Need some input! My pond is 3 acres and some of the banks are being washed away! I have access to 6 to 12" chunks os cement! I was told that I needed to use Roundup on the shore to knock down the growth and then put down lawn scrape matting before putting the cement in! I would prefer not but open for comments and suggestions!! Thanks

Not sure I agree with killing off the vegetation. The vegetation on the dam slows down the water flow and traps sediments.

What is causing the washing away? Wave action or water running into the pond?

I places a couple tri-axle loads of broken concrete on an area that had a steep bank without the geotextile fabric, and the concrete pieces have about sunk flush with the ground in 4 years - sandy soil.

You will be fine without the textile. I did something similar to my pond bank a few years ago and have not had any problems.

I personal like the use of landscape fabrics before putting down any rip rap. I did this with boulder rock around some of my shore and all around the island pictured. My soil is very soft and the rocks would just disappear into the muck without it. I did not kill the vegitation before laying the textile and rock

It's the wave action driven by the winds! The pond shaped like a backward "C" which allows the south west and north winds to make some big waves that bang into the shore!
Not protected by trees! Hey, thanks for the info! I had the same thought that I needed the grasses and weeds to help the soil!!
Thanks

Will cement contaminate the pond? I have heard they quit useing limestone rip raft because of contamination of limestone leeching in the water? It that true? Just wondering of the cement too?

Limestone and concrete are safe for humans and fish, and fine for most ponds.

I wouldn't put any rocks or concrete where you MAY want to go in again with a dozer or other heavy equipment.

It would take a LOT of broken concrete to significantly change the amount of calcium and total hardness ina body of water. Many water bodies are often too low on alkalinity and hardness.
I would keep rock piles out of areas or flats that you might want to seine to sample your fish. Seining is a good management tool.

I use limestone number 1 stone for my banks in my hatchery ponds and have never seen a spike in hardness or alkalinity. In fact it really doesn't seem to break down at all. My water is already high in hardness and alkalinity.

It is great for forage that does well with extra calcium like all the inverts , shrimp , craws etc. They love to live and feed there.

So some of it does leech into the water? I've never seen any evidence of it.

I don't think it leaches much. The stuff (plants and small animals) that grow there seem to eat/absorb the extra Ca and the inverts etc feed on them.

It will only leach if your water is acidic enough. The threshold of PH where this begins is rather high, but after all it is how caves are made.

Personally the addition of Limestone to very acidic waters in acid-rain ponds in the mountains should tame them fairly well converting acid to alkalinity.

I agree with liquidsquid.

Limestone is essentially insoluble in normal water. If an atmospheric source of pollution leads to acid rain, then it is possible to dissolve a little limestone on the time scales of us mere mortals. However, if your pond does reach that pH level, I would think the limestone would be a great benefit as a buffer.

Finally, a forest pond that contains lots of leaves or pine needles and has little wind churning could develop high levels of humic acid. [These are the clear brown or even black ponds you sometimes see in the forests.]

I have no idea if the complex of humic acids can reach a low enough pH to dissolve limestone or concrete. Once again, I do think if your pond did reach that level of acidity, a limestone or concrete buffer could only help.

Just to be clear. There are things in the pond that can process the limestone/concrete and use its contents to grow. It is not just a question of it helping the water which is well coved as a topic by you guys above.

My pond has the clear brown color could it have a high level of humic acid, and is this considered good or bad?

Has anyone put 10mm crushed rock on the geotextile liner? I'm wondering if it will poke through or not. I got a load of pea gravel, but it looks like 60% pea gravel and 40% crushed rock. thanks

Hey G.DUB, you might be better off creating your own thread, as you're replying to a thread that hasn't been used in 9 years.

Crushed rock/concrete is very abrasive to fish flesh if used for spawning substrate. Gravel/sand/rock is better than anything crushed.

At least for garden ponds, a layer of felt cloth is used between the liner and stony soil, just in case. The fabric is cheap per square ft, and is insurance against a leak.