Putting In A Pond On My Property In Sansai

[mascarakatze]

If I want a pond on my land, do i dig a hole and voila, it becomes a pond. Do I line it with plastic or cement? Does it depend on the water table? Or all of the above

[Ricardo]

IME (near to Mae-Jo) it depends on what your soil's like. Is it sandy or claggy, and able to retain the water, once you've filled it ? Are there fish-ponds in your vicinity, what level of water do they contain at different seasons, the groundwater-level can vary between zero (or negative when flooding, in the wet-season) to five meters down, in April. Our own ponds dry-out then, without a lot of expensive topping-up, dry ponds don't look wonderful !

How far are you from a stream or irrigation-klong ? Do you plan to pump water as/when needed, will the pump be a permanent installation (I'd recommend not, for security-reasons, based on our own experience), or do you plan to divert water to flow in from the klong & then back out again, in which case you'll need to ensure that the pipes are laid so that the water doesn't have to flow uphill. Obvious to a farang, but ...

If taking water from a klong, you ought perhaps to discuss your ideas, with your local pa-luang ? Saves on misunderstandings when farmers downstream complain that you're diverting/stealing their much-needed irrigation water, from their second/irrigated crop of rice ! In our village, that's taken-care-of by the local golf-club, which is upstream & has beautiful green grass and foliage year-round ... so the water usually only flows when it's raining anyway !

A friend has a pond dug into former rice-fields, with a stream flowing past the edge of his property, his seems to fill without pumping or a liner, but that's near the big river over towards Mae-Rim. Any concrete liner is likely to crack and leak IMO, unless its very well/expensively constructed, so perhaps a good liner might be needed. He did once discuss getting a liner, but I suggested that a fiberglass-dingy ought to be sufficient, I managed to escape a ducking !

[DLock]

IME (near to Mae-Jo) it depends on what your soil's like. Is it sandy or claggy, and able to retain the water, once you've filled it ? Are there fish-ponds in your vicinity, what level of water do they contain at different seasons, the groundwater-level can vary between zero (or negative when flooding, in the wet-season) to five meters down, in April. Our own ponds dry-out then, without a lot of expensive topping-up, dry ponds don't look wonderful !

How far are you from a stream or irrigation-klong ? Do you plan to pump water as/when needed, will the pump be a permanent installation (I'd recommend not, for security-reasons, based on our own experience), or do you plan to divert water to flow in from the klong & then back out again, in which case you'll need to ensure that the pipes are laid so that the water doesn't have to flow uphill. Obvious to a farang, but ...

If taking water from a klong, you ought perhaps to discuss your ideas, with your local pa-luang ? Saves on misunderstandings when farmers downstream complain that you're diverting/stealing their much-needed irrigation water, from their second/irrigated crop of rice ! In our village, that's taken-care-of by the local golf-club, which is upstream & has beautiful green grass and foliage year-round ... so the water usually only flows when it's raining anyway !

A friend has a pond dug into former rice-fields, with a stream flowing past the edge of his property, his seems to fill without pumping or a liner, but that's near the big river over towards Mae-Rim. Any concrete liner is likely to crack and leak IMO, unless its very well/expensively constructed, so perhaps a good liner might be needed. He did once discuss getting a liner, but I suggested that a fiberglass-dingy ought to be sufficient, I managed to escape a ducking !

Great advice from Ricardo.

I dug about a 1rai pond a few years back which I documented in the Farming forum. Fortunately I have a deep well that I can use to keep it full and a klong that runs most of the year. Its now very established, has a great ecosystem and big fish to catch.

Dig a test hole about 3 meters deep and see where the water table is at this time of year...if at all. And if there is no water table, and your soil is sandy, you only options are concrete (which will be expensive and prone to cracking, and difficult to keep clean) or liner (which will eventually deteriorate and leak). But if you get down a meter or 2 and the hole fills with water, and the soil is clay or mixture, you probably have a good base for a pond.

Good luck. I highly recommend it.

[zippydedodah]

would help if you could mention the size of land and/or size of potential pond... looking for surface area or deep...etc

[junglechef]

I have a small pond in San Sai near Mae Jo just dug out of an orchard near a klong. Have a pipe going to it but seems even when I close it the water level is pretty much the same as the klong, or will be in a few days if the water level changes drastically like when they release water from the dam. Lots of fish and lily pads w/flowers and my ducks take a daily swim as all as the dog (you'll even catch me and my boys "working" in there sometimes). If it gets low and I want it to look it's best for a special occasion for instance I just top up from klong (I leave my pump in the klong to water my garden and so far nobody has bothered it). Your welcome to come take a look see, just pm me if interested.

[damo]

Bentonite.

http://www.bentonitewa.com.au/bentonite-home-and-garden-domestic/bentonite-fish-ponds-improve-water-quality