Pond (large) construction
Discussion
I just asked if he would mind taking some, there is a bit of a low spot in his field there so it has helped him out. Really good timing as there is only a week between him harvesting the field and then ploughing it and planting winter barley.
Andy, thanks for the comments, coarse fish are a little different though as they thrive in coloured water and are also much more tolerant of low oxygen levels.
Andy, thanks for the comments, coarse fish are a little different though as they thrive in coloured water and are also much more tolerant of low oxygen levels.
A quick update at the end of day 3, quite a lot done now, down to 6' and the shape is starting to get there. Still probably only about 20% complete however.
I know what you are saying about bank erosion, mine is a lot smaller though so doubt there will be many waves on it, also plan to plant it heavily with marginal plants so it should protect it a lot.
Away for a stag weekend in the morning so no further updates until Sunday, hopefully will be quite a lot of progress by then if the weather holds up.
I know what you are saying about bank erosion, mine is a lot smaller though so doubt there will be many waves on it, also plan to plant it heavily with marginal plants so it should protect it a lot.
Away for a stag weekend in the morning so no further updates until Sunday, hopefully will be quite a lot of progress by then if the weather holds up.
Well after a weekend away they got a lot done on the Friday with probably around 50% of the digging completed. Unfortuantely it has rained non stop since Friday night and the field now resembles the Somme. The pond has also filled near enough to the top which I'm amazed at. My one worry was that there I would not be able to fill the pond and keep it full, I don't now think will be an issue now however.
I took that photo last night and the water level is another 6" high this morning. Not sure what we are going to do now, guessing they will have to wait a good while for the site to dry before they can start again and I'll have to hire a pump to pump all the water out before we continue.
I took that photo last night and the water level is another 6" high this morning. Not sure what we are going to do now, guessing they will have to wait a good while for the site to dry before they can start again and I'll have to hire a pump to pump all the water out before we continue.
We do a lot of ponds for work (I'm a civil engineer and design a lot of ponds for sustainable drainage initiatives) are you planning on using groundwater through the clay to keep it filled? You'll probably find that theground water will keep it rather dirty. If you could pump it out to empty it, use puddle clay to line and then fill with run off you might find it's a but cleaner.
No idea on the fish aspect, but I presume muddy water won't be ideal for them.
No idea on the fish aspect, but I presume muddy water won't be ideal for them.
Thanks Gimp (I won't ask where the name comes from). Planned to be kept filled by a combination of groundwater and surface run off. Water being muddy should not be a problem, coarse fish do not seem to mind and most waters with coarse fish end up coloured anyway due to the activity of the fish feeding.
dickymint said:
If it's filling that quick you may well have a drainage problem. You don't want to flood your Farmer friends field do you. I assume though that you've planned for drainage?
How is a hole in the ground going to fill higher that ground level if most of the fill is from groundwater?Also fwiw rainwater will never keep it full you will need an external watersource to fill it it in the summer at least
The pond is dug into the original field level and not elevated so it cannot make any existing drainage problems worse for him. None of his field drains were working anyway and were all crushed.
Once the site is finished it will all gradually slope towards the pond so should prevent waterlogging and aid keeping it full.
As for needing a running water coarse the vast majority of ponds that I have fished before do not have this and as it is solid clay and virtually impermeable it should stay full. During long dry periods (North Scotland remember so not very often) the level will drop slightly due to evaporation but should not be to much to worry about.
Could be wrong though, time will tell.
Once the site is finished it will all gradually slope towards the pond so should prevent waterlogging and aid keeping it full.
As for needing a running water coarse the vast majority of ponds that I have fished before do not have this and as it is solid clay and virtually impermeable it should stay full. During long dry periods (North Scotland remember so not very often) the level will drop slightly due to evaporation but should not be to much to worry about.
Could be wrong though, time will tell.
Silent1 said:
dickymint said:
If it's filling that quick you may well have a drainage problem. You don't want to flood your Farmer friends field do you. I assume though that you've planned for drainage?
How is a hole in the ground going to fill higher that ground level if most of the fill is from groundwater?Also fwiw rainwater will never keep it full you will need an external watersource to fill it it in the summer at least
And was thinking what's to stop it filling up higher than the "desired" height?
That photo might be a bit misleading, if you look at the filled up bit of the pond the stepped area is a shelf that will be under water by about 12" so the really soggy bit you can see on the photo is also this shelf level. You can just see on the right hand side of the photo the line of the bank which is a good bit higher. Think it will be ok.
There is also going to be a stand pipe overflow arrangement to set the level of the pond at the desired height with any overflow going into the burn at the bottom corner of the field.
There is also going to be a stand pipe overflow arrangement to set the level of the pond at the desired height with any overflow going into the burn at the bottom corner of the field.
cerbfan said:
There is also going to be a stand pipe overflow arrangement to set the level of the pond at the desired height with any overflow going into the burn at the bottom corner of the field.
Got it now - It's go to go somewhere 
PS. Found this site. May be of use............
http://www.pondconservation.org.uk/advice/fundingf...
PPS. Did you need planning?
dickymint said:
cerbfan said:
There is also going to be a stand pipe overflow arrangement to set the level of the pond at the desired height with any overflow going into the burn at the bottom corner of the field.
Got it now - It's go to go somewhere PS. Found this site. May be of use............
http://www.pondconservation.org.uk/advice/fundingf...
PPS. Did you need planning?
I did have to get planning permission due to size and proximity to the road. Plus it was tied into planning for a large extension that will be hopefully be done in the next couple of years or so.
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