Any Photos Please

[Gary A]

Bentonite is the very fine clay used in foundries to make the sand stick together so molds can be formed and stick together when iron is poured around the bentonite and sand cores. If you have a pond that broke through the water table as mine has, the situation is that the depth will follow the water table and there is very little you can do about it. IF and a big IF you can find enough bentonite to line your pond it is possible to seal it up but I fear it will be a VERY expensive proposition.

[Somtham]

Bentonite is the very fine clay ..... IF and a big IF you can find enough bentonite to line your pond it is possible to seal it up but I fear it will be a VERY expensive proposition.

Easy to find Gary. Just go to a pet store and buy all their kitty litter. It's bentonite. But at B200 for a 5 kg bag it will add up!!

IKC - I think you need to decide if you want to continue raising fish and if you want to continue doing it on the leased land you're now using. If so, then I think you need to start asking around in your area who's selling din neow. With the rainy season coming to an end I'm sure the excavators will be out in force.

Not sure how much your spending on diesel to keep the pond filled but I run a Kubota pumping ~400 LPM at ~B15/hour. You can run your numbers to see how long it will take to pay for the dirt with diesel savings.

good luck

rgds

[lkc121]

Bentonite is the very fine clay ..... IF and a big IF you can find enough bentonite to line your pond it is possible to seal it up but I fear it will be a VERY expensive proposition.

Easy to find Gary. Just go to a pet store and buy all their kitty litter. It's bentonite. But at B200 for a 5 kg bag it will add up!!

IKC - I think you need to decide if you want to continue raising fish and if you want to continue doing it on the leased land you're now using. If so, then I think you need to start asking around in your area who's selling din neow. With the rainy season coming to an end I'm sure the excavators will be out in force.

Not sure how much your spending on diesel to keep the pond filled but I run a Kubota pumping ~400 LPM at ~B15/hour. You can run your numbers to see how long it will take to pay for the dirt with diesel savings.

good luck

rgds

mine comes to about appx B19 hour . using Yanmar pump...on average of 7-8 hours a day currently. Yes someone suggested to me about din neow and i am looking into the possibility now. thanks Somtham for the suggestion nonetheless. . need a cold one now, speaking of pump... he he

[chownah]

Seems like for high density you need to change your water often....coiuld this situation work out profitably if farmed at a high density...thus justifying the high pumping volumes?....Just a question...I know nothing about growing fish.

Chownah

[lkc121]

Seems like for high density you need to change your water often....coiuld this situation work out profitably if farmed at a high density...thus justifying the high pumping volumes?....Just a question...I know nothing about growing fish.

Chownah

to my understanding, you got to change / increase water often as the level of dissolved oxygen will decrease rapidly due to overstocking..... i seem like an expert after a couple of cold ones.

[chownah]

Seems like for high density you need to change your water often....coiuld this situation work out profitably if farmed at a high density...thus justifying the high pumping volumes?....Just a question...I know nothing about growing fish.

Chownah

to my understanding, you got to change / increase water often as the level of dissolved oxygen will decrease rapidly due to overstocking..... i seem like an expert after a couple of cold ones.

exactly....so since water is being pumped in to offset leakage this would guarantee a constant supply of welll oxygenated water and so seems like you could overstock this setup and thus recoup the cost of pumping.....which should work so long as there is a water source that is adequate for the amount you need to pump.

[lkc121]

Seems like for high density you need to change your water often....coiuld this situation work out profitably if farmed at a high density...thus justifying the high pumping volumes?....Just a question...I know nothing about growing fish.

Chownah

to my understanding, you got to change / increase water often as the level of dissolved oxygen will decrease rapidly due to overstocking..... i seem like an expert after a couple of cold ones.

exactly....so since water is being pumped in to offset leakage this would guarantee a constant supply of welll oxygenated water and so seems like you could overstock this setup and thus recoup the cost of pumping.....which should work so long as there is a water source that is adequate for the amount you need to pump.

in logic, you are right... but theoratically, that is a yes and no part to your answer. fishfarming is profitable, but if constantly pump water, you will see your margin reduced, which is what my workers dont want to hear as it reduces their year end bonuses.

