Hi

Considering a largish pond....maybe 50 or 100sqm or more.

I don't like the idea of butyl liners for a large pond.

I'd rather not pay for concreting.

I hear the rice fields, if they're not clay soiled, are lined with clay.

My thinking is.....if this clay makes it fairly impervious.....why not allow for a bit of top-up every week and go with that?

So does clay work?

How thick must it be?

Is it available and at what cost?

And how much will it actually leak?

Thanks!

Edited March 2, 201115 yr by cheeryble

What kind of soil do you have in your garden? Mud do not stick to sandy soil.

And such mud will crack and turn to powder when left dried, and its adhesiveness cannot be reinstated by wetting it again.

Edited March 2, 201115 yr by trogers

What kind of soil do you have in your garden? Mud do not stick to sandy soil.

And such mud will crack and turn to powder when left dried, and its adhesiveness cannot be reinstated by wetting it again.

To be honest I'm not sure about the subsoil.

But rightly or wrongly I've been told that ricefields are sometimes "lined" with clay.

I'm told that normally the fields need three days of flooding to get things well saturated then it's once a weekish.

Just seeing if this will transfer to ponds.....it sure could be a nice idea if it worked.

What kind of soil do you have in your garden? Mud do not stick to sandy soil.

And such mud will crack and turn to powder when left dried, and its adhesiveness cannot be reinstated by wetting it again.

To be honest I'm not sure about the subsoil.

But rightly or wrongly I've been told that ricefields are sometimes "lined" with clay.

I'm told that normally the fields need three days of flooding to get things well saturated then it's once a weekish.

Just seeing if this will transfer to ponds.....it sure could be a nice idea if it worked.

Ricefields are of soft clay a few metres deep, not lined. Even the berms between plots are piled up from this soft clay. If the berms collaspe, wet mud from the field is used to repair them. The soft clay retains its properties through wet and dry cycles by ploughing the fields to bring up the wet mud below the dried out layer.

Ricefields are of soft clay a few metres deep, not lined. Even the berms between plots are piled up from this soft clay. If the berms collaspe, wet mud from the field is used to repair them. The soft clay retains its properties through wet and dry cycles by ploughing the fields to bring up the wet mud below the dried out layer.

I love and learn.....

So do you think there's a clever way to have an occasional-top-up type pond in normal din daeng type soil?

cheers

Ricefields are of soft clay a few metres deep, not lined. Even the berms between plots are piled up from this soft clay. If the berms collaspe, wet mud from the field is used to repair them. The soft clay retains its properties through wet and dry cycles by ploughing the fields to bring up the wet mud below the dried out layer.

I love and learn.....

So do you think there's a clever way to have an occasional-top-up type pond in normal din daeng type soil?

cheers

Can only be done if you are on a former ricefield. Have seen such in BKK. Biggest example would be the huge pond in Lumpini Park in the heart of BKK. Such soft clay is greyish in color. We call it marine clay. Reddish clay are in the stiff clay category. If you are thinking of using a lining of marine clay, you have to ponder on long term repairs from a nearby source. Also, you have to work out on laying pipework through your lining for water filtration and aeration to maintain the pond, or else your pond water will turn brackish.

Sorry I meant live and learn....

Just went past the new exhibition centre building site in Chiangmai on the Canal Rd.

They have excavated a very large water area perhaps 3 metres deep. They don't seem to have a lining.

Hmmmm........

...on the Canal Rd.

They have excavated a very large water area perhaps 3 metres deep. They don't seem to have a lining.

Hmmmm........

Perhaps it is not a static pond, but one with a constant flow of water through it from the canal?