I will add some more pictures of fish I catch over the next few days just to show how quickly they grew.

Hi DLock,

Thank you for your really interesting post. Congratulations on a successful project. I have to apologize for my ignorance in these matters, but how is it that all those fish, and all those different kinds of fish, got in there to begin with? Did you purchase them? From your posts it seems that some must have been naturally occurring? Is that right?

Thanks.

Walt

Your pond turned out great DLock.

Very nice.

I'm going to try and have some crayfish in mine (when I build it)

Fun thread.

I will add some more pictures of fish I catch over the next few days just to show how quickly they grew.

Hi DLock,

Thank you for your really interesting post. Congratulations on a successful project. I have to apologize for my ignorance in these matters, but how is it that all those fish, and all those different kinds of fish, got in there to begin with? Did you purchase them? From your posts it seems that some must have been naturally occurring? Is that right?

Thanks.

Walt

Thanks Wait.

I put most of the fish in the pond as fingerlings. I bought them from a local guy. I was pretty clueless to be honest. All I knew I wanted was some catfish and Tilapia - but Google helped me find some fish that I thought would work well.

Some of the fish I didn't deliberately put in, but am sure that a few slipped in with the fry.

And a few, like the needle fish, I have no idea.

It was always an experiment it ecosystem and if they would all live together and not eat each other. I'm sure there is some of that, but the little fish hang around the shallows and reeds and in schools to reduce the chance of being catfish meals.

But the fish all seem to get along and I have learnt the different depths, water planes, bait and setup to catch the different fish.

So far, it is a lot of fun.

DLock.

DLock

My hats off to you. Nice Pond and great pics. How I would love to spend my mornings and evenings in such beautiful location. Look forward to seeing more pics.

Well done DLOCK, i remember you. Thats a good job you have done with your dam, you must be proud.

Bye the way Dlock, i meant to ask, any chance of putting fresh water crayfish in the dam yet.

Any tips on stopping too much soil erosion and maintaining water levels

caf

If the dam wall leaks, you can get a powder clay to put in the water, this will seal it up and stop leaking.

Bye the way Dlock, i meant to ask, any chance of putting fresh water crayfish in the dam yet.

Oldsailor, some of the advice I've read is that the fish would probably eat all the small crayfish in the pond, especially now that they are getting big.

I fondly remember catching "yabbies" as a kid in Australia with a lump of meat and a string. That would be fun, and a good feast, but probably not possible.

Maybe big crayfish would have a chance, but would be an expensive experiment and the babies would probably not survive.

Any tips on stopping too much soil erosion and maintaining water levels

caf

Caf,

I am fortunate in that I have a Klong that runs most of the year right along side my pond, so I have a permanent pump that I can turn on when it needs it, and my pond does suffer with seepage quite a lot. I also have my well pump close to the pond and if I really have to I can use that to maintain some water levels.

If I didnt have both of those, I'm pretty sure my pond would dry out.

As far as erosion, Ya Faek (Kings grass - easily available everywhere) was the best thing I ever planted. It took quickly and help stabilize the soil and gave some protection for the ground cover to take hold - I went with the recommendation of my local plant guy for ground cover. Now as you can see in the pictures, the soil is very secure.

Something else that I did that might help, is that there is a slight slope away from the top of the pond away from the pond. That stopped the runoff eating away at the banks causing gorges, which did happen in the first few months.

Sorry I couldn't be much help.

Causing gorges !..............Thats why you need a "spillway". A small part of the dam wall top , say about 2 mtrs wide which is about i mtr deep. This will allow the excess water to flow out so that the water never reaches the top of the dam wall and cause erosion/gorges. You just have to be careful where you locate the spillway.

Bye the way Dlock, i meant to ask, any chance of putting fresh water crayfish in the dam yet.

Oldsailor, some of the advice I've read is that the fish would probably eat all the small crayfish in the pond, especially now that they are getting big.

I fondly remember catching "yabbies" as a kid in Australia with a lump of meat and a string. That would be fun, and a good feast, but probably not possible.

Maybe big crayfish would have a chance, but would be an expensive experiment and the babies would probably not survive.

Yes DLock, i have a big dam on my property near the Sunshine Coast of Queensland. Before putting crayfish into the dam, i threw in lot of 'hides' that is pieces of 1 inch PVC pipe into the water. The crayfish get into these as they are nice and dark and the predators dont get them...............it works well, just a small clue. When i need a feed of crays, i just put some mince into a small mesh Yabby Pot toss it in for an hour and bingo bring out the VB's

Hi DLock, another thing you can do is toss a few old car/motorbike tyres into the dam, they settle in the muddy bottom and create good hides for crayfish. Good Luck mate, but do try it as i might get up your way one day and a coldie with a few crays would come in handy .........thanks !

Hi DLock, great topic thanks for sharing, I enjoy looking at your pics. Your Pond looks great and the fishing would be a treat. I also remember fishing for yabbies with meat tied on string as a youngster in Aus. All the best.

