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Hello everyone, 1st time poster here but I've been reading for a couple years. We have recently moved to our a new residence and it has an existing 1 acre pond. Well bigger is better and I want to get the pond enlarged .5 to an 1 acre bigger. I would like the total to be around 2 acres. We live in Preble county just north of Butler County. I see Jones fish truck on the road alot in this area and will have to give them a call for any local builders that they recommend but curious if there are any of you in my area that has had a positive expierence. I did see the post further down the page about a pond in Dayton, Ohio but I did not want to infringe. Also after reading about all the problems with leaky ponds, I have to ask what the percentages that it will go ok lol. I welcome any suggestions, thanks.

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A lot of people say it cost more to redo a pond than build a new one. I don't know if that would be the case for you, but if you have the space for it, maybe you'd be better off building a 2nd pond. Then you could have two differently stocked ponds. A lot of people say they would rather have two small ponds instead of one bigger pond, so they can stock them different. I also understand that bigger ponds look great.


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A bigger pond is not needed to grow large fish. A larger pond costs more to fix problems due to larger size and water volume. A larger pond is harder to manage because there is more of it (problem). Remember most all your problems will be in shallow water. All ponds sooner or later have numerous problems very often plant/weed/algae related. Chemicals are expensive and treatment amounts are based of pond volume. A larger pond makes it a lot harder to manually remove weeds due to more weeds in more space. A larger pond requires a larger aeration system. Be prepared and budget for all around more expense with a larger pond.

Last edited by Bill Cody; 02/23/19 09:38 PM.

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Two ponds are not an option I will pursue but thanks for the idea. We have the acreage (20) but that takes room from the livestock. I agree that a larger pond comes with the above costly risks as aeration, chemicals-pond volume, and management. It's just that since we have been here for the last several months we want a larger pond, it doesn't seem big enough. I want to start fresh with a program/management for the fish I want (big bluegills 1st then bass)and also a larger pond. Everyone here has vastly more experience with building/management of ponds that I wish to pick the brains of but its got to be bigger lol.

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Do you know how old the existing pond is? How much muck is there? Happy with the size and species of fish currently in the pond? I think I would assess whether the existing area needs to be renovated to meet your goals before you increase the size. If you need to do a restart, it will be much easier and less expensive to kill off the existing fish and remove the muck while the pond is smaller.


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I have a pond guy for you but he's extremely busy. Took me ages to get him. He's not overpriced like the others around here. Pond doesn't leak at all.

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I don't blame you for wanting a bigger pond. Have you made sure your watershed area is big enough for a 2 acre pond, or is it spring feed? I would think you'd need 20-30 acres. If your live stock is going to use it, it might be better to have a little more to help keep it flushed out a little.

If you have pictures, post them if you can. Everyone likes pictures!


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When the place was purchased, we did not get much information on the house or pond. It wasn't exactly a friendly exchange at the end. The information that we did obtain didn't seem to truthful. People can read between the lines on that. From what I can gather is that the pond is in the neighborhood of 10-15 years. As far as the muck goes, I don't think there is a lot. I've fished a ton of ponds that seem to have dirt/mud bottom but this pond is more like a gravel pit. It is a clearer pond with gravel bottom so it appears and the sides drop off quickly. The previous owner said he dug the pond to 30' but hit the water table and had to plug it with clay? I find it hard to believe that it is 30' deep. I do have a portable depth finder that I will use once the weather warms. I did notice that last August/September that the pond didn't drop much at all, at most a foot to a foot and half. Also with the heavy rains since last fall and this year, the pond came up several feet but went quickly back to normal pool. It seems to stay at a constant level. I think he hit the water table but not sure. I also think that the soil in this area is not deep and the pond bottom matches the local area. The pond is in close proximity to two large gravel pits in the area. The bluegill that were caught were of good size and somewhat plentiful but not overly abundant. The bass were not plentiful but did seem healthy and not skinny. The pond is not choked with weeds and is a rather nice looking body of water. I know a bigger body of water can hold more fish/big fish and I want my kids, both of my brothers kids and other family members to have a great time. The livestock will not be using the pond and the watershed appears to handle it fine. The pond does not have a dam or high bank and to my limited knowledge appears to be fed by run off or a spring. I will have to figure out how to post pics soon as that will help.

wannapond0001: interested in your pond guy.

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bayou...it sounds as if you have what is called a "ground water" pond. It may not be 30 feet deep now, but if the guilder dug into the water table, the hydraulic pressure could very well blown through the clay plug....as is what happens with and spring. You are probably in a very large aquifer if the water level remains reasonably constant. A spring, or ground water pond allows water to travel both ways...the pond fills when lower that the water table, and the pond drains when higher than the water table of the supply aquifer.

You can probably easily enlarge the pond....you can test that by digging a shallow, but large diameter hole beside the current pond, breach a small dam between the two, and see if the new hole fills, and the entire pond (Old and new area) returns to normal level in a day or three...Be sure to put a yardstick or something in te water before breaching the small separating area to know exactly what happens....if the water level does not rise, you can refill the small breach, let the shallow area dry and relevel it easily.

Last edited by Rainman; 02/24/19 12:39 PM.


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pond pic---can't seem to figure out how to get the pic to automatically show without clicking on the attachment.

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pond.jpg
Last edited by bayou; 02/24/19 12:53 PM.
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Put in an aerator and call it a day.

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Here ya go...



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I dug my pond in two stages. Stage one was a 3/4 acre pond. I stocked that with bass cats and BG. Stage two was dug a couple years later as a separate pond. I stocked that with FHM and let them grow out a year. Then I had a backhoe come in and break out the causeway separating the two ponds. I then built a bridge where the causeway was. The LMB put on some serious size the year the causeway was dug out because the second half acre pond was black with minnows.

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Willy, welcome to PB. How are the bluegills doing?


It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

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Folks, I have been out of commission since last year with a terrible medical issue but the lights came back on after the ordeal so it's all uphill for as long as possible. No matter how young you are things can go sideways. In the last month, I have been able to get out and start rehabbing myself. I did add dye to aid with the chara and the cutrine plus should be here tomorrow for the scum. Lots of fish are seen but a whole lot not seen because of the chara. I added 50 channels, bluegill, and 5 or 6 grass carp last year but have not seen any of the channels. I'm not surprised that I haven't seen any channels with the chara problem and I'm going to pick up 50-60 more to add, not because I don't see them but due to predation and any kills that have happened. I still plan on enlarging and after I enlarge I will add aeration. I noticed a few bass starting to bed today but not any bluegills.

I will send ''wannapond001'' a message for his pond guy.


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