Water has a funny nature of creating "dead" (so-called termaline level, i think the spelling) water at the bottom part. in this bottom level of the water, minimal or no oxygen exists. toxic and sludge thrives. barely enough oxygen for the fishes. so water, after a prolonged period will have this so-called termal line moving upwards. just an understanding of waste disposal will do. water that is not raised in its level, will have its fishes gasping for air and stress comes in. when it reaches this level, its either to God, Tilipia or Somtham that you call..... . dont worry about me mate, a couple of cold ones did me in!

Edited October 4, 2007 by lkc121

[Gary A]

I have looked at many shrimp ponds all around Issan and nearly all of them use paddle wheels to aerate the water. There are normally two paddle wheels mounted on floats. The wheels are driven with a fractional horsepower gear motor mounted on the bank. The drive shaft uses what looks like automotive universal joints. The drive shafts themselves are often PVC pipe.

[lkc121]

was just speaking to a fishfarm veteran here, he is telling me what he would do about seepages in my condition (higher ground, full of fishes) is to clear all shrubs, roots and green growths in the inner perimeters of the pond where its not submerge under the water. then he said to jet spray (he is using karcher 2 bars jet water) the soil around it. then to placed sacks full of hard soil around it and to spray it until the soil kinda "merge". this will help in the eventual increase of water. works everytime for him! told me to try it. what do you guys think?

i will try get pictures up here as soon as my card reader decides to coorperate with me!

Edited October 13, 2007 by lkc121

[lkc121]

was just speaking to a fishfarm veteran here, he is telling me what he would do about seepages in my condition (higher ground, full of fishes) is to clear all shrubs, roots and green growths in the inner perimeters of the pond where its not submerge under the water. then he said to jet spray (he is using karcher 2 bars jet water) the soil around it. then to placed sacks full of hard soil around it and to spray it until the soil kinda "merge". this will help in the eventual increase of water. works everytime for him! told me to try it. what do you guys think?

i will try get pictures up here as soon as my card reader decides to coorperate with me!

Guys sorry for the pic quality..... took it with my 2MP handphone only! i would like to add, so far the methodology of using jet spray is ok..... can see that the side land is very porous.....

Edited October 20, 2007 by lkc121

[lkc121]

Seems like for high density you need to change your water often....coiuld this situation work out profitably if farmed at a high density...thus justifying the high pumping volumes?....Just a question...I know nothing about growing fish.

Chownah

to my understanding, you got to change / increase water often as the level of dissolved oxygen will decrease rapidly due to overstocking..... i seem like an expert after a couple of cold ones.

exactly....so since water is being pumped in to offset leakage this would guarantee a constant supply of welll oxygenated water and so seems like you could overstock this setup and thus recoup the cost of pumping.....which should work so long as there is a water source that is adequate for the amount you need to pump.

in logic, you are right... but theoratically, that is a yes and no part to your answer. fishfarming is profitable, but if constantly pump water, you will see your margin reduced, which is what my workers dont want to hear as it reduces their year end bonuses.

Water has a funny nature of creating "dead" (so-called termaline level, i think the spelling) water at the bottom part. in this bottom level of the water, minimal or no oxygen exists. toxic and sludge thrives. barely enough oxygen for the fishes. so water, after a prolonged period will have this so-called termal line moving upwards. just an understanding of waste disposal will do. water that is not raised in its level, will have its fishes gasping for air and stress comes in. when it reaches this level, its either to God, Tilipia or Somtham that you call..... . dont worry about me mate, a couple of cold ones did me in!

this is the sample chart that of what i mean.....

[intumult]

Seen many ponds out in the sticks but I don't see any nets in or around any of the ponds pictured above.

I thought they would be needed to stop the fish escaping during heavy rains?

[WatersEdge]

Three or Four solutions for a dead pond bottom.

1. Air Stones, Bubblers on the bottom,

putting oxygen in the area it is most needed.

The bubbles rushing for the surface also physically mix the water,

pulling dead water toward the surface,

and with it, some of the nutrients needed by algae near the surface.

2. Pump oxygen depleted water from the bottom of the pond,

splash it on the surface so that it absorbs oxygen,

eventually you pump a large percentage of the dead water out,

and the oxygen replaced at the bottom will begin to feed aerobic bacteria to consume the sludge...

resulting in carbon dioxide

This should be done in the brightest sun hours,

as the algae will boost oxygen levels of depleted water even more.

3. Reduce the depth of the water to around 1.5 meter,

so that the algae can reach to that depth of the pond,

producing oxygen and consuming nutrients in the bright sunlight hours.

