Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Building a dam small forge pond completed

I just completed my first small forage pond last week. It's a small 30x30x8' pool with and adjoining 12x12x6' pool so this forage pond might look like a figure 8 when looking from above. The smaller pool was designed to trap any soil-sand that comes with the heavier rains and where this would stop or reduce fill into the larger pool. This forage pond will overflow through a 24" pipe into the main pond. I added a screen here at the overflow pipe so the forage fish will remain in the forage pond. So after the dig, I filled the pools using a water well and then added some pond fertilizer to the water along with some agg lime, and let the pools stand still for a week were I lost about 8" of water due to seepage. So yesterday I added my first 25 fish to the forage pond by trapping some larger FHM's from the main pond. I also added one very small 1" cnbg that was boldly colored in the traditional OTS coloring. My goals are to supply the main pond with FHM's when the time comes. I would also like to add a few RES and try to grow them out using the fhm's and some of the crawfish that are native to my place. I will try to get some pics after things green up around the pond, where it will have a more natural look because it looks pretty rough around the edges right now. The last thing is as I walked to this small pond to add the fhm's, I jumped up one of the biggest bull frogs I have ever seen. He was Hugh and almost as big as my arm in length and in width. He had taken up residence in the smaller pool.

Tracy

On your 30x30x8' pool, how did you slope/grade the edges of the hole below the water line?

Hay there RAH, I did what looks to be 3 to 1 and 4 to 1 slope. Hoping to eliminate salad growth since it is such a small pond. I will drop the water level if needed when catching out all the forage fish. I can also remove the screen @ the 24" pipe when pumping the water well into this forage pond, and this will give the fish an opportunity to leave on their own (if desired) and into the main pond. As a side note I have never seen the water level up in this area where it might flood into the main pond, even after receiving an 11" rain a few weeks back. So now "we will see"

Tracy

Thank you - Did you just dig the middle down to 8 feet after a certain water depth near the bank? I am thinking of something like this where the edges are 3 to 1, out 9 feet and 3 feet deep, and then an 8' deep hole in the middle.

I am not for certain the exact depth of this small pond. As I dug it out to find a good clay. After digging I was in the bottom and looking up it was estimated the water would be several feet over my head. The banks were steep enough to where I though I might need to build a way for someone or some animal to get out if they were to fall in, so I stair stepped a couple of spots. I was also looking for some depth due to possible droughts here, even though I have a strong water well to use if necessary. One more note, I rented this excavator, and as I used it I got better at it, But the bottom of the pond is not as flat as I would have liked it to be. I will rent it again this summer to use in an area that is way to soft and muddy now. Plans are to build a larger but still small pond in another area. I dam near stuck the excavator in that area. I could just see me calling the large equipment co and requesting " Can u come get this out" ?

Tracy

Thanks for sharing your project.

You will enjoy your small pond Tracy. I sure do mine.

I added this thread to my unofficial specialty pond list.

specialty ponds thread list

Tracy I have found frogs and baby readear slider turtles are especially drawn to forage ponds because of the lack of big LMB wanting to eat them.

Also preditor birds like the small ponds for an easy meal. Found a dead RES I had put in my pre-sediment pond last year for a breeder with a GBH strike. Green Herons loved to sit on my pallets for FHM spawning and pick off FHM.

yesterday, I added some more fhm's, everything is new to these residents and have yet to start taking any feed. Plus the water is real clear where the pond water is heavy fertilized, so here I am able to watch them swim around in this small pond. And that extra large bull frog left the area of this new pond, I am guessing he is back into the bigger pond. he was a real surprise to me and was startling when I walked up.

Tracy