Has anyone any experience of "gleying" a dug out pond. I've one about 15m x 5m which has turned from a pond to a empty hole in about 3 weeks due to the sandy soil here in Chiang Mai. The anoying thing is that several neighbours have healthy ponds and didn't do anything more than myself ie: dig a big hole.

Any help on getting back to a full pond like picture 1?

Thanks.

What is ' Gleying ' ?

Yes, some area in Chiangmai is sandy especially around Sansai.

If you are looking for a company to put a layer of PE for your pond I may know one that could help you. Post it here again.

Gley is the name given to a Russian method used all over the world now where you pack a layer of manure/cow dung/elephant poop into the pond and then cover it with vegetation and pack it down well. You then leave it for about 3 weeks before filling it with water. If you've done it right, the dung will decompose without air and turn into a plastic goo called gley which is water tight.

As you say, Sansai gets it's name from sand and that's where I am but there are plenty of ponds about all working well. I've too much sand in mine though. It was full during the rainy season, filled from a klong that feeds the paddy fields but now it's switched off and my water's vanished.

The flat area at the bottom is nicely full of sticky mud that came in from the klong and it seems to hold the water fine. It is just the sandy sides of the pond that are still sand and obviously leak.

There was a fairly detailed discussion in this forum about lining leaking ponds using clay here:

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/Photos-t133032.html

Thanks for the link Loom. I'd looked for one like that but missed it. I'll move over there for advice.

Since you have a small pond, I have to agree that lining the pond is the best option.