Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Creating habitat Using small concrete chunks as structure.

I have some scrape concrete chunks on my property were some construction trucks use to clean out, I thought about piling them in the pond for structure for fish/crayfish. I'm wondering if this will have any effect on the water, Like pushing the pH up or down etc?

IMHO I would go for it. I have read lots of threads where guys use broken up concrete for structure.

Tim

With your ph situation add all the concrete you can find. I'm with Bill on that one


Pat

Thanks,
I was thinking there might be enough lime in the concrete to help raise/buffer the pH situation. Not to mention the added structure for the pond.

Tim, with your water volume, I doubt that the concrete will change the pH 0.1 point.

I used 3 tri-axle dump trucks on one side of my pond, and there's no change in the water. Plus, most of it has sunk down into the sand now. But it is doing it's job and stabilizing the shoreline that is under/out of the water due to fluctuating water levels.

Thanks esshup,
I was hoping it would help, but it is a massive amount of water. It will still be great structure. My water levels don't fluctuate much, since it's ground water/spring feed from the bottom, I do have a little rain water run off that should be dealt with when I get some grass sown around the edges. Looks like I will be spreading ag lime for quite some time in the near future. May have to change my handle to "Big Limer". :-)

I agree and yes it is very good for crawfish and other crustaceans.

I did the same as you with my pond, Tim. Added as much concrete pieces as I could. My pond is likely much smaller than yours and I still don't expect it to have a noticeable impact on the pH.

Guys,

New post to an old thread....History...The new patio cracked like crazy so I had the guy tear it out and replace it. I told him he could save the expense of hauling away the broken concrete if he broke it up into small enough pieces for me to handle. So, of course, I have a big pile of these 2 x 2 or 3 foot chunks of concrete I can't begin to lift.

Question: My buddy can move the chunks with his bobcat or backhoe so that can be worked. I need to construct 2 swales into the pond. Will these chunks be a good option on top of mats for erosion control (maybe covered with smaller stuff) or should I use them in the pond as structure piles and/or to stabilze areas of the steeper shoreline? Or, does anybody have another idea on how to use them?

I'd use them in the pond. Putting them in the swales will make mowing impossible if you ever want to mow.

Thanks for the input! Having never done this, the current "plan" is to dig the swales fairly deep for 100+ feet before the pond then fill them with riprap, etc. on top of mats. A pond friendly herbicide will be used to keep them free of vegetation in these riprap filled sections. The swales farther from the pond will be shallower/wider with grass and mats.

So the concrete would be in the bottom of the filled part of the swales and covered with riprap. I was wondering whether, if the concrete was spaced, it would do a better job of slowing the water velocity than just the riprap alone?

If I use it in the pond, what do you think about putting it on the steepest shore areas? My thought is it might be less likely to "roll down hill" and stay in place better that trying to use riprap in those areas.

I would use them in the pond as structure. Stack them in such a manner as to have as many gaps as possible for water to flow in and around. Make the structure have some height because anything laying on the pond bottom will eventually be covered in silt. So something 6" high in the pond bottom will eventually become 0" high and be useless. Whatever you make as structure, make it at least a few feet high.

I have used flat concrete chunks where I know water will be entering the pond and dropping off a ledge. You can dig in the flat chunks and make the water run over the concrete so the soil will not wash out in that particular area. Keep in mind what Esshup said about mowing though. If I can find pics of what I did will post them.

If the water that comes into your needs the rip rap to slow it down and keep it from eroding, you can put chain ling fence around the rock to keep in place.

Here are the pictures I promised of a way to use old concrete slabs. I posted them in another thread so this is a link to that thread.
Emergency spillway thread