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Updated 2020 new pond thread

MO-APE said:
Great stuff, brother! I just signed a contract to build a pond that is estimated to be ~4-5 acres with an 1,100’ dam. I’ve done an absolute pile of research, one thing I would highly suggest is to look at an aerator/diffuser if you can economically get power to the site. It is absolute insurance for your fish/lake health. Additionally, you can safely stock more northern based species like walleye, smallmouth, yellow perch, etc.
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So I recently purchased a farm with a pretty nice pond on it. There is an aerator hooked to some floating barrels. Its all powered by a windmill. I watched it for a little while the other day and the slightest breeze gets it going and makes bubbles. Pretty neat setup. I'll have to snap some pics.

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IowaBowHunter1983 said:
So I recently purchased a farm with a pretty nice pond on it. There is an aerator hooked to some floating barrels. Its all powered by a windmill. I watched it for a little while the other day and the slightest breeze gets it going and makes bubbles. Pretty neat setup. I'll have to snap some pics.
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FWIW...the most vulnerable time of the year for a pond is normally late July/early August. It is then that the water temps are highest and there are lower DO counts. At that time...even a day or two of no wind can tilt the pond to the place where major fish kills are possible due to low oxygen. Therein lies the rub with the otherwise helpful wind based aerators. Just when you need it most, a hot, overnight in late July combined with no wind, and therefore no supplemental aeration, and whammo...the pond is 2/3 dead fish overnight.

It is predominantly for this reason that guys got away from wind powered aerators...they are great for 95% of the year, but are useless just when most needed. I offer this just info as a FYI so you know that you are not fully protected with that style of aeration.
 
Daver said:
FWIW...the most vulnerable time of the year for a pond is normally late July/early August. It is then that the water temps are highest and there are lower DO counts. At that time...even a day or two of no wind can tilt the pond to the place where major fish kills are possible due to low oxygen. Therein lies the rub with the otherwise helpful wind based aerators. Just when you need it most, a hot, overnight in late July combined with no wind, and therefore no supplemental aeration, and whammo...the pond is 2/3 dead fish overnight.

It is predominantly for this reason that guys got away from wind powered aerators...they are great for 95% of the year, but are useless just when most needed. I offer this just info as a FYI so you know that you are not fully protected with that style of aeration.
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I'm far from an expert on this subject. I can just say from what I observed it took next to nothing as far as a breeze to make bubbles. There are some BIG fish in this pond so I guess it's working so far. Previous owner installed it after a fish kill like you described.

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MO-APE said:
Great stuff, brother! I just signed a contract to build a pond that is estimated to be ~4-5 acres with an 1,100’ dam. I’ve done an absolute pile of research, one thing I would highly suggest is to look at an aerator/diffuser if you can economically get power to the site. It is absolute insurance for your fish/lake health. Additionally, you can safely stock more northern based species like walleye, smallmouth, yellow perch, etc.
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It is a long ways off the road so power probably isnt happening. Dad has talked about building a small cabin out there and using a propane generator for power there. Hoping its deep enough to alleviate some of the fish kill problems. Also hoping we have enough water in it this fall to put a bunch of fathead minnows in it. Then there will be plenty of forage for spring stocked fish. Also that is one long dam. How deep is your pond going to be?
 
Nrharris said:
It is a long ways off the road so power probably isnt happening. Dad has talked about building a small cabin out there and using a propane generator for power there. Hoping its deep enough to alleviate some of the fish kill problems. Also hoping we have enough water in it this fall to put a bunch of fathead minnows in it. Then there will be plenty of forage for spring stocked fish. Also that is one long dam. How deep is your pond going to be?
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20’ deep
 
Daver said:
FWIW...the most vulnerable time of the year for a pond is normally late July/early August. It is then that the water temps are highest and there are lower DO counts. At that time...even a day or two of no wind can tilt the pond to the place where major fish kills are possible due to low oxygen. Therein lies the rub with the otherwise helpful wind based aerators. Just when you need it most, a hot, overnight in late July combined with no wind, and therefore no supplemental aeration, and whammo...the pond is 2/3 dead fish overnight.

