Micro forage pond - 02/26/15 12:37 AM
Originally Posted By: Bill Cody
The 2nd or 3rd mini-pond does not have to be very big to do some fish experimenting. The big benefit to the mini pond is it is easy to start over. It is often best to drain them annually or occasionally during winter so the bottom soils can aerate, decompose, and weeds will die, then refill in spring for your next crop or experiment.
I pulled this quote from Bill Cody off another thread as I found it was getting the old imagination flowing and did not want to hijack that thread.
Here's the idea...When I expand my pond next year I am going to have a lot of dirt I need to do something with. What if I built micro size embankment ponds around the large pond with that excess dirt. This would give me a bunch of little ponds above the grade of the larger pond. Sealing these little ponds will be a problem. From what I have seen, off the shelf liners are less expensive than special liners. So say I sized those little ponds to fit one of those pond kits that come with all the pumps, waterfall, etc? I could pipe water from the main pond to the micro, using the kit pump, and let it flow back to the main pond by turning around that waterfall that came with the kit so it discharges over rocks back to the big pond. Then using an idea TJ gave me, I could run a pipe with a valve between the micro and the main pond. This valve could be used to drain the micro pond as well as to directly flow the fish from the forage pond to the main.
Would really appreciate some thoughts on this idea.
Edit: Please feel free to pick this idea apart and shed doom and gloom. That is what I am looking for. This would not be cheap so want to hear all the pitfalls. Stage 1 to me would be a 3 to 1 slope away from the pond to a height of 5 feet and then build a plateau for the micros. I would let the plateau sit for a year or two and settle before moving forward with actually constructing the mico ponds.
P.S. Not really hung up on using pond kits and liners if there is a better way!