Any Photos Please

[Tilapia]

Tilapia, What water depth will you have in the new pond .??

Hi Ozzy

I do all my ponds at 2 meters deep, the ground water here is very high, so in most cases it will fill up by it-self.

Regards

Very interesting topic and nice pictures!

I haven't searched on this, but was curious if anyone lined their ponds (side or bottom)

with plastic or some other material to keep the water clear or if it would help keep the water

levels higher?

Also, do your ponds dry up during the dry season at 2 - 3 meters deep?

Hi.

Ponds drying out is depending on your location, and the water holding ability of the soil.

You can use a plastic liner, but as far as I have seen, it's not working out to good.

Regards

[Beachbunny]

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

[lkc121]

hi tilapia.... i am wondering if you could help. i have a pond that i leased this year. it was doing fine when we initially put water. then later when we needed to increase water as they are nearing 90 days, the banks start to have seepages all around. we try to patch it up with extra soil (and i mean a lot, about twenty 50kg sacks) and found that it will flow again the following day.if the pond is dry i could rectify that, but now that its filled with tilapias, we have no choice but to pump water continously (translate: waste diesel) any idea how to rectify it in your experience? thanks in advance

[Sakeopete]

Our pond is 45m x 25m x 3.5m deep, I haven't stocked it with fish as we don't live near the land and it gets fished almost every night by locals whether I like it or not. However there are many different species that have established themselves. We have many fruit trees planted around the pond and when the locals give us a chance we get pomagranites, mangos, bananas and papaya. Our tamarind tree flowered this year also.

[Tilapia]

hi tilapia.... i am wondering if you could help. i have a pond that i leased this year. it was doing fine when we initially put water. then later when we needed to increase water as they are nearing 90 days, the banks start to have seepages all around. we try to patch it up with extra soil (and i mean a lot, about twenty 50kg sacks) and found that it will flow again the following day.if the pond is dry i could rectify that, but now that its filled with tilapias, we have no choice but to pump water continously (translate: waste diesel) any idea how to rectify it in your experience? thanks in advance

Hi.

I have never had that problem, so I'm not to much help there. Is there a way you can make an over-flow pipe in the pond ? is there land lower than the surface of the pond ?

If not, then there aint much to do, as long as you have fish in there, how big are the fish now ??

Regards

[lkc121]

hi tilapia.... i am wondering if you could help. i have a pond that i leased this year. it was doing fine when we initially put water. then later when we needed to increase water as they are nearing 90 days, the banks start to have seepages all around. we try to patch it up with extra soil (and i mean a lot, about twenty 50kg sacks) and found that it will flow again the following day.if the pond is dry i could rectify that, but now that its filled with tilapias, we have no choice but to pump water continously (translate: waste diesel) any idea how to rectify it in your experience? thanks in advance

Hi.

I have never had that problem, so I'm not to much help there. Is there a way you can make an over-flow pipe in the pond ? is there land lower than the surface of the pond ?

If not, then there aint much to do, as long as you have fish in there, how big are the fish now ??

hi tilapia

Is there a way you can make an over-flow pipe in the pond ? yes, it has

is there land lower than the surface of the pond ? to my dismay, yes. which i suspect is the problem.

fishes is about 3 1/2 fingers now (thai fingers ).

thanks nonetheless, i do see you as an expert in this field. cheers

Regards

[Tilapia]

hi tilapia.... i am wondering if you could help. i have a pond that i leased this year. it was doing fine when we initially put water. then later when we needed to increase water as they are nearing 90 days, the banks start to have seepages all around. we try to patch it up with extra soil (and i mean a lot, about twenty 50kg sacks) and found that it will flow again the following day.if the pond is dry i could rectify that, but now that its filled with tilapias, we have no choice but to pump water continously (translate: waste diesel) any idea how to rectify it in your experience? thanks in advance

Hi.

I have never had that problem, so I'm not to much help there. Is there a way you can make an over-flow pipe in the pond ? is there land lower than the surface of the pond ?

If not, then there aint much to do, as long as you have fish in there, how big are the fish now ??

hi tilapia

Is there a way you can make an over-flow pipe in the pond ? yes, it has

is there land lower than the surface of the pond ? to my dismay, yes. which i suspect is the problem.

fishes is about 3 1/2 fingers now (thai fingers ).

thanks nonetheless, i do see you as an expert in this field. cheers

Regards

Hi

I dont believe that I'm anywhere close to be an expert in this, but thanks anyway for the nice words.

