Pond Boss Forums Thread Like Summary - Building a New Homestead - Starting with a Pond

Greetings All!

I should have known there was a big site devoted to ponds. Briefly, I'm closing on a 10 acre parcel, adjacent to my brother's 20 acre piece, with the intention of homestead and permaculture.

I have a machine coming next week to dig ponds on both parcels. My original intention was to gather fill for the home and barn and to water animals currently on the tract. My wife, however, is insistent that we plan to stock it as part of the long game.

I am situated in Central Florida with a very high water table. The soil is sandy. I have not completed my soil samples, but I do not believe there are any environment matters. My original intent was to dig a boring 1/2 - 3/4 circular pond. I have only relied on ponds for cattle, which have largely been replaced by solar-driven wells.

My questions are as follows:

1. Can you direct me to designs that are appropriate for supporting fish. There is no urgency with stocking, but I want the initial design to make stocking later feasible. The animals can be moved if "walking down" is a consideration for the design.

2. Is there a minimum acreage and or depth for a successful pond? I'm not sure exactly what fish I will ultimately stock. Blue gill, speck, cats, bass.....no idea.

Its a long term plan. The 10 acres is an empty canvas. No ponds, trees, shrubs....all will be from scratch. We intend to plant a couple acres in trees, an acre or so garden and keep small animals (chicken, rabbits and maybe goats in time.

Thanks for any thoughts or resources you can share.

Best,

Ragnaut

P.S. The next time you have a rainy day, you should definitely read Rusto's thread!

His pond is just past his house, which might give you some good ideas for your homestead. His thread discusses landscaping, later modifications to the pond as needed, kids in the pond, and raising a fish population appropriate for his conditions. It also shows the time frame for developing everything.

Further, he is very good at including pictures - for all of the people in the forum that enjoy "visuals" to enhance the discussion.

Most everyone I know wishes theirs was bigger. Ponds wright?

Not everyone wishes their pond was bigger. It depends.
A bigger pond looks better BUT- A bigger pond means proportionally more cost and work in maintaining weed problems that eventually occurs depending on nutrient inputs. Most owners use chemicals for weed control so more cost and some pond chemicals are pretty expensive per acre of water. Larger ponds mean more harvest of plants and or fish meaning more man hours doing the effort. Smaller ponds are easier to renovate with the fish community needs to be killed off and restarted. Smaller pond area allows it easier and quicker to drain whenever needed. Proper management is not provided to some large ponds due to cost and effort required. Heavily feeding fish causes more rapid eutrophication which causes plant and water quality concerns, thus all ponds eventually need to be rebuilt or dug deeper or deepening the edges or shoreline. The larger the pond the more expense in rebuilding and someone has to deal with that problem. Larger is not better in that situation.

Large fish can be raised when done properly in small water.