Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat My Pond Project

ETD our pics look great. I live in NW PA about 25 miles south of Erie, just wondered how far west you lived in NY? I am digging a pond here on a much muddier site than yours, it's been a real SOB to dig but I am gaining. I will not have any trouble keeping water if the amount that comes out of the ground is any indication. I went to college at RIT just wondered more about where you were and would love to come see that pond when you have it finished, even before it is full I'd love to take a look at it. Sorry to hijack your post yet again, heh heh, just liked the looks of your project is all, good job!

i would think yp or bluegills would also survive well
what kind of temps does the pond have in the summer
if it stays under 70 degree's trout might survive too

the water table thing scares me too!

JoeG, I live in Newfane NY, which is about 35 miles due north of Buffalo.

Here are some more pictures, almost done digging. I can't believe I'm almost done. I started this project 2 years ago!

Almost there

ETD66SS, That is an awesome pond, great job with the design and creation. Is bottom and side structure next on the list?
Maki

There is a lot on the "list", but yes, I do need to think about some bottom structure, but nothing that will eat fishing lures...

Here is the rest of this years list if you're interested:

Here is the overall plan for my layout:



These pic’s show where I dumped many loads of loam to build up the area where my future house, front & back yards will be, I'm not currently dumping or spreading any where my barn/appt. will go, as I plan to start building that on virgin soil next year, will just backfill to the height of the rest of the area:

[URL="http://usera.imagecave.com/Whitedwarf/Pond-7-12-08/Pond_0599-01.JPG"]http://usera.imagecave.com/Whitedwarf/Pond-7-12-08/Pond_0599-01.JPG[/URL]

[URL="http://usera.imagecave.com/Whitedwarf/Pond-7-12-08/Pond_0600-01.JPG"]http://usera.imagecave.com/Whitedwarf/Pond-7-12-08/Pond_0600-01.JPG[/URL]

The very next step is to line the rest of the banks of the large pond, and then the small one with clay. Dump some topsoil around the ponds and box blade the banks and the island, and get some seed down. Still don't know what kind of seed to use.

Then I need to get some sonotube and put in 2 or 3 concrete pilings for one end of the bridge on the island. I will probably leave the land bridge in until I get the steel/wooden bridge designed & built. The bridge will have about a 60 ft. span.

Then landscape the area until I get the slopes I want. I'd like the high point to be where my future house will go, sloping back towards the pond, and the front yard sloping towards the swale. Then get some seed on that.

Then I need to finish grade my driveway area, as well as my younger brother’s driveway area, buy geotextile and get stone down.

My younger brother’s house will be to the right of my lot, in front of the drainage swale. My older brother’s house will be where the spoils piles are. My younger brother plans to build with me next year, my older brother probably not for 5-10 years. So I only need to concentrate on 2 areas for building right now. The spoils piles can be dealt with over time as we require fill.

Then after all that, I need to get back to cutting & splitting firewood to sell. I try to make up for diesel costs by selling firewood. I designed & built this log splitter 2 years ago:

[URL="http://usera.imagecave.com/Whitedwarf2/Splitter/"]http://usera.imagecave.com/Whitedwarf2/Splitter/[/URL]

I need to get all that done in the next 3 months.

The most lure-friendly structure is "stick-ups" made from floating poly pipe. Cut 3/4" poly pipe into 2'-4' lengths (according to the water depth). Plug 1 end with clay, and it will cause the pipe to sink and stand upright on the pond bottom. A group of 20-40 make a nice little artificial weed bed, with no worries about snagging your lures.

I was thinking more natural structure like this:

Pine Trees

Not as lure friendly, but easy to do, especially around Christmas time...

