Pond Boss Magazine
https://www.pondboss.com/images/userfiles/image/20130301193901_6_150by50orangewhyshouldsubscribejpeg.jpg
Advertisment
Newest Members
Shotgun01, Dan H, Stipker, LunkerHunt23, Jeanjules
18,451 Registered Users
Forum Statistics
Forums36
Topics40,902
Posts557,116
Members18,452
Most Online3,612
Jan 10th, 2023
Top Posters
esshup 28,420
ewest 21,475
Cecil Baird1 20,043
Bill Cody 15,112
Who's Online Now
5 members (RogersTailgate, anthropic, Brev, Dave Davidson1, jpsdad), 665 guests, and 210 robots.
Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod
Previous Thread
Next Thread
Print Thread
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 6
S
sjkrck1 Offline OP
OP Offline
S
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 6

--no prior pond experience: check.
--decided to dig on a whim (with a borrowed trackhoe only available for short time last summer): check.
--no site or soil survey: check.
--dug right through clay soil and into sandy/rocky soil thinking "the deeper the better, right?": check.
--probably dug into some sort of ancient stream bed: check.
--hit plenty of springs: check.
--probably too steep of sides and levee: check.
--encountered boulders too large to move: check.
--water leaks out through sand seams underground and reappears in my pasture more than 100 yards downhill much to the delight of my farm animals: check.
--only found this informative website after-the-fact: check.

Luckily the pond is small (about 40 x 60ft) and there's a small branch creek which flows year round not too far away. I ended up leaving a large boulder in the middle like a little submerged island, and used it to place footings for my walkway (which is made out of black locust logs).

All of this was done on a shoestring budget, which makes it that much better. I did have problems filling the pond, and ended up using Soilfloc polymer which really helped slow the leaks. It still requires some continuous water flow from the creek, but I think that will be OK. I'm really trying to avoid using a liner.

I'm using 4 inch corrugated drain pipe from the creek for inflow, and a 6 inch corrugated pipe for outflow (which all goes by gravity downhill below the pond back to the creek). Will eventually slowly replace the cheap corrugated plastic with buried PVC pipe as the budget permits. I do have an emergency spillway. (One of the pictures shows some water below the dam, but the dam does not leak, and that is just spring water from some recent very wet weather which is unrelated to the pond.)


Attached Images
pond1.jpg Pond2.jpg Pond3.JPG Pond4.JPG Pond5.JPG
Last edited by sjkrck1; 03/17/18 03:50 AM.
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 6,086
Likes: 93
S
Offline
S
Joined: Oct 2013
Posts: 6,086
Likes: 93
Welcome to the forum!

Very cool project. Where you have a source for free water, a little leakage may not be that big of a problem. Your steep sides could slough off and perhaps be a problem some day.

At any rate, it looks like a very enjoyable pond.

Last edited by snrub; 03/16/18 09:04 PM.

John

I subscribe to Pond Boss Magazine
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 6
S
sjkrck1 Offline OP
OP Offline
S
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 6
Thanks!, I'm really happy with how it turned out, and frankly I'm kind of surprised. It'll probably require some ongoing revision at some point, but so far, so good.

I'm a little leary about what might happen during a dry spell in the middle of the summer (for example, will the springs reverse direction and start leaking more water out of the pond?), I guess we'll see.

I think I'll wait at least a year before considering any stocking (rainbow trout).

Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 1,596
Likes: 28
F
Offline
F
Joined: Sep 2014
Posts: 1,596
Likes: 28
Beautiful, That last photo...The Eagle has landed!!


Dear Alcohol, We had a deal where you would make me funnier, smarter, and a better dancer... I saw the video... We need to talk.
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,424
Likes: 19
J
Offline
J
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 2,424
Likes: 19
How much did the Soilfloc help? How much did you use?

Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 6
S
sjkrck1 Offline OP
OP Offline
S
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 6
Without significant redesign of the pond, Soil floc is pretty much the only reason it was able to have any chance of filling. It previously leaked extremely badly, now just leaks, well, kind of badly. I'm lucky I have a very good source of free water coming in. If you have any large boulders, think twice about moving them. It seems like there is always sandy/gravel soil under them.

