Pond digging techniques

I've got 10 acres in vermont and want to dig a pond myself on the
property..

does anyone have any recommendations as far as books or websites that
would give me
direction? I'm planning on renting a backhoe for a week to do it
myself..

has anyone done the job themselves? is a backhoe enough or do i need
an excavator?
how deep should i go?

plans are to use it for fish
swimming hole in the summer
skating rink in the winter..

size will probably be 30 yardsx 20 yards..
hopefully...

so many questions..

help!!

On Tue, 10 Apr 2007 07:28:45 CST, "juntius@gmail.com"
<juntius@gmail.com> wrote:

>I've got 10 acres in vermont and want to dig a pond myself on the
>property..
>
>does anyone have any recommendations as far as books or websites that
>would give me
>direction? I'm planning on renting a backhoe for a week to do it
>myself..
>
>has anyone done the job themselves? is a backhoe enough or do i need
>an excavator?
>how deep should i go?
>
>plans are to use it for fish
>swimming hole in the summer
>skating rink in the winter..
>
>size will probably be 30 yardsx 20 yards..
>hopefully...
>
>so many questions..
>
>help!!


Here's a little to get you started.

1. check out www.earthponds.com Lots of info.

2. Look for the book "Earth Ponds" by Tim Matson.
(nearby library or Amazon.com) Tons of info.

3. How far down is the bedrock in Vermont? That could be a
limiting factor.


4. It is critical that there be lots of clay in your area. Clay
will hold the water in. If there isn't much clay, is there a nearby
stream that could provide water when needed?


5. My excavated pond is 15' deep -if I were to do it again I would
go to 10'deep.
A 90'x60' pond is quite small for an earth pond, in my opinion.
That's more like an oversized garden pond. In that case I wouldn't
go over 6' at the deepest spot.

6. If planning to use it for a skating rink in the winter, you might
want to consider having one side of the pond fairly shallow -no more
than 3' deep. And mark off the area that is 3' and under. That is
just a good safety feature. __Don't__ allow skating over the deep
area.
(Instead of having the deepest part at the center, put it towards
the end opposite where the skating will take place.)

7. Personally, I don't think a backhoe would cut it, especially if
you want to go larger You should use a large bulldozer. And if you
want some deep spots, hire an expert with an excavator.
Really, it all boils down to how big (surface area) you want
the pond to be.

8. Finally, I would once again recommend #2 above -the book by
Tim Matson. I used it as my Bible when I had my pond dug.


ron

rons515@localnet.com wrote:
> 2. Look for the book "Earth Ponds" by Tim Matson.
> (nearby library or Amazon.com) Tons of info.

Saw his website... will get his book.



> 5. My excavated pond is 15' deep -if I were to do it again I would
> go to 10'deep.

Ok, I'll bite.

Why?

In general it seems "deeper is better". Or maybe that's a geographic thing
- I'm in Texas where depth is needed to reduce water loss to evaporation.
It also allows the water to remain cool - a shallow pond would get to "bath
temperature" in the summer (something no fish could survive).




--

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Chris Barnes AOL IM: CNBarnes
chris@txbarnes.com (also MSN IM) Yahoo IM: chrisnbarnes

On Tue, 10 Apr 2007 10:50:34 CST, Chris Barnes <chris@txbarnes.com>
wrote:

>rons515@localnet.com wrote:
>> 2. Look for the book "Earth Ponds" by Tim Matson.
>> (nearby library or Amazon.com) Tons of info.
>
>Saw his website... will get his book.
>
>
>
>> 5. My excavated pond is 15' deep -if I were to do it again I would
>> go to 10'deep.
>
>Ok, I'll bite.
>
>Why?

Less expensive,, less dangerous for excavator if surface area is
limited in size. My deep end goes almost straight down, and the guy
running the excavator almost "lost it" trying to dig out clay
15 feet down that was only a few feet in front of him. (Not enough
leverage.)
(It was a large excavator, capable of digging 15-20 feet
straight down.)

Also, the depth is not needed in New York. Even with ice cover,
there would still be 7-8 feet of water depth. Now I have 12-14 feet
of water in mid-winter..

Hot summers in Texas might very well benefit from a
deeper/colder bottom. Summers don't get that hot where I am (western
NY, near lake Erie & Ontario, which moderate the heat somewhat.

ron


>
>In general it seems "deeper is better". Or maybe that's a geographic thing
>- I'm in Texas where depth is needed to reduce water loss to evaporation.
>It also allows the water to remain cool - a shallow pond would get to "bath
>temperature" in the summer (something no fish could survive).

We put in an acre pond here in central MS. I got together with the
wildlife people and with the soil conservation people. They were VERY
helpful. Also, they had a conservation grant that piscked up 75% of
the conservation part of the dig.

We used a dozer and a pan. Backhoe for the bass holes.

The dam is about 80 yds long.

Read well first. If you are not familiar with the equipment, a pro
does it faster and safer.

Jim

"Chris Barnes" <chris@txbarnes.com> wrote in message
news:evgai6$qnf$1@news.tamu.edu...

<Brevity snips>

> In general it seems "deeper is better". Or maybe that's a geographic
> thing - I'm in Texas where depth is needed to reduce water loss to
> evaporation. It also allows the water to remain cool - a shallow pond
> would get to "bath temperature" in the summer (something no fish could
> survive).
=================
I'm in hot and steamy mid TN in zone 6. Some summers saw the water reach
the mid 90s. Water lilies help shade the pond and keep it cooler. I did
add extra small water pumps for better oxygenation of the warm water. No
koi, goldfish or amphibians died. When the water went over 96/97F we
covered the ponds with old white bed sheets. Not much of a problem when the
ponds are netted as ours are. I still don't think any would have died since
a friend didn't cover hers and all her fish came through OK. She said they
stayed on the bottom all day so she fed them just before dark.
--

RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
ISP: Hughes.net
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