Algae produces around 15x as much food value per unit area as a land crop

This means that it also can consume 15x as much troublesome sludge nutrients.

This is the cheapest and easiest...particularly if you grow Tilapia that will eat the resulting algae.

Departing topic a few seconds...High Algae content will also cause oxygen depletion in wee hours to early morning hours

they consume oxygen in darkness

until sunshine returns algae to oxygen production mode

4. Add Fresh cow manure, which contains anaerobic bacteria to consume the sludge.

The methane generated will bubble harmlessly to the surface.

The cow manure will do you no good in the water, so devise a way to sink it undiluted to the sludge.

The greater the sludge accumulation the more severe the solution must be applied.

In order to return the pond to healthy condition, the sludge must be physically removed or consumed.

With Aerobic bacteria, every bit of available oxygen available on the bottom will be immediately consumed.

But by bubbling, eventually you will consume most of the sludge nutrients.

The Anaerobic bacteria are nice because they don't effect oxygen level.

They actually require "bad" conditions to work.

[lkc121]

Seen many ponds out in the sticks but I don't see any nets in or around any of the ponds pictured above.

I thought they would be needed to stop the fish escaping during heavy rains?

the pond is built higher than the levelground areas around the proximity, we also have overflow pipes built in the bottom of the pond.currently its dry season now, also seepages.... so overflow is the least of the problem currently! but thanks for your thoughts.....

[lkc121]

Three or Four solutions for a dead pond bottom.

1. Air Stones, Bubblers on the bottom,

putting oxygen in the area it is most needed.

The bubbles rushing for the surface also physically mix the water,

pulling dead water toward the surface,

and with it, some of the nutrients needed by algae near the surface.

2. Pump oxygen depleted water from the bottom of the pond,

splash it on the surface so that it absorbs oxygen,

eventually you pump a large percentage of the dead water out,

and the oxygen replaced at the bottom will begin to feed aerobic bacteria to consume the sludge...

resulting in carbon dioxide

This should be done in the brightest sun hours,

as the algae will boost oxygen levels of depleted water even more.

3. Reduce the depth of the water to around 1.5 meter,

so that the algae can reach to that depth of the pond,

producing oxygen and consuming nutrients in the bright sunlight hours.

Algae produces around 15x as much food value per unit area as a land crop

This means that it also can consume 15x as much troublesome sludge nutrients.

This is the cheapest and easiest...particularly if you grow Tilapia that will eat the resulting algae.

Departing topic a few seconds...High Algae content will also cause oxygen depletion in wee hours to early morning hours

they consume oxygen in darkness

until sunshine returns algae to oxygen production mode

4. Add Fresh cow manure, which contains anaerobic bacteria to consume the sludge.

The methane generated will bubble harmlessly to the surface.

The cow manure will do you no good in the water, so devise a way to sink it undiluted to the sludge.

The greater the sludge accumulation the more severe the solution must be applied.

In order to return the pond to healthy condition, the sludge must be physically removed or consumed.

With Aerobic bacteria, every bit of available oxygen available on the bottom will be immediately consumed.

But by bubbling, eventually you will consume most of the sludge nutrients.

The Anaerobic bacteria are nice because they don't effect oxygen level.

They actually require "bad" conditions to work.

thank you.... appreciate it man.......will be good for future works

[budgeee]

I bought a small 3 rai fruit farm with pond this year....pond 10mtrs deep only going to use it for leisure fishing some fish in it and some turtles.... dont know anything about fish farming really

but its not going to be for profit.just relaxation....small thai house by pond so i can fish and drink beer in the shade. near main house. the water from pond is pumped also to feed irrigation system for fruit farm...always plenty of water in pond....

[jaiyenyen]

Here's our pond at the back of our house.....just for our enjoyment and leisurely fishing for my husband. There is an inlet and outlet that can be opened or closed allowing water to come in from the canal and drain back out to the canal, a dock and stone steps down to the water. My husband has talapia, catfish, pla salit (sp?) and a few others. We have the short coconuts planted around the pond, plus bai toey, kha, ginger, pak boong etc. We did have a problem with algae bloom at first, but covered the whole pond with water iris and in about a week it was all gone. Now we just keep some towards the canal end as kind of a filtration system.

There was a pond on the land when we bought it, but it was way too deep so we had it redug when we had our land leveled.

