Hello all. I am a new member. My name is Bill and I have a 26 acre piece of heaven between New Caney and Conroe Texas. I have owned the property since 2003 and currently live on it. It was a raw tract of land that we have been steadily improving over the years.

I have just dug a pond on my property. It is 200' X 75' and is about 8 foot average depth (12' at the deepest). I also have a pond next to it as a collection pond. It is a little smaller and is connected by a 18" pipe. It will spill into the main pond. They are fed by rainwater (there is no spring or creek). The pond edges are steep, except for one end where I sloped it in. I built it for a fishing hole. It has been filled for about a month now and is not clearing. I still have no grass or any vegetation growing along the banks yet. I was hoping you experienced owners could give me some tips on what to plant.

I now have clay turbidity problems. I am going to try using some hay. I have no fish yet, as it is brand new, so I am not yet concerned with pH. I will deal with pH once I get the pond off to a good start.

I will post some pictures tomorrow. I hope I can get some help here.

I have so many questions right now.

Thanks in advance for your assistance.

Regards,

Bill @ B & B Ranch

Bill, without any cover on the banks, you will have a lot of turbidity. The standard in Texas is common bermuda. However, at this time of year I would try to get some sort of cereal grain growing. It might germinate when bermuda won't. I don't know your area though. Check with your local NRCS.

Thank you. I was going to try and get some rye to grow until I could get Bermuda started.

I will check with the NRCS also.

Thanks again.

Ask them whether wheat, rye or oats has the best chance of germinating at this time of year.

Billfish,welcome aboard.Youve just found the best pond site there is.Be patiant,and all your questions will get an answer from the best there is

A few tons of Ag Lime and/or a few square bales of alfalfa hay can never hurt and helps to reduce turbidity.

Have you tried a jar test? Put some pond water in a clear jar and let it sit undisturbed for a few days. If the water clears and sediment forms on the bottom, you have no worries once the exposed bamks are vegitated. If it does NOT clear, you will need to address that problem quite differantly and we can certainly help if needed.

Welcome Bill. Just caught your message re: turbidity problems.
I know a great guy out of Hempstead that may be able to steer you in the right way to combat the murky water problem. Particularly if the problem is suspended clay. Contact Shance Tyson at Clearwater Consulting. 800-622-6899. Hope this helps.
Hempstead can't be over 50 miles from you.

I put 3 bales of hay in 3 weeks ago. No help.

I am trying to figure out the best way to get vegetation to grow on the banks...sod, seed, etc...when to do it...

I don't want to waste my money and wash all the seed into the pond. I will upload some pics later tonight or tomorrow.

Thanks for the update Bill!

Hay will take up to several months to work, if ever at all, but certainly longer than three weeks to start to decay and effect the water.

For the seeds to grow you need dirt and it sounds like you have mostly clay. Is this correct?

I have topsoil on top of the clay base (it is very sandy in this area). I am afraid it will all wash into the pond if I do not act quickly. I was thinking about trying to get some St. Augustine sod squares and place in some areas...or maybe get some of the stuff they spread on the banks of highways after construction. Do any of you know if that is available in bags?

I am trying to do this without breaking the bank.

I would upload some pics, but I see there are no attachments allowed on this board.

I have created a website with a picture of the pond. (I have been wanting to do one for my ranch anyway). It is very crude at this point as I only spent 15 minutes creating it. I hope you all can see my new pond.

Thanks again for your help everybody!

My crude new website

I see from your picture what you mean. That looks like the same kind of soil over around just East of Dallas by Lake Tawakoni. My suggestion at this time of year for your area would to be to buy some anti-erosion matting with winter grass/organic imbedded. I would apply as much of this as I could afford down toward the water's edge. Then sow winter grass seed ASAP to all other bare areas using typical farming practices...du

I am now a subscriber.

You look more pond savvy already.

Welcome Billfish!

First things first, get a erosion control program in place. Consider the addition of top-soil on top of exposed clay. Also consider the use of hay bales barriers like the hwy dept uses in areas that receive significant runoff water flow into the pond. Spreading old hay on exposed areas may also be an option. Don't count on hay bales in the pond itself making an improvement until erosion in your watershed and shoreline is controlled.

