If it's August, it's time to build the new pond...

[Jim Becker]

Last July, some of you may recall that Dr. SWMBO and I turned the old well head in front of our house into a nice fountain/pond, complete with a few fish and our friend Froggles. We've been pleased with the results and learned a lot from it...including making the mistake of trimming down the liner a bit too far. But even if that were not an issue, we had said from the beginning that we'd love to put in a larger one in the back of the house where it would be easier to enjoy away from the road noise and big enough that we could over-winter the fish safely without bringing them indoors as we did last winter. (Picture a 150 gallon stock tank in the basement...)

So, this weekend we got started on the new pond, clearing the area and digging a big hole. (With power tools, of course... ) Our four goldfish, 3 shebunkins, baby fish of indeterminate parentage and, of course, Froggles will soon have a new home!

There is a great area just behind the stone patio that was taken largely by plantings and a small Chinese Dogwood that has been doing very poorly since we moved in over five years ago. It is the perfect spot for viewing this new pond and is situated such that our planned future home addition will not require relocating it. This pond will be about 8' x 8' (irregular shaped) and about 24" down in the deepest area. Unlike the small pond/fountain, this one will use a commercial filter/skimmer and "falls" rather than the home-grown bio-filter that Dr. SWMBO constructed previously.

Unfortunately, I forgot to shoot a "before" picture of the area...my bad!

Pics:

1) Pulling out shrubs is not an easy task by hand...so we didn't do it by hand...
2) Digging deep holes is not an easy task by hand...so we didn't do it by hand...(I think there is a pattern going on here!)
3) Unfortunately, the rest of the work does need to be done by hand, but the soil is wonderful, especially after being broken up by the 'hoe. This is the starting point
4) Level lines were placed to insure that the perimeter of the pond will be even and to measure depths accurately. The first work with a shovel was to establish the rim of the pond and make a level ledge that will allow for stones to anchor the liner. A combination of tape measure and long level was used during this process
5) Once the rim was established, the deeper areas were defined and cleaned out. Material ejected from the hole was spread into the garden areas as well as used to provide a swale that directs rainwater away from the pond area. You do not want runoff to be generally entering the pond.

[Jim Becker]

One additional picture from the other angle that shows the contouring for directing runoff as well as the shape of the pond.

[Dennis Peacock]

Congrats Jim...Looks like ya'll got a real nice start on the new pond there and I really like your "powertool" there to do the digging! Maybe Froggles and the rest of the bunch will be a lot happier in their new home.

[Rob Littleton]

Seems fishy to me

[Jim Becker]

Seems fishy to me

Yup...that's the idea...

[Tony Falotico]

Jim, being that is has been known to get somewhat COOL in the winter up there, is 24" deep enough to protect the fish and keep 'em warm ?? You might consider another 6 to 12" depth spot to hold some warmth during the freeze times.

I lost the algae eaters in my small pond (not much bigger than your stock tank) last winter, and it don't get near as cold down here. The koi did just fine.

[Stu Ablett in Tokyo Japan]

Wow that looks great!

My Great Grandmother had a few ponds like that in her yard when I was a kid, they had fish in them too, as well as frogs and turtles. I spent many a summers day playing around those ponds.

I have to ask, are there any city etc rules about the pond?

I know that my grand father had to fill in the ponds at my Great Grandmother's place as the city rules changed, and the rules were going to be a real PITA, so he gave up and filled them in.

I just wonder if you have the same kind of rules, like the rules you have to have if you have a pool in your yard.

Post some pics when you are done!

Cheers!

[John Hart]

Jim, being that is has been known to get somewhat COOL in the winter up there, is 24" deep enough to protect the fish and keep 'em warm ?? ....

I'm wondering the same thing... I live on lake erie and it freezes into a giant ice cube. What happens if you get a week or so of really cold weather?

[Jim Becker]

Jim, being that is has been known to get somewhat COOL in the winter up there, is 24" deep enough to protect the fish and keep 'em warm ?? You might consider another 6 to 12" depth spot to hold some warmth during the freeze times.

Yes, 24" is fine for this climate area and even farther north. If we were doing Koi, we would need more depth "just because". Our pond out front had no more than about 3" of ice last winter and stayed open due to a small pump keeping the water moving. Froggie overwintered just fine and that was where the effective under-ground depth (because the waterline is actually above ground) was only about 18". This area actually remains relatively temperate during the winter...50 miles north of here, it starts to get nasty and 10-20º colder. Our average winter daytime temp is between 30-40º, I believe. (Just a guess) Cold snaps generally are only for a few days and snowfall insignificant as compared to farther north and west.

I have to ask, are there any city etc rules about the pond?

We are in the country, but in our township, over 24" deep would require a fence...and permit...and fees...since at that point, it's considered a "pool".

[Richard Wolf]

Hey Jim, that tractor looks like fun!

Richard

[Don Baer]

Jim,

I am glad to see that your mixing you Neander skill with your power tools.

[Jim Becker]

Don, I guess you can't get more Neander than digging in the dirt and throwing stones!

Richard, the tractor, despite being small, is something that Dr. SWMBO and I get a lot of use out of. The loader, alone, has paid for itself many times over in allowing us to do work that would normally require a lot of labor; ours or someone else's. I don't use the backhoe much, but when I do, it makes something happen that I wouldn't want to pick up a shovel to do. Our most recent addition to the "implement farm" is a real chipper/shreader (bought used on consignment, although it never actually was) that will take nearly 6" branches (if short...too long will stall the machine since it's only 23hp) and makes wonderful stuff for our garden walkways.

[Mark Singer]

Jim,

You are all around....ponds, woodworking...high tech, dust, finishing , wine,.....great start!!!

[Jim Becker]

...and with any luck, kids, if the US CIS ever gets our immigration approval back to us...

I never dreamed I'd be buying rocks, but did just that at lunch today. Two hundred bucks worth. While I have a lot of old stone wall on the property, it would take weeks and weeks to find enough flat ones to do the pond boarders and other "wall" things for this project! Sheesh...

BTW, Mark...this excavation was a heck of a lot easier than your Balboa project!! (But the view isn't quite as good...)

[Richard Wolf]

Actually, it's a good thing I don't have a tractor like that, I would be digging holes in the yard just for the heck of it.
Nice tread on the pond also, keep us posted.

Richard