Pond Dig Beginning

[j.w]

He he maybe more than a few good drinks............maybe a whole bottle and a nice soft lawn chair in the shade :lol:

 

[blueeyes_austin]

that would look nice! I would mold the clay and do a good test of how well it does. We have clay but mixed with a lot of shale and dirt so ours holds water for a little then it is gone.

Going to be great when you are done!

Did a test, that's what happened--the clay washed away and left a shocking amount of rocks.

I'll use the clay to mold the waterfall and stream, but I definitely will use a liner.

 

[blueeyes_austin]

Woo hoo let the games begin.....................looks like hard work and will be well worth all the effort when you are done.................ice packs, ben gay and lots of Ibuprophen :lol:

Went on a pond tour in Austin a couple of weeks ago and talked with the guy whose pond was my favorite Asked him how long he dig and he said "Until I couldn't take it any more."

That's going to be my approach, I think. It may end up being 3' deep rather than 4'.

 

[addy1]

laughing that is why my pond ended up the size it is, I was tired! and I was digging with a tractor.

 

[blueeyes_austin]

Current status of dig. I hate clay; it's particularly lovely with large roots all through it!



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[addy1]

Like the can of raid! I keep a can of off, the gnats don't like it. They are not bad near the pond, but out in the field..........yuck

Your pond is looking great, keep going!

 

[herzausstahl]

Your dig is looking good. An axe will take care of most of the roots for you but be careful how many you have to chop because it will have some effect on the tree next to your pond that they belong too. Guessing it would depend on how many you have to cut out as to the kind of effect it would have (could also help decide your depth). I am digging my pond right now also and after the first 6" its all clay here, but I have noticed when its wet its a lot easier to dig it out. Good luck!

 

[sissy]

I used a battery operated saws all to cut roots easier

 

[taherrmann4]

I used a battery operated saws all to cut roots easier

Yep a sawzall for me.

 

[addy1]

We use our rigid all of the time, great for pruning trees too.

 

[LindaKay]

Where is the picture of the finished pond???

 

[sissy]

:question: never know what goes on sometimes

 

[LindaKay]

So true. Too bad. I have been reading some of the back post and sometimes there is no follow up. I just love to read about other peoples ponds.

 

[sissy]

I do too but they will sometimes come on and want to get to much done to fast and when the pond fails they give up or the run out of patience ,ponds take time and energy at first and take a year or 2 before the pond acclimates and takes care of itself a little more .I guess also with the economy money plays a factor in how much you can do .I kept it cheap and tried to keep myself on track .I went cheap with pumps and filters and so far it has worked for me .I can't afford the expensive pumps and filters they have out there for sale

 

[LindaKay]

I go for cheap also. We are retired farmers and have always had to watch our money. I use heavy duty tots for my filters and every couple or three years have to replace it. It has worked good so far. I went a few years without filters but only had gold fish. When I got koi I fixed up a filter and have been getting better every year. I think I would like to get a rubbermaid tank and make a good , long lasting one now. I was topping off my pond this spring and forgot and left the hose turned for four hours. It put too much clorine in the pond. I thin;k it completely replaced the water. I added all the declorinater I had but wasn't enough. All the fish except one were dead in the morning. For my birthday my hubby took me to the koi lady and we picked out eight new koi and three gold fish. Now I am wanting to fix a real good filter. My water has never been green for years and with all the water replacement this year I expected it to be green this summer but it has stayed crystal clear.