I recommend a water test for pH, alkalinity, and hardness, which cover the basics. With these testing results we can make recommendations for water quality improvements.

http://overtonfisheries.com/Services/WaterQualityTesting/tabid/97/Default.aspx

I still have topsoil on the clay. I will spread more on top if necessary. The grass is starting to come in, but lack of water has been a problem.

I just bought a bunch of rolls of landscape burlap and landscape spikes. I am going to mat the exposed banks until some grass grows. I will place hay into the main area to block some of the run-in to the pond.

Regards,

Bill

Billfish, you live in a fairly wet area so hopefully you'll get some rain. Using a gas or electric pump, some PVC, and a few large sprinkler heads could help during dry spells. Sounds like a reasonable plan with the burlap,etc Good luck...du

TJ's erosion control project

Thank you!

Billfish

First off, welcome to the forum. You will most likely come to rely on the gifted and generous minds here - I know I do - and beyond the comraderie is the best on the web. Truly solid folks!

If you don't quite feel comfy enough with your project please feel free to contact me if you want to chat about my trials getting cool season grasses to germinate on my 2:1 slopes this past Autumn. Looking at your pond I don't think you'll need silt fences but definitely straw mat is worth the investment. If you want to DIY I have some suggestions for you locating it, wooden stakes, etc if you haven't already. Finding the wholesalers is the trick. Like you, lack of moisture was definitely an issue for me - and then TOO MUCH moisture. Sigh.

TJ

We have had .38" of rain in January. I will place the burlap on the banks with some of the seed in a test area. I have a pump rigged for using the pond water to water the new growth. I will eventually run a line from my well (about 500' away) an put in a hose bib close to the pond.

Take some care and exercise consideration with the burlap application. Many people have no problem with it. My results were less than rewarding.

I now have some nice rye growing all around the edge and on the banks. The burlap has worked in the area I placed it.

I am going to apply the alum/lime soon to clear the pond.

I just stocked the pond today with blue cats, CNBG, and FHM's from Todd Overton at Overton fisheries. Good guy, with lots of good advice. Not one dead fish out of the several hundred after the 2 hour trip!

Applied 150 lbs of alum and 50 lbs of hydrated lime. I used a barrel to mix the product. I then used a 2" trash pump with a fire nozzle on the end of the discharge hose to spray the mixture over the pond surface. My pond is small enough that I was able to spray over the entire surface from one upwind bank with the power of the pump and fire/fog nozzle. My wife an I then ventured out into the pond with the paddleboat to enhance the mixing. A true labor of love! Mixing and spraying the lime was a mess! I look liked the doughboy when I was done...

The pond started clearing immediately. It was amazing. 48 hours later I have about 1-2 feet of visibility. Prior to the application, I had about 1 inch. I will probably have to treat it again in a few months.

The catfish are already coming to the feed. All the fish are very healthy.

I want to thank Todd Overton at Overton Fisheries again for all his advice and his great fish! I will be back in May to get my LMB!

Rainman, thank you for your advice on the alum treatment. I got it right the first time by using this forum. It is nice to have experts at a moments notice.

Great news Billfish!!!

You say you did it "right" the first time? That would mean you have pics! Share man, SHARE!!

I wish I could upload some pics without having to put them on my site. Pleas PM me on how the best way to do this...

Bill, I use the Photo Bucket method, it's free and it works great!

Here's a link to the archive regarding posting photos.

Thanks Jeff.

I will try it this weekend.

Regards,

billhasapond...LOL

Here are some pictures before/after the first alum treatment. There is now some tree pollen collecting. I think I will need to treat it again after the next big rain. You can see the grass growing now around the banks. I found a great deal at Academy Sports on feed plot seed bags. They were 70% off right after deer season. I buy the stuff every year. It is doing great around the pond, and the deer love it!

Note: The before shot and the "after alum 3" shot are taken from about the same spot. It has been an amazing transformation. (I am sure you all have seen this many times before, but this is all new to us and we are very excited about our new pond).

Before Alum/lime treatment

After Alum 1

AFter alum 2

After alum 3

Bill, by following the instructions in the archive, you can place the photos into your post as follows:

Before treatment



After Alum 1



After Alum 2



After Alum 3

Thanks Jeff.

I used the method in the archive and previewed the post. It worked fine.

Moderators:

Would you rather have me post the links (less bandwidth maybe???) or the actual pictures?

Thanks,

Bill

Post the pics and thanks.