Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Soil questions New Tank/Pond

The recent rains had filled my tank about a week ago. Since then, I have noticed the water level going down about 6" per day. I have red clay on my property and the builder of the tank said that this was perfect to hold water. My question is = How long will the water continue to go down before it finally settles? I dont believe I have a leak because the backside of the dam is dry. Any help or suggestions will be appreciated.

Hi kft,

I'm not an expert but I do have a few '' tank '' ponds. One I just built with a waterfall, (pics coming soon), and 2 near the front on my property, for shinners and the other I throw my fingerlings in to raise to good size.

New ponds can be tricky I've learned. All it takes is a hole the size of a thumb. You dam is dry you said, so thats good.

Now that you've established that, it's time to determine if you have any springs underneath. Even an old spring or a '' dry spring '', I call it, are paths underneath, where water once flowed that just lead for hundreds of yards. I have had to deal with them. So if you can, try to look a few yards behind the pond and see if there is water or wet spots anywhere, if there is, just pack the bottom with about 2 feet of clay to be safe and you won't have to worry about it.

My problem I've been dealing with,is one of my ponds i'm digging by hand has leaked cause of sand
and clay and soil, its been my '' pain pond.''

But right now I wouldnt be worried, new ponds tend to have a soaking phase the first few fills, and it sometimes can take weeks, months or years for a complete settle. Also look into the temps and humidity levels.

My advice is with 6 inches a day is.

How big is the pond? the bigger the pond the more 6 inches is a big deal, smaller ones 6 inches is kinda off sort but ive seen it.

If it drops 6 inches every day, u may have a problem. but if it goes, 6-5-4 and so on its just tryin to settle so i wouldnt worry, but if not, id clay it, then if that dont work line the sucker, thats what I did and im glad I did. Hope I helped, Good luck.

Thank you for your response. I am brand new user to pondboss and this is the first pond I have ever built. Any recommendations will truly help.
Pond Facts =
1/4 acre Pond
Red Clay Soil
10 Feet Deep
2 Weeks Old
--Leaks about 4-6" per day
--Live in North Texas 15 miles West of Fort Worth.
--Neighbor has a pond about 100 yards away and is about 4 years old. Seems to hold water. As far as I can tell it looks like we have the same hard red clay soil.
I built the Pond to stock it w/ LMB and BG. I have young kids and would like for them to have a place to fish(hopefully easy way to catch them).

I would appreciate any help!

The best advice i could give you right now is do nothing. if it is really a problem you will know if it gets fully drained out. then i would inspect the bottom and pack the heck out of it. Add some sodium bentonite too. then if it has a problem which i dont see with u having red clay then go with a liner. But if it were me id drain it give a day or so to dry out and check for stumps, dig or trim them down and pack the entire bottom with clay and about 2 bags of 50lb bags of sodium bentonite and enjoy it. I think that would do it.

My pond is brand new too. It still hasn't filled all the way up, but it's been close. Since it's high mark of 8 inches low, it's droped a steady one inch per week.

I feel that is normal from evaporation and wind. As the temps increase, I expect it to increase and drop even faster.

Six inches per day sounds extreme.

I don't know what the cure is, but to wait and see how far it drops. When it stops droping, you should have an idea of where the problem is. Just because you don't see any wet areas, doesn't mean there isn't a leak. I've repaired water lines that had huge leaks, but the water travled for hundreds of feet underground.

Good luck,
Eddie

Do you think when the water finally stops dropping I should get some bentonite and line the tank w/ it?

I've never used bentonite, so it's just a guess that could go either way. I'd hate for you to buy something that doesn't fix the problem.

Until the water stops droping, you really don't know what the problem is. I'd wait for it to stop dropping before doing anything. Then mark that depth in at least a dozen spots around the entire shoreline. Not just the dam, as it might not be the dam. Buy a pack of surveyors metal flags from Lowes or Home Depot and use them.

If the water level changes later on, you will still know where the level of your problem is.

Eddie