Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Reef Madness!

Yes, a picture and and a diagram!

Can anyone tell me, with authority, the diameter of the center hole in a brick made in the USA?

Someone has a chance here!

A Test Assembly:


The Layout:

I worked for a brick manufacturer for three years and can tell you with authority, it depends on the brick mold used. Each mold manufacturer has different size bricks and with different hole configuration. Most king size brick (9.5"L X 2.5"H X 2.75"W) are 4 or 5 hole molds that have 1 - 1 1/4 inch holes. I assume you want a 5 hole brick so you can get the line through a true middle hole.
I think all Acme brick are the same 5 hole brick mold as if so have 1" hole in king size brick. BTW, I believe clay king size brick weighs 4 lbs.

Slick structure. Didn't I see that thing above Times Square during new year's eve?
What is the the center core and how are the pipes fastened there?

OK Dwight, now that you have it built, how are you going to get it through the door in the background

M Spinhirne – It always amazes me what can be learned on the Pond Boss Forum!

Thanks for the great information on bricks. A one inch hole would be perfect, so I will be looking for some 5 holers as you suggest.

I have already made a design change (I am an on the fly type of engineer!). I have decided it would be better to place a brick on the bottom of each porcupine element and hold them on with a PVC end cap. That way there won’t be all that weight between the elements which I believe would tend to distort the whole structure.

Thanks again

Brettski – These are salvage from the last fifteens years of Times Square New Years celebrations!

This link has all the information: http://porcupinefishattractor.com/index.html

I purchased mine from BPS. I don’t know who invented the product, but they have my vote. What appealed to me the most about them other then their obvious structural beauty, is that they last virtually forever.

As a we travel toward pond structure nirvana (PSN) these certainly deserve a place in that journey!
:p

Hi Dwight, I have the same set up,"O No hang" I cut the center post down 9 inches shorter than the remainder to use as a stand for the surrounding legs. All of the legs were then filled with sand (after end caps installed)by pouring sand in a single tube on top as they all flowed through the center sphere.On a few of the units I have threaded 40lb test Stren catfish line to each end tip and back to the top pole to make an umbrella effect for faster cover where hooks or lures arent a concern. I think these structures will outlast my Xmas trees that are pretty much decomposed after three years. Your structure ideas look great, Ted

Russ – I built a three foot diameter one and then morphed it into a seven foot diameter using my structure morphing device (SMD). After taking the photo, I morphed it back to its original size to get it out the door.

An SMD is a computer based device into which you place the structure you wish to morph (expand, contract, warp, pretty much anything) and there you go!

Being a test structure I didn’t glue anything together or seat the pipes fully so it was a simple matter to dismantle it!

First of all I like your idea. Here's another idea why not choose a couple of spots on your straight reef and add a porcupine off to each side. This would give it a little more shape. It might shorten the overall length a bit but in my opinion I think it would concentrate the fish better along the reef. Just my two cents.

Dwight -- I think you know from our earlier conversations that I really like the multiple structure idea, running from shallow to deep water. Let the fish choose the depth that they prefer at various times of day and times of year. I don't see how you can miss. Bass/grass may also have a good thought. It sure wouldn't hurt to add a little "irregularity" to your line. Bends could do that, putting a couple of structures side by side at one or two places could do that, etc.

Dwight :

Here are a few thoughts . The link below is on stct./habitat.
http://www.sdafs.org/reservoir/manuals/habitat/Main.htm

I like your plan so far. Different types and sizes of fish use different cover size ,location, depth ,etc. Any plan should be designed to fit the needs of the owner/goals and the pond and viewed as a whole.

WRT the pvc ones above I would not put them all in one group. I would keep my options open. The good thing about them is they can be easily moved/changed. I would try several groupings in different locations ( 3-4 in a line , several in a triangle or other shape, some down a point in different depths , some out from your tree line stct. or post stct.). If one works better than others then change them up. See what works -- run a fish finder over them after they settle and see what it shows.

Ted Lea FOREVERGREEN – The sand for weight concept is interesting and sounds effective. Do you think that capping all those tubes and filling the bottom half of the structure with sand limits the chance for tiny fish and organisms to run through the tubes and center sphere could be a limitation?

bassandgrass – I have always been too organized (straight lines, perfect spacing, Global positioning). Fish don’t care about those things! Thanks for the suggestion, it will be included in the final solution!

Dwight, very possible. I only have the outside legs the bottom (8) and the center one weighted. I figured most of those would be on the bottom and be plugged from the clay bottom. With the center one cut down it allows the other eight to act as a stand with the center one as support so as the structure gets heavier it shouldnt bow.All of the horizontal holes and the 9 above them are open for water flow through.I dont think a lot of small fish will visit the inside tubes of this structure.( I may be wrong I hope they do) To promote faster coverage I do think webbing the mono line all over the horizontal and above tubes (17)will help attract plankton(fish hooks too) I wanted a weight system that would conform to the bottom as I will be lowering these in and want to be able to move them later if desired.If you wanted some of the bottom tubes open consider going to an 1/2 inch to 1 inch adapter and weight those 4 >1 inch legs instead,and cut perhaps 3 inches off of the 1/2 inch remaining ones for flow through,and that gives you the same weight and 4 more open tubes. I have added a lot of poly structure over the years that is a lot more dense than these so thought these were of interest when I saw Greg Grimes had them at the Ga meeting.I like my Xmas trees also just too much work for 2-3 years of structure and this year no safe ice for any period of time to put more of them on. Ice back off again for the 5th time in Ohio.

And we should have ice AGAIN tomorrow or Monday morning!

Bill Cody, Dave Davidson1, Dave Willis, ewest, Sunil, Theo Gallus, and others have allowed me to re-learn the same lesson for another time. I need to talk to those who have been there and done that or have knowledge of something similar before I post a plan!

Reef Madness is alive and well, though it has become extremely flexible, with the current thinking being:

Wait until there is open water to put the structure in the water with the pond barge. The structure is light in weight and could end up anywhere in the pond depending on how the ice goes. The straight line of porcupine spheres needs to be more diverse, though still being located in multiple water depths.

Dave Davidson1 has said that, “very few of us are experts. Most of us are simply students that have screwed up a lot and told each other about it.”

We are among friends and that is a fact!

Theo, and a high of 53F for Wed and is 17F presently,and too windy for ice formation.Give it until the first week of April and we will have our winter weather back for sure. I see bulbs pushing through the ground and many lilacs with swelled buds, "yikes"

Dwight, I'm sorry I didn't mention this sooner, but you're gonna have great structure. One puff of this demon reef will instantly transform a fish into a violent, cackling reef freak, twitching insanely with manic energy and ready to murder your baits and lures with mad abandon.

Theo Gallus - You have summed up the final result that I am searching for, a whole pond full of murderous cackling reef freaks. You are the man!