Converting Ponds, Am I Making A Problem?

[Jotham79]

Years ago I dug 3 ponds on my farm, mainly for irrigation, so they are a little deep (4m) and have a 1:1 slope. They have had fish and are fairly productive and have had few erosion problems, but difficult to manage. A reservior has been put in and now I should have water in the irrigation ditch running along my property for about 10 months of the year. I'd like to convert the ponds to be more efficient fish ponds. My plan is to take them in turn and pump them dry and enlarge them, and change the slope to 2 or 3 to one, and make them about 2 meters deep. I will still use them for irrigation, but should be able to refill occasionally so I need alittle more than 1-1.5 meters. I had planned to get an excavator to enlarge and re-grade the sides and use the spare dirt to fill to 2 meters. Here is my concern. I am worried the fill will not be very firm when I refill the bottom and I will get an overly soft bottom. Will this be an issue and/or what can I do to prevent this?

Thanks in advance,

Jotham

[ozzydom]

Simply mix Poon Khao (lime )into the backfill ,it will settle down firm, its called lime stabilisation.

[tracker1]

Hi

Lime will be fatal to fish if you use it and will turn the water alkaline if you use to much.I know in england and in outback australia they do what is called Puddling where they put straw on the bottom and put pigs or goats in the pond ( minus water ) and let them tread the straw into the mud this also seals the ponds that leak. Noun 1.

puddle - a mixture of wet clay and sand that can be used to line a pond and that is impervious to water when dry

Just a thought

Jim

[ozzydom]

Hi

Lime will be fatal to fish if you use it and will turn the water alkaline if you use to much.I know in england and in outback australia they do what is called Puddling where they put straw on the bottom and put pigs or goats in the pond ( minus water ) and let them tread the straw into the mud this also seals the ponds that leak. Noun 1.

puddle - a mixture of wet clay and sand that can be used to line a pond and that is impervious to water when dry

Just a thought

Jim

As clarification of tracker1,s posting, I dont know if he is aware that lime is not lime.

The lime used in Thailands farming industries (as it is everywhere) is agricultural lime CaCO3 and CaMG or simply powdered magnesium limestone.

Quicklime (heavily corrosive) and slaked lime (used in the plaster industry) are different kettles of fish entirely and could be detrimental to fish,but are not readily available especially at fertilizer outlets.

Much of Thailands soil and standing water is acid and so requires lime to attain a PH suitable for successful fish farming.

Probably all the 100s of 000s of ponds in Thailand are limed every year after pumping to combat bacteria in the bottom sludge.

Phyto plankton and micro-organisms need a suitable PH to maintain a healthy thriving microcosm,and to this end I apply lime to my ponds whenever required.

[cheeryble]

Jotham

I find this subject interesting as I certainly intend to dig a pond or ponds for a domestic site.......a great feature, emergency reservoir, and good quality topsoil/fill for the rest of the land.

Presumably you're not actually worried about a soft bottom per se, you're worried about the water draining out downwards (and it does)

I bow to Ozzydom's obvious expertise, but for what it's worth, when my friend dug an ornamental lake/pond he was worried about the same thing. A knowledgable local told him to just keep topping it up occasionally as it drops, and wait.

This he did and after some months it sealed itself up. It certainly holds water well now (no pun intended).

ps Ozzydom I like the idea of pigs to tread the straw in!

Can you say more about the lime addition? How much is added? How is it mixed in?

Why do you need to combat those poor little phyto plankton and micro-organisms in the bottom sludge?

Cheeryble

Edited June 23, 2012 by cheeryble

[Jotham79]

The ponds hold water like buckets. If I want them dry, I have to pump them out and they have good clay bottoms. I'm worried about dumping 2 meters of fill in the bottom and having it too soft to walk around on when trying to seine. I think the lime ought to work a treat and instead of pigs and goats, I'll just have the excavator run back and forth a few times to pack it down. In any case they are all full now so it will probably be the winter before I can get the water down to get them worked on.

[cheeryble]

OK so it's the walkability you want....

Yes I guess regular CaCO3 would be OK for fish isn't that chalk?

Hoping for some more specifics from Ozzydom