If you can put in an over-flow pipe, the stick some net on the end, so the fish cant escape.

3 1/2 thai finger....The Tilapia, are they mixed sex or male only ??

Regards.

[lkc121]

hi tilapia.... i am wondering if you could help. i have a pond that i leased this year. it was doing fine when we initially put water. then later when we needed to increase water as they are nearing 90 days, the banks start to have seepages all around. we try to patch it up with extra soil (and i mean a lot, about twenty 50kg sacks) and found that it will flow again the following day.if the pond is dry i could rectify that, but now that its filled with tilapias, we have no choice but to pump water continously (translate: waste diesel) any idea how to rectify it in your experience? thanks in advance

Hi.

I have never had that problem, so I'm not to much help there. Is there a way you can make an over-flow pipe in the pond ? is there land lower than the surface of the pond ?

If not, then there aint much to do, as long as you have fish in there, how big are the fish now ??

hi tilapia

Is there a way you can make an over-flow pipe in the pond ? yes, it has

is there land lower than the surface of the pond ? to my dismay, yes. which i suspect is the problem.

fishes is about 3 1/2 fingers now (thai fingers ).

thanks nonetheless, i do see you as an expert in this field. cheers

Regards

Hi

I dont believe that I'm anywhere close to be an expert in this, but thanks anyway for the nice words.

If you can put in an over-flow pipe, the stick some net on the end, so the fish cant escape.

3 1/2 thai finger....The Tilapia, are they mixed sex or male only ??

Regards.

i ordered male only, but i can see fingerlings now appearing.... so much for ordering their reverse sex eh... yes, covered the overflow pipe. one of the neighbours told me there is a creek flowing beside my ponds.... about 3 feet lower. prior to that, the water was high always, but this year, due to the heat probably, it is going down. he suspects the pressure draws the water down. anyway, thanks again. would really like to visit your place if have a chance..... thanks again buddy

[Tilapia]

hi tilapia.... i am wondering if you could help. i have a pond that i leased this year. it was doing fine when we initially put water. then later when we needed to increase water as they are nearing 90 days, the banks start to have seepages all around. we try to patch it up with extra soil (and i mean a lot, about twenty 50kg sacks) and found that it will flow again the following day.if the pond is dry i could rectify that, but now that its filled with tilapias, we have no choice but to pump water continously (translate: waste diesel) any idea how to rectify it in your experience? thanks in advance

Hi.

I have never had that problem, so I'm not to much help there. Is there a way you can make an over-flow pipe in the pond ? is there land lower than the surface of the pond ?

If not, then there aint much to do, as long as you have fish in there, how big are the fish now ??

hi tilapia

Is there a way you can make an over-flow pipe in the pond ? yes, it has

is there land lower than the surface of the pond ? to my dismay, yes. which i suspect is the problem.

fishes is about 3 1/2 fingers now (thai fingers ).

thanks nonetheless, i do see you as an expert in this field. cheers

Regards

Hi

I dont believe that I'm anywhere close to be an expert in this, but thanks anyway for the nice words.

If you can put in an over-flow pipe, the stick some net on the end, so the fish cant escape.

3 1/2 thai finger....The Tilapia, are they mixed sex or male only ??

Regards.

i ordered male only, but i can see fingerlings now appearing.... so much for ordering their reverse sex eh... yes, covered the overflow pipe. one of the neighbours told me there is a creek flowing beside my ponds.... about 3 feet lower. prior to that, the water was high always, but this year, due to the heat probably, it is going down. he suspects the pressure draws the water down. anyway, thanks again. would really like to visit your place if have a chance..... thanks again buddy

Hi.

You are welcome to visit, just send me a PM when you have the time. Good luck with it.

Regards

[Somtham]

hi tilapia.... i am wondering if you could help. i have a pond that i leased this year. it was doing fine when we initially put water. then later when we needed to increase water as they are nearing 90 days, the banks start to have seepages all around. we try to patch it up with extra soil (and i mean a lot, about twenty 50kg sacks) and found that it will flow again the following day.if the pond is dry i could rectify that, but now that its filled with tilapias, we have no choice but to pump water continously (translate: waste diesel) any idea how to rectify it in your experience? thanks in advance

We had the same problem with our ponds. I think the only way to stop the seepage is to bring in clay (din neow) and pack it about 20cm thick on the banks. We paid between B600-B900 per 10 wheeler load.

