I was thinking of digging a pond on my property - say about
twenty-five feet wide and maybe six feet deep in the middle and I was
interested in having some fish. Someone told me that a "normal" pond
would not do if I wanted Koi or goldfish either one, I would need to
make it concrete or line it with something else. Why?

what's normal? if you plan on having a non-lined pond you need to check and
see if the earth where you want to put your pond will hold water. most
people's won't and that's why they have a liner.
there are different liners. flexible: epdm, permalon. hard liners: concrete
or pre-formed plastic. there are others. liner ponds can be made in any
shape and depth and may be the easiest and cheapest since all you do is dig
a hole and put in the liner. a smaller pond filled with plants uphill from
the large pond is called a veggie filter. you need a pump that circulates
the water from the lower pond into the upper veggie filter. then the water
will spill over via a waterfall into the lower pond. this cleans the water.
some people don't need mechanical filtration if their veggie filter is up
and running. this requires lots of plants and few fish in the main pond. the
whole thing is up to you and your tastes.
mad
--
"Dogs come when they're called; cats take a message and
get back to you later."
Mary Bly

From: gerbil
Organization: Posted via Supernews, http://www.supernews.com
Reply-To: gerbil
Newsgroups: rec.ponds
Date: Sat, 05 Apr 2003 22:40:28 -0600
Subject: why do I need a lining?

I was thinking of digging a pond on my property - say about
twenty-five feet wide and maybe six feet deep in the middle and I was
interested in having some fish. Someone told me that a "normal" pond
would not do if I wanted Koi or goldfish either one, I would need to
make it concrete or line it with something else. Why?



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Koi actually thrive in muddy water which helps enhance their coloration
(bentonite mud)......People just don't like seeing murky water......Do what
you want.......Too many made up rules..........

You can use clay to line your pond.

http://www.aquahabitat.com/techfaqs.html

"With clay, it is important to utilize a contractor who has experience
building clay lined ponds. We recently heard of a contractor who quipped
that he has made a lot of money off people who had him build clay lined
ponds. He says he makes the extra profit when he goes back in to line the
pond with a synthetic liner. What this says to us is this particular
contractor does not posses the required knowledge to build clay ponds. If he
has sufficient knowledge, he wouldn't need to reseal the ponds. Be sure your
pond contractor is qualified for the task before you hire them. We also help
clients select the best contractor.

A qualifed contractor is crucial if you intend to use commercial Bentonite
clay. Bentonite is a very effective pond sealant in the right hands. We see
way too many people try to use this material who have no concept of its
requirements. We urge everyone to seek out a contractor who has been
successful with Bentonite instead of trying to seal their own lake. Subtle
design requirements exist in order to create an efficient seal with
Bentonite. "

"gerbil" wrote in message
...
I was thinking of digging a pond on my property - say about
twenty-five feet wide and maybe six feet deep in the middle and I was
interested in having some fish. Someone told me that a "normal" pond
would not do if I wanted Koi or goldfish either one, I would need to
make it concrete or line it with something else. Why?

Also, I think I read somewhere that bentonite clay needs to be installed
something like 2' deep in order to ensure that it's watertight. That's a LOT
of clay! Good for the fish, yes: but that's a LOT of clay! As Michael stated
above, the best thing about a liner is that it keeps the water where you
want it: IN the pond.

Lee

"DKat" wrote in message
et...
You can use clay to line your pond.

http://www.aquahabitat.com/techfaqs.html

"With clay, it is important to utilize a contractor who has experience
building clay lined ponds. We recently heard of a contractor who quipped
that he has made a lot of money off people who had him build clay lined
ponds. He says he makes the extra profit when he goes back in to line the
pond with a synthetic liner. What this says to us is this particular
contractor does not posses the required knowledge to build clay ponds. If
he
has sufficient knowledge, he wouldn't need to reseal the ponds. Be sure
your
pond contractor is qualified for the task before you hire them. We also
help
clients select the best contractor.