Find a plumber and get his left over pvc pipe. My brother has his own plumbing business, so my wife and I started as soon as the pond was complete, a 3 acre pond. As the water filled, we would start a new row of colored Christmas tree looking stands. As the water filled those we would start a new row, this way we had deep cover as well as shallow. Get all different sizes, colors, and lengths.
Take the 4" pipes (3-4') and drill 1" holes through. Then push 1" pipes (3-4') into those holes in the 4" pipes and glue with plumbing glue for pvc. Drill tiny two holes in 4" pipe, 2-3" from bottom and screw in 3" screws half way. Take your shovel and dig a hole as deep as the head of the shovel, then set the Christmas tree looking pvc pipe tree into it, pour a little quick crete, add very little water, and then cover with the wet soil you dug up making a mound at the base.
Use three 4" black pipe 5-6' long, or ( 5-6 1" yellow,green, gray rolled pipe 5-6' long), all with screws in base. Stick these in a shovel hole the same as above, but build a larger dirt base. You may have to use a tree branch or stick to prop them up off the ground at first, but as water comes they will float up like tree roots or like tree spouts. Awesome to see.
For protecting your minnows, go to a service station or tire store and get their old tires. Use about 10- 16 per location. Stand the upright in no particular order or size. Cover with 1" chicken wire, making sure the wire cover all the tires with some lying on the pond bottom. ( my wire was only 4' wide so I weaved 1/2" pvc pipe through the seams of wire to make them one piece) Stake the wire to the pond bottom (stake it good) with stakes at an angle. Over the stakes place two holed concrete blocks and then fill the holes in the blocks with quick crete. As an added touch I put about a dozen or more concrete blocks (sometimes called foundation blocks) on top of these minnow beds just to add more protection and character. These will allow the fatheads and rosey reds to enter this area and the bass can not. The minnows will lay their eggs inside the tires and hatch safely.
My dam is 560' long. Every 100 feet I used a pallet of concrete blocks or foundation blocks, to make a small rock line (about 3-4' wide) from just below the surface to the deeper water. Throw the blocks turned every which way and on top of each other about 3 blocks high.
I got lots more things, but one last one. Take 5 plastic garbage bags. Open one and place one bag inside that one, then open that one and place one inside that one and so on. Now with 5 inside each other lay flat on ground with a cotton string 4-5" from closed end of sacks. Ly the string under the stacks going from side to side. Place a large rock or brick inside the bags all the way to the closed end. Take a knife and shred the plastic bags from the cotton string to the openning of the bags. Pull the string around the bags with the rock inside the bags and tie. Now just drop into pond and in several days the cotton string will rot and opens into a plastic plant held in place by the brick that you can easily pull lures through.

Lots of good stuff. Most of the time your imagination is the only limiting factor with structure.

Otto

That's true Otto, and I have stuffed my 3 acre pond. A great one is if your pond is full, take tires that you can get for free from tire stores or service stations,and drill holes in tread and sides of half the tire. The other half screw 3 -4 screws into the tire going all the way through to the inside of the tire. Set the tire upright with drilled holes at the top and the screws on the bottom. Pour some quick crete into the bottom of the tire with the screws (screws will hold quick crete in place) and mix in some water. Let it set, then drop them out of a boat anywhere you want them in your pond. The sand crete will drop first and the drilled hole end will stand up.
I also found a junk yard (some people call them antique stores) LOL, that had broken plastic tables, commodes, and sinks. Got them for almost nothing. Set them up in the pond before the water came up. Looked like you were suppose to sit on the commode at a table. LOL! Many people have things that would be safe to put in a pond and would be happy to have them hauled off.Quick crete is cheap and a great way to weight down holding things in place. Many of them are almost snag free for the lures.

That is perfect.

I just don't know. It seems like littering the bottom of my pond with plastic & tires is not what I want. I liked the Christmas tree idea because it was "natural" structure. But I'm sure it's not as good a home for small fish as some of the stuff you describe...

If you want your fatheads and rosey reds to survive and produce, you must give them protection, not only for breeding, but for daily life activities. What is under the water on the bottom of your pond is never seen, so tires and plastics don't effect my view, and I can see my pond from every single room of my house. The pond wraps around my house for about 1200',and on one side is as close as 80' or less. It will also make it more of a challenge to fish.

I have seen a bunch of pictures of contraptions people made.

Is there a good website that has pictures, and even design drawings of structure from PVC, etc.

I'd like to browse a bit more and try to decide what I need.

My pond is only 1 acre, I don't imagine I need more than 2 pieces of structure...

Lots of ideas and pictures using different materials in the Archives Structure thread

Perfect!

Thanks.

There is so much you will learn from just looking at the pictures in the archives. You will come up with some of your own ideas.

OTTO

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I took last week off from work.

I was able to get the banks of both ponds lined with clay, and also get a bit of landscaping done.

I only have the land bridge to the island left to hog out.

I need to get the pilings for the deck & bridge put in before I remove that last bit of dirt.

Here are a bunch of pictures:

Clay-Lined-Banks

I did this yesterday in my new pond. Take four pieces of 4" pvc pipe, 24 inches long, and sandwich them between two wodden pallets. Wire this config. together, attach a cinder block, and dump it in. Nice as a BG condo, and some place for FH to breed.

EDT66SS
pic looked great.

jimmydee

Sounds like you are having fun, Keep it up.

Updated Pictures

Man that looks cold, cold, cold.

3.5 ft to go!

I don't think the ponds will fully fill up this spring...

There is a pond down the road that was dug 2 years ago, only now does it look full.

I guess I just have to wait & see.

ETD66SS, keep your fingers crossed it's only march, nice setting for a pond.
Just a comment, and I know some farmers call them sissy bars, but consider putting a roll bar on your tractor, stick around so you can enjoy your pond.
Good Luck.