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Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 3
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OP
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 3 |
Great site- I am pretty new to all of this, but I have a nice area that I assume has no springs filling it, but rather is a runoff collection area that would make a great pond (I think).
I am betting it is about 1 acre. I have waded out and would guess it is 7-8 feet deep at best, with a mucky bottom. Some years it is high enough to shovel and skate on in the winter. Other years there are some branches and vegitation sticking up. But, the perimeter of the area has a lot of room to fill up without overflowing into property.
So- my question was---is it permissible to drill a well near the site in order to fill up the pond? Would I need to look closer at a pond liner if I wanted to do that, or just keep the well filling up the hole? I am not necessarily 100% into stocking it with fish just yet, but I would love to run a fountain/aeriator in the middle and fill it up if this seems like a good idea.
I am renting a trencher tomorrow for a few other projects (bury corrugated pipe and new LP gas line)- and I was thinking about running a length of UF direct burial electrical line down to the pond site in case this well idea will work.
Does anyone have any insight? What size (HP) well pump should I look at using? This will at least help me gauge the electric wire that I will need to buy/bury. Then it will give me some time to read up on the specifics of how to use the well to fill up the pond.
Thanks very much. Also- if I am in left field- feel free to tell me that also. Just thinking I could substantially increase the beauty of my property and also create a nice place for the kids to play if I could just fill this area up to a more consistent level and aeriate it a bit.
Thanks
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,712 Likes: 3
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 5,712 Likes: 3 |
noake -- first, welcome to Pond Boss. Glad you found us.
As for filling a pond with well water -- it is as our good friend Bill Cody always says -- "it depends."
It depends on your soil and water table. If you are in a sandy area with a high water table, filling with a well won't do much good. If you are in an area of heavy clay, with a deep water table, your chances are much better.
A synthetic or heavy clay liner can also be the difference between success and failure.
Tell us a little more about where you are located, a little bit about your soil types, a little bit about your water table, and a little bit about your watershed. With that, you may get more help than you ever could have wanted.
Regards, Ken
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Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 3
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OP
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 3 |
Sounds good and thanks
1- I am in Michigan
2- my lot is mostly sand, but I get the feeling most was trucked in to build up my lot as I have a house that sits up very high on a hill.
3- the "runnoff area" that I am looking at making a pond, sits about 40 feet lower than my yard, and I get the feeling it is heavy clay on the bottom for the most part. I only say this because the few times I have waded in it, I come out with black/dark grey muck. Also- no matter how little rain we get- this retention area will always stay 'filled" with water. It will be between 4-5" deep at most times- with maybe feet after a high snow thaw/runnoff to fill it up. I am not sure how I would find out for 100% what is in the base of the pond area, but my observations is that it is not spring fed, and that it does not drain quickly, if at all.
4- Water table- I am not sure how to figure this----really no idea. Any ideas on how to start?
5- I guess a hypothetical assuming that I can indeed figure this out and feed a well into this pond.....any idea on what size well pump I would need? What I am really trying to decide is what guage wire to bury tomorrow. I guess I could assuming bigger rather than smaller and go with 10 gauge wire as opposed to 12. Any ideas on well pump size in HP?
Any ideas on how I can provide the other items you requested as I "dig" a little more into this project?
Thanks for the quick response
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 388 Likes: 5
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 388 Likes: 5 |
noake, The two biggest factors in determining voltage drop are the length and load. So you really need to determine both to calculate wire size.Maybe as an option you could bury a 3/4" pvc while you have the trencher and pull it in later. If its really long go up to 1" or even 1 1/4".
If you find out pump size and length I'd be glad to help you calculate your wire size.
"If you aim at nothing you'll hit it every time" Zig Ziglar
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,534 Likes: 841
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,534 Likes: 841 |
Burying the PVC when you have the trencher is a great idea. You could run some rope thru it at the same time to help pull the wire thru.
My pond is dug in sand. The water table varies in height, and the pond does too. My well puts out 28 gpm and I need to run it 24/7 to the pond if I want to keep the water level high after the Spring rains. It would normally drop 3'-5' over the summer, and if the farmer down the road runs his center pivot irrigation system, it would drop 2" per day if I didn't run the well.
When looking at a well pump, also look at the GPM that it can push. There are high effeciency pumps that can move double the water for the same hp.
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 529
Fingerling
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Fingerling
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 529 |
If you don't have an irrigation system, the trencher could do double duty. You can irrigate your grass and shrubs with almost free water.
If you have an irrigation system, re-plumb it to the well.
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Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 3
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OP
Joined: Jul 2011
Posts: 3 |
Sounds good- I am thinking the smartest idea is to drill a well near my pond area. I have a hunch the water table is very close since the Pond area, is really just a runoff area, and the water does not ever drain very much from it.