Dlock.... The pond sure looks great! Congrats! I sent you a PM as we just got a quote for a much smaller dig and it was way too high.

OldSailor..... Where can you get the sealing clay that you mention? Is it a common material around Chiang Mai? I think it is called bentonite if I remember.

Dlock.... The pond sure looks great! Congrats! I sent you a PM as we just got a quote for a much smaller dig and it was way too high.

OldSailor..... Where can you get the sealing clay that you mention? Is it a common material around Chiang Mai? I think it is called bentonite if I remember.

T_Dog..............Sorry mate, can't help you there, i live Samui & Suratthani, don't know the North.

Anyhow, i am on a 'paddling' holiday in SE Qld right now lolololol

Dlock.... The pond sure looks great! Congrats! I sent you a PM as we just got a quote for a much smaller dig and it was way too high.

OldSailor..... Where can you get the sealing clay that you mention? Is it a common material around Chiang Mai? I think it is called bentonite if I remember.

T_Dog..............Sorry mate, can't help you there, i live Samui & Suratthani, don't know the North.

Anyhow, i am on a 'paddling' holiday in SE Qld right now lolololol

Any tips on stopping too much soil erosion and maintaining water levels

caf

Caf,

I am fortunate in that I have a Klong that runs most of the year right along side my pond, so I have a permanent pump that I can turn on when it needs it, and my pond does suffer with seepage quite a lot. I also have my well pump close to the pond and if I really have to I can use that to maintain some water levels.

If I didnt have both of those, I'm pretty sure my pond would dry out.

As far as erosion, Ya Faek (Kings grass - easily available everywhere) was the best thing I ever planted. It took quickly and help stabilize the soil and gave some protection for the ground cover to take hold - I went with the recommendation of my local plant guy for ground cover. Now as you can see in the pictures, the soil is very secure.

Something else that I did that might help, is that there is a slight slope away from the top of the pond away from the pond. That stopped the runoff eating away at the banks causing gorges, which did happen in the first few months.

Sorry I couldn't be much help.

Causing gorges !..............Thats why you need a "spillway". A small part of the dam wall top , say about 2 mtrs wide which is about i mtr deep. This will allow the excess water to flow out so that the water never reaches the top of the dam wall and cause erosion/gorges. You just have to be careful where you locate the spillway.

Oldsailor, it was actually causing Gorges on the inside walls of the pond as water ran into the pond, not out. Basically, sloping the land away from the pond stopped that and the Ya Faek did a fantastic job of holding it all together once it took hold.

DLock.... Thanks again for the help on the PMs. Wife just got a quote this morning that was exactly in line with your experience. He has all the equipment and we start on 5 February.

One more question.... What kind of garden shop stocks the grasses that you planted? I want to plant those as soon as possible once the pond is dug and cover them up with rice stalks to stop the erosion you encountered.

Dlock............ok , understand, thats where the BENTONITE mentioned by T-Dog would have come in handy as its good administered before the water comes in. However there is an Australian company which produces a product ideal for 'after filling' application. They ship all over the world, don't ask me for costs , but i am told very reasonable. The company is called " Polyner Innovations" i suggest you google them.

Good luck.

Dlock............ok , understand, thats where the BENTONITE mentioned by T-Dog would have come in handy as its good administered before the water comes in. However there is an Australian company which produces a product ideal for 'after filling' application. They ship all over the world, don't ask me for costs , but i am told very reasonable. The company is called " Polyner Innovations" i suggest you google them.

Good luck.

Sorry wrong spelling............POLYMER INNOVATIONS

DLock.... Thanks again for the help on the PMs. Wife just got a quote this morning that was exactly in line with your experience. He has all the equipment and we start on 5 February.

One more question.... What kind of garden shop stocks the grasses that you planted? I want to plant those as soon as possible once the pond is dug and cover them up with rice stalks to stop the erosion you encountered.

T_Dog, ask around the village. Someone will have a contact.

My contact was via the village and they came down from Chiang Rai and planted the little Ya Faek seedlings the correct distance apart for optimum growth.

I dont recall the cost, but it was not expensive.

If you get really stuck, PM and I will see if my wife can dig up the contact we used.

Regarding "what's this fish:" Kasetsart has a promising page on thai fish at http://www.ku.ac.th/AgrInfo/thaifish/index.html

I say promising because I can't actually get the Thai characters to display but I still found it somewhat helpful with pics and English names.

Just been looking through your archive, very interesting.

I have been wondering what to do with some spare land I have near my house and would love to make a pond (on a smaller scale)

Your blog has inspired me, thanks for sharing.

Some great looking fish in there.

What a great post. Thanks for sharing as I really enjoyed reading it. Aloha

DL:

Nice project. Thanks for posting it. Good luck with the fishing.

Bahnhof