It's probably about 1 1/2 meters to 2 meters deep.

Beachbunny

Your pond is beautiful, your husband and you are very lucky. My GF and I have some land near Roi-Et that we hope to build on someday, and I plan to have a pond dug in the garden. Your photo has inspired me, thanks for sharing it.

Regards

Jaiyenyen

[plachonubon]

Hi !

3 bond size 25*40*3 m

1 bond size 80*15*2 m

1 bond size 40*21*2,5 m

I have 15 000 tilapia to gether between 0,5-2 kg

what do you pay to have a pond that size dug?

[sibeymai]

I had a pond dug on my farm of 7 rai where I grow agarwood and teak trees, about 750 of each. The saplings need some help through the dry season, especially the agarwood hence the pond to provide water for a drip irrigation system.

My question is regarding what I can do with the pond to keep the water in good condition and what sort of fish I might be able to keep ? The pond is 20 x 5 metres and 10 metres deep. The water level is expected to drop considerably through the dry season.

Would like to have some nice plants and to be able to pull out a nice tasting fish occasionally.

PS. cost 43,000Bt to dig the pond.

Edited October 27, 2007 by sibeymai

[bubbaba]

Here's our pond at the back of our house.....just for our enjoyment and leisurely fishing for my husband. There is an inlet and outlet that can be opened or closed allowing water to come in from the canal and drain back out to the canal, a dock and stone steps down to the water. My husband has talapia, catfish, pla salit (sp?) and a few others. We have the short coconuts planted around the pond, plus bai toey, kha, ginger, pak boong etc. We did have a problem with algae bloom at first, but covered the whole pond with water iris and in about a week it was all gone. Now we just keep some towards the canal end as kind of a filtration system.

There was a pond on the land when we bought it, but it was way too deep so we had it redug when we had our land leveled.

It's probably about 1 1/2 meters to 2 meters deep.

Beachbunny

Beachbunny, you and your husband have the best looking pond I have seen yet. For the last year and even more so for the last six months I have been planing a pond. I really like the way yours looks. Is there any other photos posted anywhere on this form? or A place where I may see more details of the pond, such as flickr, etc?

How far is it from the level ground surface to the water surface? Is your pond lined or just soil?

My wife, thai, looked at the photos and said - build our pond like that one. Sorry if I am a pest, but, your pond is just great.

thank you.

[MrSquigle]

While this is not my pond, it is the kind of pond I want to build on my place when I get round to it.

[bubbaba]

While this is not my pond, it is the kind of pond I want to build on my place when I get round to it.

That location, where ever it is, looks like the proper place for me to live and build a small log cabin. Just my lady and I and the dog. That's it - a beautiful pond and countryside.

[Gary A]

I recently had the pond on farm number 2 enlarged and cleaned up. This will be mostly a pond for recreation and fishing. There is a lot of vegetation near the middle of the pond for some reason. ?? The pond is mostly about two meters or a little deeper. Being fairly deep with the vegetation helps protect the fish from thieves. If or when the government gets around to running electricity and paving the dirt road I would like to build a house here. The 10 rai is about a half a kilometer from our village. We had a road built to the pond from the main road with the dirt from the pond.

My stinking Ipstar is too slow to upload photos right now. Photos to follow if/when this piece of crap service decides to work.

[Gary A]

[ozzydom]

Just found the pics of our dead fish last year, just a reminder that farming is not all beer and skittles,BTW the adjoining pond is identical with the same fish stock and was unaffected .

[loy2]

Hi !

3 bond size 25*40*3 m

1 bond size 80*15*2 m

1 bond size 40*21*2,5 m

I have 15 000 tilapia to gether between 0,5-2 kg

what do you pay to have a pond that size dug?

About 50 000b each

[ozzydom]

Our ponds

[D-MAX]

trying to upload an image.

[D-MAX]

[Gary A]

We have been working on farm pond number two and it appears it is a good water tight pond. While putting in some more rice paddies, I had the excavator expand the pond. The picture shows a hole beside the original pond that is at least a meter and a half deep. I had him leave a dike between the pond and the addition. To my surprise, a couple days later there has been no water seepage into the new portion and the bottom is still dry. The other picture is the new road I had put in from some of the dirt.

I'll see what the pond looks like after the rainy season and will likely have the excavator take out the dike between the two, at least as far as he can reach.