Pond Boss Forums POND CONSTRUCTION Selecting a site An ongoing 43 year old pond project

I have learned that a tractor without a loader is half a tractor. A loader without 4wd is a waste of money and not even half a tractor. A tractor with a loader and no weight in or on the rear tires is a widow maker. Even with the filled tires, I've sweated bullets on some of the positions that I've gotten myself into. I guess it would be Ok if I always stayed on level surfaces and didn't use it for what I need to get done but....

When I first got my tractor with loader, I tried to pick up big rocks. That was a real character builder and took a while to learn.

Well, I did a little research on filling tires, and went by the John Deere dealership to ask them what they thought. The dealer didn't suggest doing it with water or antifreeze and water because of the rusting of the rim that would occur, but he said he knows a lot of his customers who have.

I also found this article on the web
http://www.orangetractortalks.com/2009/01/comparing-types-of-liquid-tire-ballast/
that talks about it, and I have decided I am definitely not going to do it. If I decide I need more weight, I will spring for wheel weights instead. So far I have not been sideways on any slope where I was concerned at all with tipping, and I definitely don't do that with a load in the loader. And I have picked up a couple of things with the loader and a chain, but I attach it to both ends of the loader so it won't shift.

All that said, I appreciate everyone's comments about the safety factor of added weight in the tires. I am not a risk taker at all and will go out of my way to prevent myself from getting in an unsafe predicament. When I get to the dam building stage, and start grading it with the tractor, I will then determine if I want to add wheel weights or not.

I missed answering one question earlier about water holding properties of iron ore. As dense as it is, I can't see how water could get through it, unless there was a crack. I really don't have a situation where I can test it at this time.

I have wondered about the large slab of rock in the pond area and if it would leak around it. I'm not sure how I could tell unless maybe I was there when it first got submerged and see if there are any air bubbles rising from the area. It may be a moot point if the solar powered water pump works as advertised. I should be supplying about 3 to 8 gallons per minute depending on the sun and clouds.

RRR, there's a few tire shops around there that use a dense foam to fill the tires. It adds the same amount of weight to the tires as antifreeze or the water, but doesn't rust the rims and they still can dismount the tires if needed.

I've pumped many a gallon of RV antifreeze (propylene glycol based) into tractor tires. It's non toxic, it actually helps keep the rubber fresh, as in not drying out, it won't rust the rims, it's non-flammable, and if you catch it on sale it's cheaper than automotive antifreeze.

If I had my druthers, I would choose liquid ballast over bolt on weights most any day. With the liquid, the tractor itself is not actually supporting the weight, which equates to less wear and tear in the long run.

I never thought about that, but it sure does make sense now!

Got a question. I know I'm supposed to build a trench for the dam core. The majority of the pond was already excavated before I really started and the left edge is too close to the pipeline right-of-way for me to build a trench any further away from the pond than right on the edge.

I'm thinking I only need to dig out the sand back to the width of a traditional core trench, then pack that back with clay and continue building up to the height needed to contain the water. This makes the core actually have a notch that is below the existing terrain, as a core trench does, but it won't be a ditch, so to speak. Please see the two drawings below for a cross-section view of the pond in the area of which I am speaking and tell me if you think I am wrong in my thinking.

FYI, the right side of the pond shown on the cross-section here is actually higher than the left side and is solid clay. It requires no dam on that side. the pond is on a hill that slopes toward the dam but also slopes across the pond too.

You are on the right track.

I agree with what Dave said. excavate as much sand as your property allows, and make sure to knit the clay fill well with the the existing clay.

Thank you for the quick answers. I started working on this last weekend and have the sand removed and the first 6 inches of clay in place and packed. We got a decent rain yesterday so I should be able to do some more packing this weekend since my clay material should be moist enough. I appreciate your help.

Well, almost a year later now, I decided to update this topic and show the latest pictures. I have been piddling with this pond off and on, while doing other things that are more urgent, but enjoying every minute of it.