There is a very simple soil test you can and should do. Take a habdful of the dirt from the side of the bank where you think the water is seeping. Stir it into a clean glass of water and wait about an hour for it to settle. The sand will settle to the bottom, then there will be a layer of silt, and on top of the silt will be a layer of clay. Oranic matter will float on the top of the water. The percentage of each sand, silt, and clay will determine the type of soil and the soils ability to retain water.

Note: soil test taken from: FAO Training Series "Soil for Freshwater Fish Culture" by A. G. Coche

rgds

[Pond Life]

I'm slightly off topic here, but in other threads people have asked what tree's to plant around the edge of their ponds.

Also there's been lots of discussion of how to save money on fish food.

I've got a few Guava (Farang) tree's around my pond, they produce a lot of fruit & previously I would leave it to rot on the ground or collect for the compost heap.

Now I've got a TGF & I caught her throwing the fallen fruit into the pond.

Initially I thought that was a really dumb idea, but it turns out the fish love them.

They are not the type that people like to eat (personally I dont like any of them).

They are the large ones that go almost yellow on the outside & red on the inside when they fall.

We collect them every morning (for maybe 6 months of the year during wet season).

You need to tear them open if they havnt burst already, they are often full of maggots.

The fish eat all the pulp & bugs out of the inside & the outer skin is left floating at the side of the pond for scooping out.

Guava tree to the right of Sala.

They grow quick & easy.

Free healthy food.

[lkc121]

hi tilapia.... i am wondering if you could help. i have a pond that i leased this year. it was doing fine when we initially put water. then later when we needed to increase water as they are nearing 90 days, the banks start to have seepages all around. we try to patch it up with extra soil (and i mean a lot, about twenty 50kg sacks) and found that it will flow again the following day.if the pond is dry i could rectify that, but now that its filled with tilapias, we have no choice but to pump water continously (translate: waste diesel) any idea how to rectify it in your experience? thanks in advance

We had the same problem with our ponds. I think the only way to stop the seepage is to bring in clay (din neow) and pack it about 20cm thick on the banks. We paid between B600-B900 per 10 wheeler load.

There is a very simple soil test you can and should do. Take a habdful of the dirt from the side of the bank where you think the water is seeping. Stir it into a clean glass of water and wait about an hour for it to settle. The sand will settle to the bottom, then there will be a layer of silt, and on top of the silt will be a layer of clay. Oranic matter will float on the top of the water. The percentage of each sand, silt, and clay will determine the type of soil and the soils ability to retain water.

Note: soil test taken from: FAO Training Series "Soil for Freshwater Fish Culture" by A. G. Coche

rgds

Hi Sotham,

yes i am a follower of the FAO series too..

as for the soil, the workers will take those soil, mix with water, placed to the seepage areas, compact it (pounding it with big mallets, even sledgehammers ), it does its trick for a day or two, but then you will see seepage again after that... i have asked for advice with the locals fishfarmers here, but they said it can only be rectified after harvest, when the pond is dry... in the meantime, i am spending a small fortune on diesel. its frustrating to see my profit going to the local diesel station . in the meantime, one of my more experience worker is putting a sandbag dam (covered with thick clay) for stop-gap measure. at least it slows down the seepages.

thanks anyway, was hoping to learn from more experienced friends here. i really enjoy this forum. really an eye-opener in many many ways.

Cheers Sotham, nice talking to you

[lkc121]

I'm slightly off topic here, but in other threads people have asked what tree's to plant around the edge of their ponds.

Also there's been lots of discussion of how to save money on fish food.

I've got a few Guava (Farang) tree's around my pond, they produce a lot of fruit & previously I would leave it to rot on the ground or collect for the compost heap.

Now I've got a TGF & I caught her throwing the fallen fruit into the pond.

Initially I thought that was a really dumb idea, but it turns out the fish love them.

They are not the type that people like to eat (personally I dont like any of them).

They are the large ones that go almost yellow on the outside & red on the inside when they fall.

We collect them every morning (for maybe 6 months of the year during wet season).

You need to tear them open if they havnt burst already, they are often full of maggots.

The fish eat all the pulp & bugs out of the inside & the outer skin is left floating at the side of the pond for scooping out.

Guava tree to the right of Sala.

They grow quick & easy.

