Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Building a dam Long story of my pond dream...

Well, here are the best photos I have of the bridge. I still need to cut out the extra diagonal braces, as we lay in the decking. That's to be made out of heavy wire mesh, screening material from the local quarry.

I've got half of it cut to size and will try to get the rest cut up tonight. Might start welding it in place this weekend. Already have the angle iron for the handrails, but will install after decking, then paint the rest of it.

That's 52 feet from end to end.

[img]http://images.snapfish.com/33%3B6249923232%7Ffp54%3Dwp%3E232%3C%3D847%3D556%3DXROQDF%3E23235%3A%3B%3B38%3A63wp1lsi[/img]

[img]http://images.snapfish.com/33%3B6249923232%7Ffp64%3Dwp%3E232%3C%3D847%3D556%3DXROQDF%3E23235%3A%3B%3B378%3B4wp1lsi[/img]

Sorry...here's bigger pictures...

[img]http://images.snapfish.com/33%3B6249923232%7Ffp47%3Dot%3E232%3C%3D847%3D556%3DXROQDF%3E23235%3A%3B%3B47%3B47ot1lsi[/img]

and...

[img]http://images.snapfish.com/33%3B6249923232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E232%3C%3D847%3D556%3DXROQDF%3E23235%3A%3B%3B378%3B4ot1lsi[/img]

Well...it's all done except for a gallon or two of Rustoleum to make it all bright and shiny - 52 feet of bridge. Even the wife admits it's pretty cool (and she really doesn't get too excited about some of my projects.) Like she puts it..."at least it doesn't look like it was built by idiots"...and that's a lot from her, LOL.

I apologize for the quality of the photos, but I was pretty excited, and took these this morning before I came to work, and it wasn't even sunrise, yet...

[img]http://images.snapfish.com/33%3B6494723232%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E232%3C%3D847%3D556%3DXROQDF%3E23235%3B4877%3A63ot1lsi[/img]

Well...finally. Just added 1500 bluegills and 150 channel cats to the pond, provided free of charge by IDNR. Had to drive about 15 miles with a 30 gal tote of pond water, and that was more than worth it. They were pretty small, fingerlings actually. BG were about the size of my thumbnail and the cats were 2.5 - 3 inches long. Oh well, they'll grow.

This is on top of the 44 cats from 3/4 to 8 pounds I've tossed in from the river and the 2 walleye, 100 shellcrackers and 4 lbs of fatheads.

Guess we'll see in a few years if the mix is right, eh? Now, patience as I wait for (hopefully) fall rains to finish the last 5 feet of fill.

You've been busy!
Sounds great! Wish mine was comming along as well.

Sounds like it will be really nice. Thanks for the update.

It is great to have it (pond) done. Now, I just need some more patience. However, after reading of some of the nightmares some of you more experienced guys have had (bullheads, leaks, etc.) I feel like my whole deal has been a dream.

Matt,
Show us some photos of the pond when you get a chance.

Tuzz:

Little late, but here's some more pics. Still need near 5 feet of water to make the island an island and fill her up. Patience...patience...

[img]http://images.snapfish.com/34233%3B3923232%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E232%3C%3D847%3D556%3DXROQDF%3E232367%3A%3C25%3B9%3Aot1lsi[/img]

[img]http://images.snapfish.com/34233%3B3923232%7Ffp7%3Enu%3D323%3B%3E756%3E465%3EWSNRCG%3D323276%3B%3B347%3B7nu0mrj[/img]

[img]http://images.snapfish.com/34233%3B3923232%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E232%3C%3D847%3D556%3DXROQDF%3E232367%3A%3C34%3B%3A7ot1lsi[/img]

I did call about a windmill aerator. Got brothers in law who're electricians and are itchin' to run power out there for me, but I'm thinking I'd rather use wind power to do any aeration.

Any thoughts on which way to go? Mill might be $1500 or so, and a compressor is cheaper but takes power to run...so I'm torn. Not even sure if I need aeration, as no one around does it.

I took pond water from the hydrant to fill a tank and bring home my fish. I went out the night before to fill the tank, and it's a good thing, because the Hydrogen Sulfide smell was pretty strong, leading me to believe that putting little fish in that stuff would've killed them. Mixed in some well water at full blast and allowed the HS to vaporize out overnight. No problem for the fish, but that kind of thing makes me believe aeration would be helpful, because the inlet for the hydrant was only about 6 feet below the surface. Lots of wasted water in there...

I would let the inlaws run power to the pond even if I went with the windmill.

The shortfall of the windmill is a series of cloudy days with no wind. = fish kill.

The above is more likely if you fertlize. If you want the most out of your pond .. aerate.

Ric:

I'm sort of leaning that way anyway. Now, I need to start more research on compressors, etc. I'll search that forum.

Any particular unit you favor...why?

Well, she still needs about 2.5 feet of water to be full, but she's getting there...

[img]http://images.snapfish.com/3433%3B%3B3923232%7Ffp47%3Dot%3E232%3C%3D847%3D556%3DXROQDF%3E23237%3A2977454ot1lsi[/img]

And here's a couple shots of the latest invaders...pretty aggresive for wild ones. A litter would be cool...

[img]http://images.snapfish.com/3433%3B%3B3923232%7Ffp3%3B%3Dot%3E232%3C%3D847%3D556%3DXROQDF%3E23237%3A2977457ot1lsi[/img]

and

[img]http://images.snapfish.com/3433%3B%3B3923232%7Ffp47%3Dot%3E232%3C%3D847%3D556%3DXROQDF%3E23237%3A2977459ot1lsi[/img]

Standing on the porch Sunday morning @ 7 AM. Absolutely still, no breeze and warm, maybe 60 F. Watching the geese on the pond trying to decide exactly where to put that nest.

Hear that really familiar whistling and watched 2 woodies fly out of the old sugar maple on the west side of the house, right across in front of me about 15 feet from the porch...directly to pond!

They landed right between the two geese and proceeded to check out the duck box I'd put up a bit too late last spring. One actually jumped up onto the roof of the thing and stood with it's head hanging over the edge eyeing the opening for maybe 5 minutes. Man, that was cool, and they hung out for most of the morning and I heard them come back in about sundown.

I was just standing there thinking, "can it get any better than this?" Wife pokes her pillow perm out the door and says "wanna go catfishing?"

It just keeps gettin better...life is good.

Matt, a pair of geese with babies is fun--50 geese with goose droppings everywhere is not! It isn't just their droppings, they will eat all of the grass and you can end up with quite a mess.

You might consider limiting the number of young they successfully raise to a couple. Remember, these babies will likely come back and have more young. It can get out of hand pretty easily.

Hey Norm, yeah, I know from experience here at work that a couple hundred geese is no picnic. I'll definitely "limit" them about the time hunting season rolls around, if necessary.

These 2 are really aggressive and won't let any others land on the water...which is a good thing in and of itself. I was sort of surprised that they had no issues with the wood ducks. Didn't seem to bother them in the slightest when these 2 landed, especially surprising when you consider that the geese seem to favor the area directly beneath the wood duck box for piddling around. Figure eventually they'll decide to nest on the island. Either way, it's really cool to watch.

And...I've got about a million bullfrog tadpoles fixin' to turn to big croakers over the summer. Lucky for them there's few fish in there big enough to eat them just yet...give it time.