A qualifed contractor is crucial if you intend to use commercial Bentonite
clay. Bentonite is a very effective pond sealant in the right hands. We
see
way too many people try to use this material who have no concept of its
requirements. We urge everyone to seek out a contractor who has been
successful with Bentonite instead of trying to seal their own lake. Subtle
design requirements exist in order to create an efficient seal with
Bentonite. "

"gerbil" wrote in message
...
I was thinking of digging a pond on my property - say about
twenty-five feet wide and maybe six feet deep in the middle and I was
interested in having some fish. Someone told me that a "normal" pond
would not do if I wanted Koi or goldfish either one, I would need to
make it concrete or line it with something else. Why?

Gerbil,

It depends on where you live. If you have a high
clay content in your soil like we do here in most
places in Oklahoma you just dig a hole and fill it
with water. One way to find out if your soil is
compatible for this kind of pond, go to your
extension office and find out how you solid
percolates. This is usually found by digging a
hole and filling it with water and see how long
it takes for it to absorb into the ground. If it
doesn't drain, you have soil like we do here and
you probably would not need a liner or concrete.
If is drains fairly fast then you need either
liner, concrete or spray a layer of clay in the
hole you have dug. The only problem with using
clay powder is that you have to have it spread
professionally and a specific layer depth
depending on the "Percolating" capability of your
soil. The other problem with clay is that if you
have Goldfish and especially KOI, they dig in the
bottom and depending on the depth of your clay
sealer they could expose an area where the pond
would start leaking.

No matter what you decide it could get expensive.
In a pond the size you are talking about (you
never mentioned length) Permalon has a lifetime
guarantee if it is bermed into the soil sides of
the pond and if the piece is big enough you could
possibly get a discount by buying directly from
Permalon in Houston.

HTH

Tom L.L.
"gerbil" wrote in message
...
I was thinking of digging a pond on my
property - say about
twenty-five feet wide and maybe six feet deep in
the middle and I was
interested in having some fish. Someone told me
that a "normal" pond
would not do if I wanted Koi or goldfish either
one, I would need to
make it concrete or line it with something else.
Why?

thanks, tom, for saying better what i tried to say earlier.

if you plan on having a non-lined pond you need to check and
see if the earth where you want to put your pond will hold water. most
people's won't and that's why they have a liner.

mad
--
Belief in a cruel God makes a cruel man.
Thomas Paine

From: "Tom L. La Bron"
Organization: Oklahoma State University
Newsgroups: rec.ponds
Date: Tue, 8 Apr 2003 12:26:51 -0500
Subject: why do I need a lining?

Gerbil,

It depends on where you live. If you have a high
clay content in your soil like we do here in most
places in Oklahoma you just dig a hole and fill it
with water. One way to find out if your soil is
compatible for this kind of pond, go to your
extension office and find out how you solid
percolates. This is usually found by digging a
hole and filling it with water and see how long
it takes for it to absorb into the ground. If it
doesn't drain, you have soil like we do here and
you probably would not need a liner or concrete.
If is drains fairly fast then you need either
liner, concrete or spray a layer of clay in the
hole you have dug. The only problem with using
clay powder is that you have to have it spread
professionally and a specific layer depth
depending on the "Percolating" capability of your
soil. The other problem with clay is that if you
have Goldfish and especially KOI, they dig in the
bottom and depending on the depth of your clay
sealer they could expose an area where the pond
would start leaking.

No matter what you decide it could get expensive.
In a pond the size you are talking about (you
never mentioned length) Permalon has a lifetime
guarantee if it is bermed into the soil sides of
the pond and if the piece is big enough you could
possibly get a discount by buying directly from
Permalon in Houston.

HTH

Tom L.L.
"gerbil" wrote in message
...
I was thinking of digging a pond on my
property - say about
twenty-five feet wide and maybe six feet deep in
the middle and I was
interested in having some fish. Someone told me
that a "normal" pond
would not do if I wanted Koi or goldfish either
one, I would need to
make it concrete or line it with something else.
Why?





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