Free healthy food.

thats good idea mate... cheers

[Somtham]

Hi Sotham,

yes i am a follower of the FAO series too..

as for the soil, the workers will take those soil, mix with water, placed to the seepage areas, compact it (pounding it with big mallets, even sledgehammers ), it does its trick for a day or two, but then you will see seepage again after that... i have asked for advice with the locals fishfarmers here, but they said it can only be rectified after harvest, when the pond is dry... in the meantime, i am spending a small fortune on diesel. its frustrating to see my profit going to the local diesel station . in the meantime, one of my more experience worker is putting a sandbag dam (covered with thick clay) for stop-gap measure. at least it slows down the seepages.

thanks anyway, was hoping to learn from more experienced friends here. i really enjoy this forum. really an eye-opener in many many ways.

Cheers Sotham, nice talking to you

If the soil your workers are taking and putting on the seepage area has no clay in it then you're wasting their time along with your diesel. Try the test in a glass that I mentioned and see how much clay there is. You don't have to wait for the pond to be dry to fix the problem. What are the pond dimensions?

rgds

[lkc121]

Hi Sotham,

yes i am a follower of the FAO series too..

as for the soil, the workers will take those soil, mix with water, placed to the seepage areas, compact it (pounding it with big mallets, even sledgehammers ), it does its trick for a day or two, but then you will see seepage again after that... i have asked for advice with the locals fishfarmers here, but they said it can only be rectified after harvest, when the pond is dry... in the meantime, i am spending a small fortune on diesel. its frustrating to see my profit going to the local diesel station . in the meantime, one of my more experience worker is putting a sandbag dam (covered with thick clay) for stop-gap measure. at least it slows down the seepages.

thanks anyway, was hoping to learn from more experienced friends here. i really enjoy this forum. really an eye-opener in many many ways.

Cheers Sotham, nice talking to you

If the soil your workers are taking and putting on the seepage area has no clay in it then you're wasting their time along with your diesel. Try the test in a glass that I mentioned and see how much clay there is. You don't have to wait for the pond to be dry to fix the problem. What are the pond dimensions?

rgds

ok Somtham, i will do as adviced. were do you suggest a good place to find clay-soil in your opinion as a search will be required. guess i forget a lot of the FAO series already. its back to basic for me again mate!

there are three ponds there currently, the biggest being appx 850 sqm and the smallest around 600 sqm i think. its the biggest one what is giving me this endless headaches.

[chownah]

You might have some clay on your land....go dig some holes in various places and see. If you know who has farmed your land in the past (or present) then ask them if they know where the clay soil is...ask where the "din gnew" is...that means sticky soil which will be clay. If no one knows where you have it (or maybe you don't have any) on your land then ask around.....around where I live the lowest fields often have a fairly pure clay underneath the till depth. A quick field test for clay is to take a small ball of moist/wet soil and roll it between the palms to make it roll out into a long cylinder or thread of soil...the longer and thinner you can roll it out before breaking the higher the clay content...I think you can find a description of this on the internet as a soil analysis technique...and probably find some pictures of this which will make it clear how to do it.

Chownah

[Loom]

The testing part looks straightforward enough and looks like a good idea before excavating ponds (my wife is planning to do this in the coming months). Any idea what proportion of clay to sand and silt would prevent seepage?

[lkc121]

You might have some clay on your land....go dig some holes in various places and see. If you know who has farmed your land in the past (or present) then ask them if they know where the clay soil is...ask where the "din gnew" is...that means sticky soil which will be clay. If no one knows where you have it (or maybe you don't have any) on your land then ask around.....around where I live the lowest fields often have a fairly pure clay underneath the till depth. A quick field test for clay is to take a small ball of moist/wet soil and roll it between the palms to make it roll out into a long cylinder or thread of soil...the longer and thinner you can roll it out before breaking the higher the clay content...I think you can find a description of this on the internet as a soil analysis technique...and probably find some pictures of this which will make it clear how to do it.

Chownah

Chownah, noted with thanks mate! cheers

[chownah]

The testing part looks straightforward enough and looks like a good idea before excavating ponds (my wife is planning to do this in the coming months). Any idea what proportion of clay to sand and silt would prevent seepage?

I found this on the internet:

"......

Adding Clay

If the existing soil is too coarse (i.e., too much sand or gravel), clay can be added to provide a better seal. The added material should be at least 20 percent clay. Luckily, adequate clay is common throughout Pennsylvania and may even be available near the pond site. The clay should be spread in layers at least 6 inches deep but preferably 1 foot deep. Again, the depth of clay is related to the water depth. Deeper portions of the pond, where water depths exceed 10 feet, should have at least 12 inches of clay after it is compacted. The clay should be compacted while it is at optimum moisture. It is important that the clay not be allowed to freeze or dry before the pond is refilled with water. Dry or frozen clay will crack and ruin the watertight seal. The exposed clay can be protected with mulch or straw to prevent this problem.

