First pond in 11years, and it's a mess. Hello

[Ouida]

Hi, first post. I just decided to dig a new pond with the advise of my 13 daughter saying she'd help. Well we dig a hole (9x5, and 24inch deep, with a deep side of 30 inchs), but rain has left it a sloppy mess of louisiana clay that u sink to your knees in. I have done this before, finished a small above ground pond two weeks before hurricane Katrina. It didn't survive, and that was 11 years ago. So I'm looking for advise. First, if I lay the liner now in this sloppy clay, will it sink down uneven? I plan to add pond rocks to the bottom. Any thoughts what I can do, rain just keeps coming.
Also I have a plastic 55 gallon drum, and with searching this site, think I know how to make a skippy filter. My biggest problem is how to come out the drum to a short (12inch) waterfall. This is south louisiana, so I don't want a pile of rocks 3 ft high. In fact I can't find large rocks. So my thought was to take the pvc out the filter to ground level and attach it to a waterfall box which would need the water to flow up on its own. Will this work? Orginally I was going to cut the drum down and sit it on the liner for the waterfall. But that seems a waste of filter potential. Any advise, I will read everything. I really want my daughter to enjoy doing something outside. Ouida

 

[sissy]

welcome and first you would need a liner to hold the water ..The clay may hold water but will always be mucky and muddy looking

 

[Ouida]

Yes, I do have the firestone 45mm liner. Also I just realize after reading some more on this forum, that we will need to raise the sides slightly above ground, since the water table is so high. Glad I saw that post.

 

[sissy]

Any runoff could be a problem also even with raised sides when you get really heavy rains .Is the pond in a flat area with no water running towards it .If you get fish what kind of predator protection will you need .

 

[Ouida]

It's in a high spot in the yard, but one side is lower by 3inches as the yard then starts to slopes to the house. I plan to build this low side up. Would that be enough, or do all sides need to be built up to create pressure on the liner? It is ground water for sure, we had a major rain event a week ago, before that it was dry all the way.

 

[sissy]

as long as the water can go somewhere when it overflows it won't pick dirt from around the pond .Most people do not add in an overflow part .If the pond is full you will need somewhere for the pond over flow to go so it will not pull dirt back into the pond .That low side will be the perfect spot as long as it is not to big .Think of it like a bathtub and that has an overflow diverter so the tub will not overflow it's sides

 

[Tula]

If your skippy filter is gravity fed, I don't think it'll flow UP to the waterfall box. Could you have the water drop down from the skippy filter, to the waterfall?

 

[Ouida]

Could you have the water drop down from the skippy filter, to the waterfall?

That was what I wanted to originally. But so far, I can't think of a way to do that. Maybe last a stream, but for now I'm just trying to see how this will work with the water table, and such.

 

[Waterbug]

Mud
Carpeting works pretty well to stabilize. But sink to your knee even with carpeting you can't walk on it. But you can lay the liner. Since you plan to add rocks an uneven bottom shouldn't be an issue. I like to mortar the rocks in place especially when there's a water table issue. Rocks are a bit denser than water so that helps with the water table. The mortar helps spread the weight more evenly, keeps rocks in place. You should be able to walk on the rocks after a day or two.

Dry out the hole
Some wood, 2x4s or whatever across the hole and the liner over that. The liner will extend about 2' beyond the hole edge. Must be set so the liner sheds water. Worst case the water collects in the liner and falls into the hole but still you'd be no worse off water wise. Some blocks, bricks, dirt around the liner edge to hopefully keep wind from blowing it. Or just wait out the rain. Generally the hole will have filled back in with dirt, so more digging.

Water table
It's not really the pond sides but the water level in the pond that has to be higher than the lowest ground level. The sides can help keep surface water from running into the pond, but grading can too.

Like I said, the mortar and rocks being more dense than water means water level can be something like 4" or so lower, but I'd call that insurance. The weight, only once the level is above the water table level, will push the liner against the soil with more force than water from the ground can push against the liner. Can't break the laws of physics.

