Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat Natural Structure with Pics

Is this earlier than usual for you to plant corn?

On the earlier side, but not terribly unusual. The weather and forecast and ground conditions all have to be right to start this early. Last week in March and first week in April I would consider to be optimal, but it still depends on the current weather and forecast even then. If it was cold and wet and predictions of more cold and wet we would not be running.

I have found a source for pallets and should be getting some this afternoon. They are broken ones apparently, but hopefully not destroyed. I should also be spending most of the weekend picking up rocks. Maybe I'll have some more pics to share on Monday. I'm starting to run out of decent shoreline for structure and it is not because of too much structure. About 2/3's of the pond banks are very steep and I'm afraid any structure added there would just end up in the bottom. We'll see what the weekend produces.

I added a good bit of structure on my steep sections, by simply driving in steel posts/pipe/etc into the bank perpendicular to the bank wall every so often to create a stop. Then I could pile rocks or whatever I was using to my heart's content. I made some teepees out of old tires on my steep bank, but the same could be done with 'natural' structure.

I limited this so I could be very aware of where that structure was. It's been productive so far.

I recommend galvanized steel or aluminum if you have access, to virtually guarantee the structure will be there long after you are gone. Even steel will last a very long time under water, but aluminum or galvanized pretty much gets you 'forever', or at least as 'forever' as any of us need worry about.

Alright, I got the pallets in yesterday and the top of the top pallets range from 2 foot below full pool to 3 foot, however, the pond is not full yet and I wanted the lower pallets to be touching the waterline. From what I have read about FHM nesting structures, they should be in the top 3 to 4 feet of water column. I may move them up as the pond fills or just add another pallet to the stack, but 1000 FHM should go in next week and I wanted something in the water for them immediately.



There are 7 sets of double stacked pallets where each pallet is separated from the one below by junk bricks or pavers. I think the minnows will like them!

Your lmb will probably make spawn beds next to them also. My pallets are 5-6 high. Made it easy to screw one pallet onto the next. Most lmb I have caught have come from close to my pallets.

Great pictures! I should have done more structure than I did. One of these days maybe. I put in a couple, plus there several trees that have fallen in.

Well, I added a third pallet to each stack, but should have added more weight on top as the recent rains have filled my pond and seven pallets ended up floating around the pond. One cinderblock is not enough to hold a 3 pallet stack down, CLOSE, but not quite! That means at least 3 stacks have been compromised. Hopefully only three. I plan to locate the stacks when the water clears up and/or go swimming and try to add more weight to the survivors and rebuild the floaters.

This is my "Eat Crow" post. I thought one block would do it and hopefully it did for some of the stacks. I guess I was pushing the safety factor a bit too much.

I would zip tie them on or attach them somehow also. Short scrap board through the blocks with a couple screws would do it. Top heavy buoyant wood has a way of ending up flipping over. Trust me, I know from experience.

Something that is really handy when making structure is 3' long heavy zip ties. Usually these are very expensive when bought in a big box store a few at a time. But if you go to a commercial heating and airco store and ask them for a bag of zip ties to connect insulated ducting they are very reasonable. I think they come in bags of 50 or 100 but a bag will last a long time and bought in bulk that way they are not that much more expensive than the foot long zip ties. Very thick and heavy duty.

Actually you might want to end up with the blocks on the bottom. This would hold the wood up off the bottom a ways tipped to one side. It takes a year or two, but the pallets will eventually water log and sink. I had some I wanted to float and after the first year had to add some foam insulation to keep them floating.