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#108507 02/18/08 10:16 PM
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Well yesterday was the first new pond digging day. We walked the property and established a clear understanding of the project and the track hoe driver went to work. He cleaned up the perimeter drainages ditches and was just finishing the first bank build up when this happened.


The second picture is the rescue an hour so later. The good news is that the job will now have two track hoes and should be completed in half the time. More pictures to follow.




1/4 & 3/4 acre ponds. A thousand miles from no where and there is no place I want to be...
Dwight Yoakam
Rad #108508 02/18/08 10:35 PM
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Oops!@! \:o

Looking forward to seeing more pics!


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Now THAT is what I call stuck.


"Only after sorrow's hand has bowed your head will life become truly real to you; then you will acquire the noble spirituality which intensifies the reality of life. I go to an all-powerful God. Beyond that I have no knowledge--no fear--only faith."
davatsa #108513 02/18/08 10:41 PM
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How big will it be, Rad? Do you have anyway of giving us some sort of aerial perspective of the location relative to your house?


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"The good news is that the job will now have two track hoes and should be completed in half the time."

Gotta love it when a plan comes together!


Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:"
"She took another microscopic bite of her sandwich, then pushed it away. Maybe she absorbed nutrients from her surroundings."

Sunil #108519 02/19/08 03:02 AM
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10 degrees 34 minutes 02.50 seconds North
99 degrees 15 minutes 46 .85 East
If you have Google Earth. The new pond is 100' east of the old one. The Google picture was taken about 2 1/2 years ago and posted some time last month.

The pond will be around 3/4 of an acre, 10' deep. Current plan is tilapia and peacock bass.

While they were digging the track hoe out I saw my first fresh water eel, wiggling around in the mud, so no telling what will be in the finished pond, don't know if you remember an earlier picture where there were 3, 10' wide x 5' deep x 150' long drainage ditches, but all were full and all had some kind of fish. The plot was full of locals scrambling around in the mud, fishing. Mostly snails, pond minnows, common silver barbs and a catfish.



Last edited by Rad; 02/19/08 06:58 AM.

1/4 & 3/4 acre ponds. A thousand miles from no where and there is no place I want to be...
Dwight Yoakam
Rad #108523 02/19/08 08:05 AM
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Peacock bass, I just saw a fishing special on Peacock Bass. Those fish get big!!!!

So are you raising the Peacock Bass to be sold as food, or just for fun?

It's good to know that I'm not the only one that gets stuff stuck in the mud (only for me it's on a much smaller scale).


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Jersey would appreciate the bogged track hoe...
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Wow, nice size project Rad. You know me...keep the pics and updates comin'.
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Are there any plans to have the 2 ponds connect in any way?

Rad #108534 02/19/08 09:20 AM
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Man peacock bass are gonna be awesome! I wonder if TODD can get me some of these!!!!

JHFV #108548 02/19/08 11:00 AM
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Rad that is some serious mud. Usually those hoes can get themselves out using the arm - not this time. \:o

He must have gotten into the old canal bottom.
















ewest #108571 02/19/08 01:03 PM
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Good and stuck... that was some serous mud.


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Nice picts Rad. Keep them coming and good luck with the pond.


In Dog Beers, I've had one.
heybud #108594 02/19/08 08:23 PM
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jeffhasapond, the fish are all for fun, one of the reasons for the peacock is that it goes looking for food as opposed to lying in wait, and it gets big.
Brettski, no the guy in the middle has promised the property to his 11 year old daughter, although that was the original plan.
ewest, exactly right, he was trying to cross and at the lowest spot on the property, we had 8" of rain 4 days ago and 2" the next day, so it was pretty wet, all that and more in the dry season.
heybud, thanks, they completed the bank around 3/4 of the pond yesterday so they should get to the serious digging today and I will be standing by with the camera.


1/4 & 3/4 acre ponds. A thousand miles from no where and there is no place I want to be...
Dwight Yoakam
Rad #108619 02/19/08 09:33 PM
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OK Rad, we need a little more detail. You may have mentioned it on other threads, but this appears to be your construction thread so it would be nice to have it localized here.
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Can you walk us thru the steps you took to begin digging? I know you mentioned purchasing the parcel. Remind us how big it is and a quick re-hash about the topography and soil conditions. What type of soils are we talking about? If you are digging down to 10' deep, what is down there? Did you dig test holes, or are you basing it on excavation projects nearby? What kind of permits or licensing is required, if any. How did you find your excavator (and I'm not trying to be a wiseguy after the mud-flop). Oh yeah, and how involved is your partner?

Brettski #108641 02/20/08 01:46 AM
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Bruce, this is as aerial as I can get, balcony of my house.

Brettski,
The property consists of three pieces, the first purchase was 300' deep by 200' wide. It had no road access so I had to purchase two smaller pieces that were between the big piece and the road. Total size 1.6 acres. The pond plan moved from 1 acre to roughly 3/4 when we decided to try and keep the borrow banks as low as possible. We were hoping to stay closer to ground water level and keep a fuller pond. The old pond loses at least a yard in depth in the dry season.

