well this was a surprise! pond down 8 inches this am

[addy1]

I wonder if the job comes with benefits?? lol

I wish!

 

[addy1]

Not fire ants I hope I hate those things.
And uh wow, you made short work of that! It looks like you're in the 70's today so thank goodness it wasn't crazy hot like it's been.
Pictures?

Pictures later need to run to lowes for a liner, heavy rain coming tonight and i have a huge pile of dirt just waiting to wash into the ponds.

Yep temps not bad but still sweaty job.

Not fire ants, i call them piss ants, sort of like sugar ants, tiny black things that love to crawl all over your feet and legs and bite.

I watched a large spider stumble into the pile of ants, it got swarmed it ran, covered, than sat there and picked them off and ate them! Yeah spider!

 

[addy1]

Wow Addy, you work fast! Did you dig by hand? You must post pics when you have a chance. I love the idea of a little bridge

The ground was soft, it was dirt I had piled up years ago for the pond loop, being covered all these years by the preform it was still soft and of course wet!

The bridge won't work I need to have the down slope still there for the run off, oh well......... now off to get liner

 

[cas]

How did you have time to get all that work done AND post on this forum?? You are amazing!

 

[tbendl]

need to run to lowes

Take the car if you're pressed for time...
Ok I'll stop, but I'm bored at work today!
Piss ants... Hehe

 

[brokensword]

addy;

sorry to hear about the calamity but glad you caught it in time! Might you be thinking of adding a float switch to the main pond so when the water drops to a prescribed level, the pump will shut off? Or maybe you already have one...?

Anyway, glad everything's on the mend.

Michael

 

[addy1]

Take the car if you're pressed for time...

It would be a long run.........took the car. Darn expensive epdm liner there, 10x15

How did you have time to get all that work done AND post on this forum?? You are amazing!

I drive my hubby crazy, get focused on a project, get going and don't stop.

Might you be thinking of adding a float switch to the main pond so when the water drops to a prescribed level, the pump will shut off? Or maybe you already have one...?

The pump is around 2 feet off the bottom to save the fish, it is also one that will swish water back and forth so it never runs dry, it retains a layer of water in the pump. The water will get darn hot swishing but the pump is not destroyed.
Dear electrician hubby keeps saying he will install a cut off switch. I usually don't have issues, this was the worse. All the different extensions of the main pond can be shut off, the stream, the 1000 gallon stock tank the loop ponds, so if there is an issue and we are not home, my neighbor will come over and shut off the problem area.

 

[addy1]

Got back from lowes, ate lunch decided to wait to finish it tomorrow, put a tarp over the dirt. Now that I know I have a 10x15 I might dig it bigger, or at least as big or deep as I can to use the liner up as much as possible. I did get it dug down by around 1.5 feet deeper, around two feet wider, around 1/2 foot longer.

this is the preform, darn leaker,

the tub of plants and critters glad it is cooler today

dirt hole, doesn't look it but it is around 3 foot deep now, to the right of the shovel is the bog edge. I need to get our long level and make sure the edge I am building up is higher than the lotus tub to the left.

This is how the water flows from the pump

There are parts of 4 ponds in the picture and bog near that white bucket

 

[tbendl]

I'm assuming you ended up buying the expensive liner. What a bummer Addy. And I'm the same way, once I get started on a project, it's best if you just stay out of my way until I'm done... LOL

 

[addy1]

Refused to get the pvc one, even though it said professionals use it. I would be out working on it right now, but after getting clean running to the store, I am going to start fresh in the am. That way I can evaluate the size to see how to use get the most out of it.And dig some more.............

 

[addy1]

oh and by then the ants will have relocated................there were thousands of them. Took a picture but it was out of focus.

 

[brokensword]

addy;

the cutoff switch is easy-peasy; just plug your pump into the float switch, place the float in your pond and tie it such that when it lowers, the mercury switch inside makes contact at whatever level you want to maintain. Typically used for a sump pump, it works wonders for pond sanity! I think it's like $40 or so, maybe less. Don't even need a hubby, electrician or anything! Annnnnd, you get to visit your fav Lowe's again, if you want to...heh

 

[tbendl]

This is just your way of making a mountain out of a molehill in reverse isn't it? You're making a big pond out of a little puddle.
Just so you know some of us are wise to yah!

 

[addy1]

just plug your pump into the float switch, place the float in your pond and tie it such that when it lowers,

Which one do you recommend? Next trip i will do that. Been on the LIST for quite a while.

http://www.lowes.com/Search=float+s...Id=10051&N=0&newSearch=true&Ntt=float+switch#!

We shop both lowes and home depot, but since they put a lowes 15 minutes from the house vs 30 minutes to home depot we tend to go there more.

 

[addy1]

This is just your way of making a mountain out of a molehill in reverse isn't it? You're making a big pond out of a little puddle.
Just so you know some of us are wise to yah!

lol I just hate wasting liner, esp at their price. $189 for a 10x15............ouch. Says it will make a 1100 gallon pond. And it is raining now