 3" of rain we received last month. I've started adding rocks for the fish structure on the slope going down from the first terrace level. The rocks are going slow because most of them are coming from over 1/4 mile away and I have nothing better than the tractor to haul them. I could put them on a trailer, but I can't get the trailer close enough to where I need the rocks. I think it's just as fast to haul a rock bucket full at a time and dump them. I have about another 8 hours of rocks to haul for the fish structure and then I'll start hauling the ones for the retainer walls around the slopes of the terraces.

Here's a couple of pictures of my little rock pile. The first is an area shot and the second a wider shot showing the entire "mud hole." /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif

 

[jinman]

Wide shot.

It would sure look better with grass, huh? C'mon rain! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

 

[BB_TX]

That is certainly a lot bigger "mud hole" than the little pond we saw there last year. Gonna be a really nice pond when you get it completed.

 

[PineRidge]

Jim once you get that grass established you'll be surprised at just how fast the water clears up. Great looking pond and a very good idea adding some structure for your soon-to-add fish.

 

[EddieWalker]

Jim,

I'm envious of your suppy of rocks!!! How deep are you putting them in relation to the height of the water when it's full?

From what I've read and been told, the fish spawn in about 2 feet of water, but there is some pretty big variations to this as well. The rock should be good for spawning I'd think, but I've also heard they like smaller pea gravel sized rock.

The guy at Tyler Fish Farm told me to cut up some 4 inch PVC at 18 inch lengths and set it in abouta foot of water. Two feet max. The hundred foot rolls of that ribbed drain line works great and is supper cheap.

I told him that I had put stacks of pallets in about three to four feet of water with cinder blocks on tip to weigh them down. He asked how far from the surface it was and when I told him a foot, he said those would be perfect.

Do you ever go to Pondboss.com? It's a forum similar to this site, but just for ponds. The guy in charge is in your area and allot of the members are from Texas.

Thanks for the update and picutres. I'm really looking forward to your dock project!!!

Eddie

 

[KentT]

</font><font color="blue" class="small">( If you're looking for a stalled project, I have one for you. My pond project has been suffering while I get my garden planted. Of course, I'm watering my garden, but I don't have any hoses set up to water grass seed arond the pond and we are still in drought. If I put out my grass seed ( I have it in my garage, ready to go.) the birds will get most of it. If we don't get rain by this weekend, I'll bite the bullet and set up sprinklers. )</font>

Pump out of the pond to water the grass seed -- kill two of those birds with one stone... /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

 

[jinman]

Bill B: Thanks! It really is a lot larger than it looks in the picture. It's going to be very deep too when we finally get rain. I'm torn between wishing I cold take my good and easy time about putting in the rocks and wanting the pond to fill up.

Mike: A few half-inch rains a few days apart would really help me get some grass established at least. I am all set to plant some rye grass and wheat for immediate cover, but three days near and over 100º sure kicks butt on rye grass. My well is about 500' away. By this weekend, I'll be ready to buy some more hose and sprinkler heads to get the grass started. I know it would help a lot to clear things up.

KentT: It kills me to think about pumping the water out of this shallow pond to irrigate. I have nightmares of having a lot of nice green grass around a completely dry hole. We do have a semi-trash pump we could use, but I sure would like for Mother Nature to help with a shower or two.

Eddie: You know, I hadn't really thought about fish spawning in this pond. I was putting in the rocks because little minnows and critters tend to need a place to hide and the big fish are drawn to the same areas to try and catch the little ones. I figure I can sit on the terrace and cast out over the rock bed to catch a few fish. I'm also hoping the rocks discourage weed growth to some extent. I do know the turtles and frogs already have discovered them as a favorite spot.

The rocks pretty much go all the way to the bottom of the pond and will extend up to just below the normal waterline. They will form a basin just below the first terrace level. The basin will be filled with about 24" of creek bottom sand. When the water level is down, the sand will be a little beach. When the water is higher, it will probably make a decent spawning bed. It's not pea gravel, but it is very coarse sand.

I do have plenty of rocks on Kathy's property. The problem is they are surrounded by trees and it's a heck of a lot of work to get them out. That's okay, my rock bucket lets me scrape the big rocks into a pile and then I can scoop them up and haul them. I could haul more on a skid, but not at the speeds I carry them in the bucket. Bigger equipment would do more damage in the woods and then I'd have an angry wife. I'll stick with my little blue workhorse for now and keep hauling small loads. Sooner or later, I'll get it like I want it.

I've been to Pondboss.com a few times and they do have good info. When I start doing my big lake which needs a lot of engineering, I'll sure spend more time there. Heck, I haven't even started on my ponds up by my house. I've got plenty of projects to last me well into retirement. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[jinman]

We finally got a little shower of rain, but while the folks just 50 miles south of use got 1-1/2 to 2 inches, we only got 6/10. I'll take it, but it sure doesn't fill up ponds. It just keeps me from having to water the garden.

I was looking back at this thread and realized I hadn't shown any pictures of my rock bucket being used to collect and haul small rocks. I can use the bucket to dig and pick up rocks until it's about 2/3 full. Then to fill it up completely, I get off the tractor and hand-toss rocks until I get a full load. Here's an example of the average load of small rocks. Of course, I can only get two or three large rocks in the bucket and then I have to fill in with small ones by hand. It's hard work.

 

[jinman]

Another angle...

 

[jinman]

Woohoo! 5" of rain. /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif

I'll have to wait awhile to add more rocks to my fish structure. After the last picture, I got about 6 more loads hauled. I wanted another 10 loads, but I'll have to wait until the next dry spell (hopefully never). /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif When the water goes down a little, I'll put the rock face on the first terrace. I've got plenty of flat rock for that job.