Overflow
IMO it is always better for the owner to control what happens to water when a pond overflows than to leave it to nature. In your case, with clay and water table and rain I'd really want an overflow. Just letting it overflow the liner is almost certain for the water to go under the liner. You should be OK but why risk it? Unless you have enough liner and slope for a dry stream bed type deal that you could be certain the water went away from the pond. That's kind of the same issue with the overflow pipe...it has to be able to go some place.

Not sure why you don't want to try above ground again. Amy place where they can't bury people in the ground is a place where a raise pond should be considered seriously. Solves a lot of problems....but you should always get the pond you want.

Filter
Didn't really understand. But basically in and out pipes are run through the barrel with bulkhead fittings. From there the pipe can go anywhere you like pretty much, just not above the barrel top of course.

I won't recommend cutting the barrel. They need the top rim to hold the barrel together. When cut the can misform and do who knows what.

Getting a barrel to be a waterfall by cutting doesn't work very well. People used to bolt on lips which also didn't work. Pipe is way better.

Skippy
Fun to build. Not a great filter. I seriously doubt you will need a filter. Build for enjoyment only imo.

 

[Mmathis]

Hello and welcome from North Louisiana!

 

[addy1]

Hello welcome to our group!

You said it was dry before all the rain, is the clay muck due to the rain falling and run off? vs the water table raising?

 

[Ouida]

Mud
I like to mortar the rocks in place especially when there's a water table issue. Rocks are a bit denser than water so that helps with the water table. The mortar helps spread the weight more evenly, keeps rocks in place. You should be able to walk on the rocks after a day or

Overflow
IMO it is always better for the owner to control what happens to water when a pond overflows than to leave it to nature. In your case, with clay and water table and rain I'd really want an overflow. Just letting it overflow the liner is almost certain for the water to go under the liner. You should be OK but why risk it? Unless you have enough liner and slope for a dry stream bed type deal that you could be certain the water went away from the pond. That's kind of the same issue with the overflow pipe...it has to be able to go some place.

Not sure why you don't want to try above ground again. Amy place where they can't bury people in the ground is a place where a raise pond should be considered seriously. Solves a lot of problems....but you should always get the pond you want.

Skippy
Fun to build. Not a great filter. I seriously doubt you will need a filter. Build for enjoyment only imo.

Thank you for all that info, has me thinking, what have I gotten into. Lol. So it sounds like mixed rocks and mortar and spreading this on the liner? How does it not crack? Sorry, I haven't thought of this before. We were trying to make a natural small pond for frogs and a few goldfish. So we went with in ground as a way for backyard wildlife to find it. Seems I have no choice but to raise the sides a little to create more water above ground level. My thought is a level row of center bricks one inch higher than the high side. And slop the mud against them with the extra liner tucked between. Any idea if this would work? Sadly it will change the way we were going to landscape with some plants against the liner. We have no large rocks, can't find a source. But we were hoping to avoid the necklace look. And why we are trying in ground, above ground always seem more formal to me.
Do u have an idea for a filter for such a small pond? That may do better. I should add, my husband is not helping. Lol, my last pond brought bad luck afterall. So it's just my 13 year old and me. That does limit some of our ideas. Also in the end, we are just wanting a little pond, I know many on here have beautiful ponds that are beautifully designed. We know ours will not be at this level.

 

[Ouida]

Hello and welcome from North Louisiana!

Thank you very much.

 

[Ouida]

Hello welcome to our group!

You said it was dry before all the rain, is the clay muck due to the rain falling and run off? vs the water table raising?

Well I'm guessing water table was low and it was dry, I was teasing my daughter she would strike water anytime, but we got the whole two feet down just find. Then we had flooding rain twice. That was a week ago, and the yard is dry even low spots, but Everytime I pump the water out it refills in an hour or so. That makes me sure it's the water table. And thanks for the welcome.

 

[tbendl]

Hello and welcome from South MS. You and your daughter can built it. I built mine all by myself and I love it.