........"

I found this at:

http://water.cas.psu.edu/39.htm

This is from an article which talks about various aspects of fixing leaky ponds so anyone with this problem might want to take a look at the website. Note that they recommend a MINIMUM of 20% clay content for the material added. They also talk about using bentonite which is a type of clay often used to seal ponds. I remember reading an article somewhere that talked about using bentonite as a soil additive as an experiment at Khon Khen University I think....this is a different use for it but if someone wanted to check into using it they might inquire at KKU to see about its availability.

Compacting the clay is important and it is important to have the right moisture content. I can't really give very good advise on optimal moisture for clay soil compaction. If I had to do this myself and could not find good advise on how to recognise optimal soil moisture for the clay I was using then I would mix up some test samples from very dry to very wet and see how they compact. I've worked with clay soils enough in the rice fields to have a pretty good feel for when I'm getting good compaction I think...but I don't want to give the impression that I can give good advise on this.

Chownah

Edited September 28, 2007 by chownah

[Loom]

Thanks for the info Chownah. Bentonite absorbs more water, is more plastic, and remains suspeded in water longer than other clays because it is made up of substantially finer particles. It's used in drilling mud to help suspend heavier particles. So you would need substantially less bentonite in a pond sealing mix compared with other types of clays. It's more expensive and should be available wherever there's a lot of oil/gas well drilling.

[Somtham]

The testing part looks straightforward enough and looks like a good idea before excavating ponds (my wife is planning to do this in the coming months). Any idea what proportion of clay to sand and silt would prevent seepage?

Here's a chart that shows what the sand, silt, clay percentages should be to retain pond water. Again, from the FAO series.

Ikc - have you tested the soil yet? What were your results?

rgds

[lkc121]

The testing part looks straightforward enough and looks like a good idea before excavating ponds (my wife is planning to do this in the coming months). Any idea what proportion of clay to sand and silt would prevent seepage?

Here's a chart that shows what the sand, silt, clay percentages should be to retain pond water. Again, from the FAO series.

Ikc - have you tested the soil yet? What were your results?

rgds

Hi Somtham,

its high on the silt and sand side...the clay part i would guess its there if the diagram is anything to go by, but probably insufficient.... i have no idea with the percentage side at all ...

i dont know if this is good news or bad.... one of my worker mentioned to me, the water from the seepages is not from my side (altho i suspect it is, they are checking/tracing it again now) and/but my water in the pond is still going down by the day.... i have come to the stage whether i should kill the fishes or the workers... kidding....

Edited September 29, 2007 by lkc121

[macan]

Sorry to hear about your pond problem. You mentioned that the leaking only started after you raised the pond water level, maybe you should let the water go back to the previous non-leaky level and if necessary (i.e. fish gasping at the surface for prolonged periods in the morning and after feeding), thin out your fish a bit. How many fish did you stock and how much water was in the pond originally?

I am not clear about the creek you heard about from your neighbour, have you not seen it yourself? Maybe I misundertood your post; perhaps you could take some pictures and post them.

THis link http://srac.tamu.edu/tmppdfs/450812-105fs....4795890e112c483 should open a document from SRAC in the US, it details several options for repairing ponds, but since you are renting maybe better to move your operation elsewhere rather than spend time and money on someone elses leaky pond.

SRAC has a large number of practical short publications on many aspects of aquaculture http://srac.tamu.edu/ a great resource funded by the american taxpayer..... maybe worth pinning!

[macan]

Here's the link to the full list of SRAC publications, http://srac.tamu.edu/fulllist.cfm all in pdf format. However some of them are old scanned files which can be a bit of a bulky download... worth waiting for!

[lkc121]

Here's the link to the full list of SRAC publications, http://srac.tamu.edu/fulllist.cfm all in pdf format. However some of them are old scanned files which can be a bit of a bulky download... worth waiting for!

Dear Macan,

i am stocking correct as per FAO standard, 2-3 per m2. Yes, i dont find it worthwhile to spend on repairing as leasing it. i will get the pic of the creek (seen it) just behind the big pond as soon as i am back there. currently holidaying now. i wanted to thin out the fishes, but at 3 1/2 fingers, i will get mocking from the fishdealers rather than business... ha ha... anyway, thanks for the sites. Yes, i have been reading some of the articles for sometime now. thanks for your help mate.... owe you a cold one!

