Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Help Bentonite or liner?

We had a backhoe hired to do a little work and decided on the spur of the moment to have a 'goldfish pond' dug in a wooded draw behind our house. Well the soil turned out to be very course with no sign of the clay that is usually not far under the surface of our soils. Our hole is about 35' in diameter and about 8' deep. During recent rains that put the creeks out of their banks, not a drop accumulated in our hole. We would still like to have a pond there if we can. Would it be worth trying bentonite or a liner, or does it sound hopeless?

Casper,

Howdy from an East Texan who migrated here from SW Mo. and the Ozarks many years ago.

I think the liner would be your best bet in the case you described, although that is kind of a large "goldfish pond". The liner, if installed properly, will provide 100% leak prevention...bentonite can not provide the same assurance.

I just built a little "goldfish pond" in the last couple of weeks, about an 1800 gallon model. Much smaller than yours, but probably still similar. The thing you have to really watch for is to make sure your liner, if you decided to go that way, is fully protected from UV radiation. It will last many years if protected from direct sunlight, but only a year exposed, I'm told.

That means you need the pond to be very level and have a water level that covers as much of the liner as possible. Rocks or gravel or whatever can then be used to finish covering any liner not covered by water. I didn't do this as effectively as I would on a second one, so I'm offering lessons learned...be sure to get it level and make sure you can cover the liner.

These little micro ponds look to me like a lot of fun and a way to really observe fish behavior. I have 1 LMB, 1 black crappie, 1 GG, 1 HBG, several gold fish, a few Koi, and several rosy reds so far and intend to add Pacu and Texas Rios and Tilapia soon and any other interesting fish. These micro ponds are really neat for the fish nuts! (which I am). Thanks.

Thanks, Meadowlark!

What did you use for a liner and where did you obtain it? How do you keep from getting holes in the liner-----we, ve got a lot of rock in our hole.

What part of Mo. did you come from? We are SE of Springfield. I have a friend that moved to Livingston Tex a long time ago. He loves it there.

Casper,

I bought the liner from Nelson's Water Gardens in Houston...but most any place that deals in micro-pond stuff will sell them. They are fairly heavy...heavy enough to withstand a 70 pound coon hound who loves to jump into the pond...at least so far.

I'm from Springfield originally but lots of relatives in Branson area and Table Rock Lake. Love the White river for that trout fishing.

Good luck on your goldfish pond!

ML:

Do you think the micro-pond suppliers carry heavier liners than those for bigger ponds (ala Bruce), since they're for a smaller area and the total liner size/weight is smaller? It might be useful/interesting if you (or any lined micro-pond owner) and Bruce (or any large lined pond owner) could give the thickness of your liners.

45 mil EPDM

There is a mind-boggling difference in cost from company to company. I got mine from a company called Unit Liner in Oklahoma and they were significantly cheaper than anybody else.