Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Property Projects & Construction small trout raceway project

Next week I will be draining the pond putting the trout in a 55 gallon barrel with an aerator and of coarse whatever spring water is flowing from the ground to keep the fish alive While I restore an old spring house to the condition that I can raise trout all summer.

I will also be setting up something to adjust the PH of the water as it comes into the spring house. I will show you guys some pics of the setup and the construction process.

Now the only detail I haven't worked out yet is wether it will hold water once I'm done. It will be constructed of concrete and river rock. Isn't concrete porous? Thanks In advance.

BTW according to mom and I quote "your butt should be in bed not on pond boss!!!" Whats that suppose to mean?

It means you better start capitalizing Pond Boss or you'll have your mom AND Sunil on your case.

What are you going to do with the catfish you just added? Table time already?

The Channel Catfish are going into the barrel with the other fish.

I was like that as a teenager. Even then I had way too many hobbies to waste time in bed. It paid off big time. It led to free schooling and more than a 40 year career doing something I had a passion for.

Thanks for the encouragement catmandoo.

my question is can I line the spring house with cement? I gues I didn't actually state the question in the first post sorry.

That's what I get for late night posting.

Lee,

Isn't there something in the Small Scale Aquaculture book on that?

On the one page they were using gunnite to line an old celler to be used as a trout raceway but I have no clue as to where I can get the stuff plus it apparently is sprayed on and I don't have the slightest clue on what kind of equiptment is required for application and how much it costs.

SMPD, it is easy to seal walls with Portland Cement(94 lb. bags). You need to mix it really rich, 1 part cement to 2 parts sifted or brick sand works well. You apply it with a concrete trowel and smooth it with a roofing broom(let the broom soak in water for 24 hrs. before using). You need to get the concrete at least 1/4 of an inch deep. You need to clean the walls of all dirt and grime before installing your finish. A power washer works great. You amaze me young man. You are the kind of person that made our country great. Good luck.

Thank you Kenc that's exactly what I will do since you obviously know what your doing.

take care!

There should be videos of this on the net. You probably need to keep your cats apart from the hog trout. They are like Baptists and Methodists, they do fine in a large space but all heck breaks out when they crowd each other. Good luck.

So what's the purpose of reinforcing the pond with gunite? Keep in mind your soil actually works for you in harboring beneficial nitrifying bacteria?

Cecil, he wants to line the spring house.

Oh that's right. My bad.

SMPD, what you are going to do is called parging. Look at it on the internet. If you have water pressure of consequence on the back side of your spring house it can pop the finish off. You may need to parge any part that is going to be under water. Good luck.