[chownah]

The testing part looks straightforward enough and looks like a good idea before excavating ponds (my wife is planning to do this in the coming months). Any idea what proportion of clay to sand and silt would prevent seepage?

Here's a chart that shows what the sand, silt, clay percentages should be to retain pond water. Again, from the FAO series.

Ikc - have you tested the soil yet? What were your results?

rgds

Hi Somtham,

its high on the silt and sand side...the clay part i would guess its there if the diagram is anything to go by, but probably insufficient.... i have no idea with the percentage side at all ...

i dont know if this is good news or bad.... one of my worker mentioned to me, the water from the seepages is not from my side (altho i suspect it is, they are checking/tracing it again now) and/but my water in the pond is still going down by the day.... i have come to the stage whether i should kill the fishes or the workers... kidding....

My ponds all have porous bottoms and are not sealed....the water in the pond is the same as the ground water level....could your situation be the same and your pond is just equalizing with the ground water?...if so then if you want it to hold water you will definitely have to drain it, keep it pumped out while you apply and compact a clay bottom and sides....on the other hand if your ground water level is stable even in the dry season (which it is where i live...it never goes below a certain level) then all you would need to do is to excavate down to that level and you should be set to go...the only difficulty with this is that it might take alot of pumping to completely empty the pond as ground water will be constantly flowing in while you are pumping out.

Chownah

[chownah]

Somthan,

Great chart!!! Do you have any idea why clay greater than about 50% is unsuitable...seems like it would be fine but I don't know...

Chownah

[lkc121]

Somthan,

Great chart!!! Do you have any idea why clay greater than about 50% is unsuitable...seems like it would be fine but I don't know...

Chownah

probably because clay/sludge tends to absorb oxygen and retain ammonia?

[lkc121]

The testing part looks straightforward enough and looks like a good idea before excavating ponds (my wife is planning to do this in the coming months). Any idea what proportion of clay to sand and silt would prevent seepage?

Here's a chart that shows what the sand, silt, clay percentages should be to retain pond water. Again, from the FAO series.

Ikc - have you tested the soil yet? What were your results?

rgds

Hi Somtham,

its high on the silt and sand side...the clay part i would guess its there if the diagram is anything to go by, but probably insufficient.... i have no idea with the percentage side at all ...

i dont know if this is good news or bad.... one of my worker mentioned to me, the water from the seepages is not from my side (altho i suspect it is, they are checking/tracing it again now) and/but my water in the pond is still going down by the day.... i have come to the stage whether i should kill the fishes or the workers... kidding....

My ponds all have porous bottoms and are not sealed....the water in the pond is the same as the ground water level....could your situation be the same and your pond is just equalizing with the ground water?...if so then if you want it to hold water you will definitely have to drain it, keep it pumped out while you apply and compact a clay bottom and sides....on the other hand if your ground water level is stable even in the dry season (which it is where i live...it never goes below a certain level) then all you would need to do is to excavate down to that level and you should be set to go...the only difficulty with this is that it might take alot of pumping to completely empty the pond as ground water will be constantly flowing in while you are pumping out.

Chownah

the creek i saw is three feet lower that the pond bed. when i went to lease the pond, the water level was up at the creek, so i thought its good lease. Even my experience workers concured. but alas, this year is freaking warm, and the normally reliable creek is down. hence my problem. i tend to agree with you its the leveling factor between the pondbed and the creek. yup, mine is porous as well. the problem is when originally pump water, it steadied at a certain level (mind you, the creek is already low at this particular time, hence the mystery; i need to go to Roswell soon to look for the Holy Grail !). this was good for two months. when i want to subsequently increase water because the fish sizes are growing, it is now seeping out, as and to how the seepages comes about, i dont know. hope you can understand my half-past six english now, six-pack of cold ones are the culprit if you dont

Edited September 29, 2007 by lkc121

[Somtham]

Somthan,

Great chart!!! Do you have any idea why clay greater than about 50% is unsuitable...seems like it would be fine but I don't know...

Chownah

One of the reasons is cracking but strength is also a factor if you have built up dikes. It is good practice to dry the pond and lime after cultivation. During this drying the high percentage clay bottom will crack and then be very difficult to reseal.

Here's the FAO soil book link

ftp://ftp.fao.org/FI/CDrom/FAO_Training/F...6e/x6706e00.htm

Read chapters 8, 9, and 10 for a better understandig of the strength factor when exceeding 55% clay.

rgds