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Nolan Offline OP
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Hello,

I just happened to come across this website. Looks like TONS of great information. My wife and I build a house on a piece of property that had a 4+ acre pond. It is about 20-25ft deep. It was originally dug out for the sand, and then clay lined. The project was completed September 2016. The pond is about 1/2+ filled. There seems to some run-off from the woods that had clouded the water up. I plan in fixing once it dries up. Just need a little berm to stop the slope down into the pond. I have attached a few pics of what it looks like. First, I was wondering if I should put something in to clear the water up. I wanted to put blue dye in once it warms up. Should I just wait until it warms up and put the dye in, or is there something I should put in to work with the murkiness from run-off?

Actually I do not know how to enter a picture. Once I figure it out I will try and throw one up.

Any information going forward would be very appreciated. I don't really want to go crazy with it. Just want it to be clean and look nice for swimming.

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Welcome to PB.

Do you want the pond to fill-up? If so what is the water source if you make a berm? Why has it not filled to capacity?

Is swimming your only goal for the pond?

Dye can work but it would help to know the chemistry of your water (cause of problems).
















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The pond is filling up just by rain. The run-off is from a swampy part of the woods flooding and the excess flooding out of the woods and running down into the pond. It was filling nicely with just rain. The pond is 20-25 ft deep and has only been completed for 6 months. We got almost no snow here and some rain. Should be close to full by June if we get the spring and early summer rains like normal.

I wouldn't mind having some fish in the pond, but the real goal is just for it to look nice and swim in. The water was clear and natural until the wooded area filled up and started to run into the pond. That is causing a brownish color. There is no spring in the pond either.

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Nolan, welcome from another MI pond owner! There was a link earlier today on how to post pictures using an online picture hosting site. I'll try to find it and post for you here.

Get some pictures up if you can, we'd love to see your pond. How awesome to start with a clay lined deep pond. How long have you watched water levels? Hopefully they stay good year around with the clay liner. You said sand under clay so hopefully they compacted things or once the clay cracks you have a ground water pond like most MI pond owners have that fluctuate up and down with water levels, runoff etc.


Here is the helpful link:
Posting Pictures Tutorial

Last edited by canyoncreek; 03/28/17 02:57 PM.
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Four acre swimming pond in MI. Consider fathead minnows, yellow perch and smallmouth bass from Laggis Fish Farm Gobbles MI. If fish are not a priority you don't need to add them the first year. Add the blue dye soon before the algae growth gets a good start. Once you get the blue color established then in 4ac, add about 3/4 to 1 quart(of gallon size) per month to keep the color and intensity optimum for keeping algae and submerged plant growth to a minimum. Once added, the dye dissipates 4 different ways, thus the need for regular refreshment. Based on early filling features, the water will clear on its own as summer progresses.

Remember to keep us updated as the pond life progresses over the next several years. We are here to help with advice and interested in how the pond evolves for you.

Last edited by Bill Cody; 03/28/17 03:31 PM.

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Thank you so much for the info! I was able to get a few pics up. I can take more maybe when I get out of work tonight. I definitely am interested in putting fish in. The pond has gone up quite a bit the past few months. I was hoping for a lot of snow to help fill, but this year that wasn't the case. Rain will have to do.

Question with the dye. Are they safe to swim in and safe for pets, ect.? I know the dogs will be in it daily, and one of them drinks while he swims. I just want to make sure they are safe, or if there are different options as far as ones that are safe and ones that aren't.

Hope the pictures can help!

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Nolan,
Thanks for the great pictures! Is that exposed dirt the compacted clay? Do you know how thick it was after compaction? or how it was compacted? What was the source of clay was it trucked in or onsite?

How deep is the pool in the picture if measured in the middle?

How do you hope to fill it the rest of the way?

If you hoped to add structure at some point for fish you might want to do it now while you can plan and arrange it easily.

Also you might want to think about aeration, how deep you would plant your diffuser, how many, how you would get power there etc. Aeration may have benefits for water quality even if you don't plan to have fish.

Clay may keep things turbid until you get vegetation on the edges to slow down clay run off into the water with rain events.

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Blue dye is safe as long as you don't mind being BLUE for a few days after swimming.

SORRY Nolan! I couldn't help myself...I don't know a thing about blue dye, or any other color for that matter. I just had a vision of all your friends and family after a day at your pond and had to share my laugh.


Fish on!,
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Here are a couple more pics of the pond in late Sept.
There is at least 1+ foot of clay that was spread and backed with a dozer. Pond will fill up naturally from rain. The guy in the area pry has 20-30 ponds ranging from 3 acres to 80 acres that are all full of water. In the pics of the muddy water, it is about 12-15 ft deep in the middle. Pond is horseshoe shaped. I am going to post more pics tomorrow.






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Very Nice! Get some grass growing ASAP all the way down to the current water line or at least in the areas of heavy run off. Until clay is covered going to be tough to clear or it will require multiple treatments as more rain hits.

Get some FHM stocked , good forage for whatever you decide to stock.


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Nolan, That pond sure has my mouth watering! What an awesome pond it's going to be when it fills. Looks like very nice slopes for swimming.


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I really love your pond, It looks so much beautiful. if you ever face pond leakage issue then use pond coating by pondpro2000 which protect the pond from leaks and damages. It becomes a shield between water and pond and secures it from all extreme weather or temperature worst conditions. Thanks for awesome sharing.

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Here are some more pictures if when they just finished the job. The pond is horse shoe shaped. I will send an aerial and try and explain what is going on with that as far as the run off from the woods. My wife is at the bottom of the other side of the pond in one pic to give a little size reference.






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Man that is one nice pond! Love the shape - non-conventional - lots of character.


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Thank you!

Should I be putting anything in it to clear the water, or just wait for it to settle?

When should I add the blue dye to the pond, and will that help clear things up?

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Read my post again above. Based on your early filling features/description, the water will clear on its own as summer progresses. If it was clear it will clear later. Dye won't help it clear, but it will slow the growth of algae/plants.

Last edited by Bill Cody; 03/29/17 07:11 PM.

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