It is predominantly for this reason that guys got away from wind powered aerators...they are great for 95% of the year, but are useless just when most needed. I offer this just info as a FYI so you know that you are not fully protected with that style of aeration.
Click to expand...
Question for u Daver. The aerator in my pond quit working due to a raccoon issue about 3 weeks ago maybe a month ago. It’s fixed and ready to work but I was told to wait to start it back up until this fall. The explanation was something along the lines of turning it on now could potentially over heat the pond. Cool water is down low and turning it on could mix too much of the warmer water into it (i may not have that perfectly but something along those lines). Fwiw my pond is roughly 2 to 2 1/2 acres, averages probably 6-9’ w one end being close to 15’ deep approx. and there 3 diffusers evenly spread from one end of the pond to the other (it’s long and fairly narrow).
Would u agree w the advice I’m getting?
 
Rous14 said:
Question for u Daver. The aerator in my pond quit working due to a raccoon issue about 3 weeks ago maybe a month ago. It’s fixed and ready to work but I was told to wait to start it back up until this fall. The explanation was something along the lines of turning it on now could potentially over heat the pond. Cool water is down low and turning it on could mix too much of the warmer water into it (i may not have that perfectly but something along those lines). Fwiw my pond is roughly 2 to 2 1/2 acres, averages probably 6-9’ w one end being close to 15’ deep approx. and there 3 diffusers evenly spread from one end of the pond to the other (it’s long and fairly narrow).
Would u agree w the advice I’m getting?
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Disclaimer...I am not sure about this. :) But my lean would be to trust that advice. I do know that people in the know on aeration do warn about how and when to start aeration. Now then, ponds naturally "turnover" about this time of the year...perhaps the advisor was warning against "jump starting" that process??

I would recommend checking out the Pond Boss website, there are many knowledgeable posters there that can speak from a better perspective than I can.
 
Daver said:
Disclaimer...I am not sure about this. :) But my lean would be to trust that advice. I do know that people in the know on aeration do warn about how and when to start aeration. Now then, ponds naturally "turnover" about this time of the year...perhaps the advisor was warning against "jump starting" that process??

I would recommend checking out the Pond Boss website, there are many knowledgeable posters there that can speak from a better perspective than I can.
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Yea I think your lean is along same lines of what my thoughts are and what I was given as advice. But I’ll definitley check out the website u referenced. Appreciate it!
 
Nrharris said:
Update: We are supposed to be about 2 weeks from breaking ground on the pond. They brought out the drawdown pipe today and fused it together. This pipe is mainly for construction to let the water out while they are building and will be there to lower the level of the pond in the future if we want. This pipe is 250 feet long and will be under the dam.View attachment 119520 View attachment 119521 View attachment 119522
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What prevents seepage along the drawdown pipe? I assume this is buried below the dam?


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They packed all over and around the drawdown pipe. They had to do density tests all around it to make sure it was packed right.
 
mrush said:
What prevents seepage along the drawdown pipe? I assume this is buried below the dam?


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It is also common for drawdown pipes to have a collar on them to prevent seepage along the outside of the pipe. I don't know if that was used in this case or not, but I would guess that they probably did.
 
I’m familiar with anti seep collars and have been studying Dam Construction for a while now, I have not run across a drawdown pipe below the Dam before, that’s the highest pressure point in the dam. I have a project coming up that this would work perfect for but I didn’t think it was possible.


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mrush said:
I’m familiar with anti seep collars and have been studying Dam Construction for a while now, I have not run across a drawdown pipe below the Dam before, that’s the highest pressure point in the dam. I have a project coming up that this would work perfect for but I didn’t think it was possible.


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The dam construction specs had the approval of the army Corp of engineers so it must work. To my knowledge all of the other ponds in the area that are getting built have a drawdown pipe as well.
 
Nrharris said:
The dam construction specs had the approval of the army Corp of engineers so it must work. To my knowledge all of the other ponds in the area that are getting built have a drawdown pipe as well.
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Mine does as well

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Thought I would add a few pics. It's been just over a year since the construction was completed. The derecho last year was the first runoff the pond saw. It's been a pretty dry year here, but we are about 4 inches from being full. Last fall we stocked 30 pounds of fathead minnows. This spring we added another 60 pounds of fatheads, 5000 bluegills, and 1200 redear sunfish. Some of the bluegills are already 6 inches long. This fall we are adding yellow perch, largemouth bass, walleyes, and hybrid striped bass.

We added a beach which has been a hit with family and friends. There's been a lot of fun had by all out there already this year. The pictures only show a little of the pond. It's impossible to show the size of the pond because of all of the standing trees in the water. Need to get some drone shots sometime.Resized_20210816_121038.jpegResized_20210816_121640.jpegResized_20210816_121835.jpeg
 
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