I didn't take any shots of the coring I did on the low side of the pond where I had to remove sandy soil and pack clay in its place, but it went pretty quick. I used the dozer to push all the sandy soil out and into a pile, then used the tractor and box blade to layer in and pack the clay in its place. The weather cooperated nicely and wet the clay soil almost perfectly for packing.

After that was done, I went to work on the overflow/drain pipe and main part of the dam. I had no option on the main part of the dam but to clean down to the iron ore slab that was right where I didn't want it to be, then pack clay on it as well as I could. The drain/overflow pipe had to lay right on top of the iron ore slab to get it as low as possible, but I used a pickaxe and gouged out a slot in which to form up and pour a concrete baffle to stop any seepage around the pipe.

I went with 4 inch schedule 40 PVC pipe as this is a rather small pond which will have a large spillway. I plan to use the overflow pipe to feed water to the next pond farther downhill, and I will be pumping water into this pond from a 1-1/4 inch water pipe. So that should suffice. Below are pictures of building the baffle.




After I poured the concrete into the form and left, it rained a couple of days later and mud built up around it. I removed the form and it looked like this.



I cleaned up all the mud and then brought in a loader full of the best clay I had and I hand packed and tamped it all around the baffle and pipe until it was high enough to start packing it with the tractor tires. I slowly and carefully packed the clay around the baffle and made sure it was well compacted. I kept building it up layer by layer until it looked like this and the baffle was completely covered with clay.



In the following weeks, I added an extension to the pipe and kept adding clay and packing it with the tractor and box blade. More pictures to come in the next posts.

I added the overflow vertical and drain pipe with cap and kept packing dirt on the dam.



We had some rain and it partially filled up the pond, but not high enough to go over the partially finished dam.



Here is another view showing more of the back side of the dam.



I kept at it, weekend after weekend, slowly building up the dam, one box blade full of dirt at a time. I also scraped out a lot more dirt with the dozer to pile on the dam. It was slow going, but fun for me. And there is still a couple of feet more dirt to add to get it well above the overflow pipe. I also still have to build the spillway. More to come.

In the early spring, I got a neighbor that moved into the house next to our property. He was a heavy equipment operator and now supervises. We hit it off really well and have many common interests. He got a fairly large trackhoe to do some work around his place and start building his own pond. One day he asked if he could do anything to help me out while he had the trackhoe. I told him I would really like to deepen the pond a bit but the rock layer was too tough for my dozer. He said he would be glad to rip some of it out for me, so he brought it to the pond and started in on it.

He dug all around where the island is, and busted out a good bit of the iron ore, but the trackhoe was even having a time of it, so I told him it was good enough. I now have a deep channel in the middle and all around the island, thanks to him. I offered to pay for his time and fuel, but he said I can do him a favor sometime instead. What a great neighbor. I will make sure he is amply compensated. Below are a couple of pictures, one of the trackhoe at work on the rocks and one of the channel he dug.

In August, we had the water well drilled and electricity run to our temporary power pole. I now have a very nice well with 60 feet of aquifer depth, bottoming out at about 450 feet, and a 3 horsepower submersible pump. They told me I have enough water to run the pump continuously and never run dry.

I had initially planned to have a solar powered pump in a second, more shallow well to supply the pond, but the water well folks talked me out of it. They assured me I would not have a lot of luck with the shallow well as it would have tons of iron in it and that would not be good for the submersible pump. They assured me I could run the pump in the house well for a very reasonable amount of money. So I took their advice.

A couple of weekends ago, I bought 300 feet of 1-1/4 inch PVC pipe and ran it from the pump to the pond temporarily, on top of the ground. It will be in a ditch later on when I start doing the ditching for the water lines to the house and shop.

I turned on the water, took a picture of the pond, and read the electric meter. Here is the way it looked when I started pumping water.



I came back 27 hours later, and about $11.00 worth of electricity later and it looked like this.



I came back again 21 hours later and turned off the pump and checked the meter again. After approximately $21.00 of electricty altogether, it was up to this level.