When I first tried filling the pond, I had a 4 inch pipe wide open flow, and was amazed to watch all of the water would nearly instantly disappear. (Again, this site and pond was going to be a challenge) I covered the sandy/gravel areas with clay as best I could (by hand with a shovel). I used 165 pounds of the polymer in multiple treatments and concentrated it over the areas where I knew it was sandy. You're not supposed to use it directly on dry ground, but I didn't have much of a choice and actually applied about 1/3 of it during very wet weather (in between rainstorms). Once it started to fill, I applied the remainder in 2 or 3 more treatments as the level continued to rise. Oddly, the last treatment seemed to make no difference whatsoever in the remaining leaks. You know whether it is going to work or not fairly quickly, but it seems to work for some leaks better than others. I still lose a lot of water but am able to keep up with it with the inflow.

As they advertise, it does give you a 'fighting chance' but it really doesn't make up for poor pond design very well. Do some calculations about how much you would spend on bringing in clay and heavy equipment, and what you would have to spend on this, and what you would have to spend on everything including this polymer if it doesn't work. Email the company and let them know your details of your situation.

Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,028
Likes: 274
D
Moderator
Lunker
Online Content
Moderator
Lunker
D
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 16,028
Likes: 274
Check: that one word made me laugh; Been there, done that.


It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

Boy, if I say "sic em", you'd better look for something to bite. Sam Shelley Rancher and Farmer Muleshoe Texas 1892-1985 RIP
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 272
Likes: 3
Offline
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 272
Likes: 3
what are your plans for the pond? are you going to add any fish? if so what kind?


[Linked Image from i.imgur.com]
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 6
S
sjkrck1 Offline OP
OP Offline
S
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 6
The plan is to try rainbow trout.

Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,112
Likes: 478
B
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
Offline
Moderator
Ambassador
Field Correspondent
Lunker
B
Joined: Apr 2002
Posts: 15,112
Likes: 478
Get some top to bottom water temperature measurements during July-Aug to verify if the water stays below 70F. If yes, you are good for using trout.


aka Pond Doctor & Dr. Perca Read Pond Boss Magazine -
America's Journal of Pond Management
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 6
S
sjkrck1 Offline OP
OP Offline
S
Joined: Mar 2018
Posts: 6
Thanks for all the replies! I think the cold creek water will keep the temperatures in a good range, but I'll get a thermometer and keep track.

By the way, with each heavy rain (which stirs up sediment from the creek), it seems to be sealing up better. I think I should get a 5 gallon bucket and take some measurements of inflow vs. outflow (through the drain pipe) in order to calculate how much is still leaking out. Placing inflow vs. outflow onto a graph will let me know if its changing over time.

Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 36
R
Offline
R
Joined: Oct 2018
Posts: 36
Rainbow trout is cool! Add some shrimps too. Good job on your project.


Link Copied to Clipboard
Today's Birthdays
cro, HC1968
Recent Posts
Relative weight charts in Excel ? Calculations?
by jpsdad - 03/29/24 05:43 AM
Dewatering bags seeded to form berms?
by RogersTailgate - 03/29/24 05:36 AM
pond experience needed
by esshup - 03/29/24 12:45 AM
New pond middle TN: establishing food chain?
by Bill Cody - 03/28/24 07:57 PM
Happy Birthday Bob Lusk!!
by FireIsHot - 03/28/24 07:33 PM
Working on a .5acre disaster, I mean pond.
by PRCS - 03/28/24 06:39 PM
Fungus infection on fish
by nvcdl - 03/28/24 06:07 PM
Can anyone ID these minnows?
by Dylanfrely - 03/28/24 05:43 PM
1 year after stocking question
by esshup - 03/28/24 04:48 PM
Yellow Perch Spawn 2024
by H20fwler - 03/28/24 04:29 PM
New 2 acre pond stocking plan
by LANGSTER - 03/28/24 03:49 PM
Newly Uploaded Images
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
Eagles Over The Pond Yesterday
by Tbar, December 10
Deer at Theo's 2023
Deer at Theo's 2023
by Theo Gallus, November 13
Minnow identification
Minnow identification
by Mike Troyer, October 6
Sharing the Food
Sharing the Food
by FishinRod, September 9
Nice BGxRES
Nice BGxRES
by Theo Gallus, July 28
Snake Identification
Snake Identification
by Rangersedge, July 12

� 2014 POND BOSS INC. all rights reserved USA and Worldwide

Powered by UBB.threads™ PHP Forum Software 7.7.5