The pond will be almost square and the only structural feature will be a 30' x 30' island that will be submerged during full pond. The island will be planted with a grass that does well in water and creates a safe place for small fish and a fishing place for small fishermen.

I am lucky in that the excess dirt is needed at 3 other building sites on my road and the owners are paying for the trucks.

The property was a rice paddy for 40 years, it has a thin layer of top soil, 1 to 2' and a thick layer of sandy/silt/clay, 3 to 5', then clay. There are no rocks, just dirt and water. We had a foot of water in the hole this morning. The soil sample was from our other pond about 100' feet west. No permits or licenses required, we are farmers and farming fish is allowed. I don't think we need to sell them to be a farmer and I know for sure I don't need to make money to be a farmer.
The track hoes came as a result of the original deal, the selling broker, also brokers track hoes, and he would cut his commission on the property if I would let him broker the digger. He makes a buck and a half an hour out of the 46 buck an hour machine cost.
Foreigners can't own land in Thailand, so we buy the land and put it in my partner's name and I lease it from her, I use a life time lease which protects both of us. She and I have been together for the last five years as of Valentine's Day.


I might have mentioned before but we live in a modest tourist spot. I am planning on building 5 small cottages on the property not used by the pond. We will start with 2 units and work from there.


1/4 & 3/4 acre ponds. A thousand miles from no where and there is no place I want to be...
Dwight Yoakam
Rad #108643 02/20/08 06:37 AM
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Club Rad... \:\)
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Great description; sure paints the picture...thx. Congrats on finding that special one to share this with.

Rad #108652 02/20/08 09:27 AM
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 Originally Posted By: Rad
I might have mentioned before but we live in a modest tourist spot. I am planning on building 5 small cottages on the property not used by the pond. We will start with 2 units and work from there.


Are the tourists gonna get to fish for Peacock Bass and Pacu???

Sounds like you have some great plans Rad. This is gonna be yet another fun project to follow.


JHAP
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jeffhasapond,
That is part of the plan, many of our tourists are northern Europeans and many of them come for a month or two to avoid the winter at home. Fishing will give them something else to do. Even with five, if we ever get there, cottages full the pressure probably won't be too great and there is always the old pond.
I have a ready supply of Pacu, but am looking for a Peacock Bass source, so far all the suppliers are shipping overseas or in quanities too large for me.


1/4 & 3/4 acre ponds. A thousand miles from no where and there is no place I want to be...
Dwight Yoakam
ewest #109111 02/23/08 11:44 PM
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This is one of those when things go wrong projects. First, the extra track hoe I received benefit of because the first stuck, broke down, two days waiting on a mechanic. Got it repaired and had no driver, the trucks hauling the dirt were assigned to another job because the of the track hoe problem. The owner came by last night and we worked out a new plan based on three track hoes and 3 trucks, build a road to the places where two of the track hoes could dump directly into the trucks, the third would be at the dirt receiving end, trucks and third track hoe at no cost to me, sounded good, lets do it.
This morning a flatbed shows up and hauls one track hoe away and the other goes to the dirt receving end and I am left with nothing, two of the trucks broke down, so far just time delays.
But to top it off it's raining. all of that bare bank!



1/4 & 3/4 acre ponds. A thousand miles from no where and there is no place I want to be...
Dwight Yoakam
Rad #109129 02/24/08 07:38 AM
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Rad, with all of those set backs you're sure to end up with a beautiful pond. \:\)



GW #109173 02/24/08 12:41 PM
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Jeez Rad, sorry to hear about all the problems you're having.

As GW said though, it's gonna be beautiful when you're done!


JHAP
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Thanks guys, it is not all bad, the old pond loves the rain. We got about 5" plus another inch over night and there are clouds on the horizon.
The banks can be repaired and more water in the new will work out fine.
It was just the combination of events that seemed strange.


1/4 & 3/4 acre ponds. A thousand miles from no where and there is no place I want to be...
Dwight Yoakam
Rad #109331 02/25/08 11:58 AM
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just chiming in to say congratulations rad, and hope the contractors get back on yer job ASAP.

if'n i ever get to thailand, i'll know the perfect place to stay! (if you'l have me \:\) )


GSF are people too!

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D.I.E.D. You and all of the Pondbossers are always welcome. I am about have way between Bangkok and Phuket, good for about a two day layover.


1/4 & 3/4 acre ponds. A thousand miles from no where and there is no place I want to be...
Dwight Yoakam
Rad #110757 03/08/08 04:41 AM
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Well, the contractors have not gotten back since 2/25. While it has not rained every day it has rained a lot. Dichotomy, old pond loves rain, new pond hates rain.
Yesterday we had just entered our 4th dry day and the track hoe and trucks showed, the track hoe operator fired up and moved to the mountain of dirt that has been sitting there forever, when the deluge started. The low flat (sunken island) part in the photo went under water today.
So I am going on vacation, a week away will change everything. Anybody need anything from Hong Kong?



1/4 & 3/4 acre ponds. A thousand miles from no where and there is no place I want to be...
Dwight Yoakam
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