That is where I stand today. I won't be pumping much more in it until I get the dam and spillway finished. I wanted to see how much it will cost to keep it full during drought conditions. If I can pump that much water in it for that little money, it will be kept full all summer with no problem. I spend that much for diesel fuel every weekend.

We are about to have our shop built, then a house will hopefully follow around the first of the year, so my pond building fun will be curtailed for a while. I should be able to finish the dam and spillway in the next few weekends though before it gets too busy. It will be nice when I am done scraping dirt and it can green out and not be a big mudhole anymore. I'm going to plant some grass seeds as soon as possible to try to keep the erosion down and help clean up the water running into it during a rain. It will take time, but I can wait. I'll post more as it happens.

Looks like a great project and sounds as if you've had a good time doing it.

Quick question...I have three old tractor tires that were in a pile on the property when we bought it. Is it ok to put one or more in a pond for structure?

No problem on the old tires.

I just stumbled accross this thread and I am REALLY enjoying it! I love your do-it-yourself approach! I bet you will get more satisfaction out of that pond knowing that you built it yourself!

Thanks Dave. I appreciate the info. I wasn't sure if tires would be bad for the water some way.

And thanks RockvilleMDAngler. I do get a lot of satisfaction from doing my own thing. It takes longer than hiring it out, but when you get done, you can look at it and feel proud that you did it yourself. I kind of hated having my neighbor use the trackhoe to dig out the channel in the middle, but my little dozer just couldn't break into the rock shelf.

Once I get moved out there and get all settled into the new house and shop, I will be starting on the new pond that should be about three or four times the size of this little one. Then I can start growing some fish for the enjoyment of catching later on. Hurry up retirement. :-)

Nice job and report. Thanks for the write up and pics.

What is next on the journey?

Neighbors with equipment would be a good addition to our area.

Congrats RRR, I enjoy this thread very much and I can relate to alot doing the work and research yourself.

I do alot of my own work also and have been involved in everything done on my property. I believe you will enjoy the gratification of being able to look at what you have accomplished.

BTW as far as building a house I was my own contractor 3 years ago building my house and it saved me about 61K.

Attached is a Pic of the house and one of the ponds I built.
house pic

Tums:

Nice!

What's that white stuff????

Don't they roll up the streets and sidewalks when that stuff shows up?

ewest, thanks sir. Next on the list is to finish this first pond. It still needs about a foot and a half of dirt on the dam, and then the emergency spillway. I have been so busy preparing the pad and other things to have the shop built that I haven't been able to spend much time on the pond. I have about three feet of dam left before the water tops it, and I'm not expecting that much rain to come all at once. If it does, I'll just have to live with the consequences.

Thanks Turns. That is a beautiful home and pond you built. I thought about doing some of my house too, but I got burned out remodeling one house from a shell to completely finished, and remodeling a bath and kitchen in our current home. I still work a 40 hour week too, so I would have to take a hiatus for a while to be able to get anything accomplished.

We are having a metal home built. It is a kit from a company in Little Rock called Kodiak Steel Homes. It is made of red iron beams and posts with metal studs and joists and rafters. It will have metal siding and roof, so the only wood in it will be our furniture and cabinetry. The price is very reasonable.

The roof and walls are wrapped completely in radiant barrier, with 6 inch insulated outside walls and 6 inch attic insulation, which makes it extremely energy efficient. The guy building our metal shop is a friend and he will do the steel erection on the home. Then we have a general contractor that will finish it from there. Can't wait for the day when I can sit on the front porch with a beer and look down at the pond and watch the deer come up for a drink.

Thanks Esshup. We do pretty much shut down, except for the 4X4 mud slingin crew that wants to try that new white slick stuff. LOL

Good deal RRR. I am sure you will like the energy efficency. I went the energy efficent way indoing my home, figuring the price of energy is only going in one direction (up). It is nice having a 2100 sqft living space (3000 overall) home and my last 13 month average monthly electric bill is $148.97 for the house. Again Congrats and I look forward to seeing future picture of you enjoying yours.