After the well line is drilled, I think a pond pump is in order- probably 1 1/2 HP- in order to fill the pond. I like the idea of the double efficiency pump. I will need to run about 175-200' of electric wire from my workshop, downhill and near this pond area in order to power the pond pump. I am thinking a 20 amp breaker and 12 gauge wire will be OK for the pump, but I might consider springing for the extra and just burying conduit in order to pull the wire later.
After I get the pond filling, I think I will run an irrigation pump from the pond water and use it to irrigate my lawn. I do not have irrigation system yet, and I like the idea of using the pond water (from a newly drilled well) in order to water my lawn- as opposed to tapping into my house well.
Does that all sound like I am thinking straight?
Does anyone have any good sources (or online sources) for pond pumps of 1 1/2 HP or greater? I looked at Home Depot- but nothing of that grade.
Also- to the esshup- who runs his well pump 24/7 to fill the pond. What kind of hit does that make to your electric bill? Just wondering....
Thank you all for the stories and advice
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,534 Likes: 841
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,534 Likes: 841 |
I'm not an electrician, but I think you'll need more than 12 ga for that length of run and load.....
We'll see this month what the electric bill is. Last month I didn't need to run the well 24/7 with the rain that we had. Last month between the A/C and well the electric bill was $100 more than in May.
I researched pumps. The best place to source the pump was from the well driller, but do your research and see what pump best fits your needs. There are variable speed pumps out there, but they need a controller, which adds to extra cost. For my needs, going to a larger hp pump wouldn't save any $$, it would just reduce the number of hours that I would need to run the pump - this is the pump for the house too.
If you are going to have someone drill the well for you, I'd just run the conduit and not the wire. They'll run the correct sized wire when they install the pump and it'll save them having to trench in the wire.
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 388 Likes: 5
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 388 Likes: 5 |
noake, A 1 1/2 HP 120V motor pulls around 20Amps The same in a 220V would be around 10Amps. I would run the 220V and at that distance you could get by with #12 but that is the MAX. Its slightly over the 3% allowed by code.
So if it were me I'd pull #10 AWG in and have some cushion. The nice thing about the conduit is the flexability of pull in pull out.
"If you aim at nothing you'll hit it every time" Zig Ziglar
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,055 Likes: 277
Moderator Lunker
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Moderator Lunker
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,055 Likes: 277 |
A well can certainly be a benefit during low water conditions but the size of the pond is what matters. Also you need to consider the affordability of running the pump.
One acre of water, one inch deep, is 27,000 gallons.
It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.
Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.
Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,534 Likes: 841
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,534 Likes: 841 |
For every 24 hr period that I run my well into the pond, I'm pumping in between 36,000 to 40,000 gallons of water.
I realize that I'm just circulating the water within the ground, but what else is there to do?
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Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 529
Fingerling
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Fingerling
Joined: Apr 2010
Posts: 529 |
Here's an issue you may not have thought of, cuz I did not. Well equipment is not pretty, so you may want to cover it with a shed. So plan an area where you can pour a slab around the well. Also, to service the well later on, you'll have to have a shed that allows them to get at the well.
So take your original dollar estimate and multiply it by two.
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,534 Likes: 841
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,534 Likes: 841 |
To add to the shed post, since you're in Michigan you will either need to insulate it and the pipe very well, or plan it out so you can drain the water out of everything that is above the frost line.
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Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 40
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Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 40 |
DO NOT PURCHASE A PUMP UNTIL YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR WELL FLOW WILL BE. You will either burn up and undersized pump, or pay to much for an oversized one that will suck your well dry in minutes.........wait.
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 74
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 74 |
DO NOT PURCHASE A PUMP UNTIL YOU KNOW WHAT YOUR WELL FLOW WILL BE. You will either burn up and undersized pump, or pay to much for an oversized one that will suck your well dry in minutes.........wait. I learned that lesson the expensive way…$400.00
Don't Analyze Your Pleasures!!!
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Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 544
Lunker
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Lunker
Joined: Aug 2003
Posts: 544 |
Esshup you mentioned a rope for pulling wire, trick to getting a snake line thru existing conduit, if you have never seen it done is as follows. You need a plastic shopping bag, commonly dispensed at Walmart and the like, a length of heavy twine longer than your conduit, I have used the nylon stuff that looks like them 49 cent stringers with a loop and metal probe on each end, that style of twine, and a shop vac. Tie the twine to the handles of the shopping bag, stuff the bag in the conduit, suck it thru with the shop vac, the twine follows and presto, you have a snake line in your conduit.
Thats all I got.
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Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,534 Likes: 841
Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
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Moderator Ambassador Field Correspondent Lunker
Joined: Jan 2009
Posts: 28,534 Likes: 841 |
Joe, thanks. I'll have to remember that one!
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Moderated by Bill Cody, Bruce Condello, catmandoo, Chris Steelman, Dave Davidson1, esshup, ewest, FireIsHot, Omaha, Sunil, teehjaeh57
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