Ponds - Scenarios

Hello All

I am thinking ponds. But gaps in my understanding remain and I ask all of you to contribute to my education on the subject.

How to plan a pond when you want a deep pond to maximize water storage, say 20 meters depth/approx 60 feet and you find that water table fluctuates between 40 feet to 75 feet. What are the issues here? What if this pond is to be dug in clayey soil & What if this pond is to be dug in sandy soil & sealed with various means? No plastic sealers.

How deep do freshwater fish live?

How deep do aquatic plants go?

What are the issues in very large ponds...say minor lakes...10 acres plus? Any pointers/resources to research on this?

Any/all help will be appreciated!

Regards.
Sanjay.

What happens when aquatic plants and plant feeding fish are introduced into an earth/clay sealed aquaculture pond?

Do the roots of the plant create leakages as they dig through the soil below the pond?

Do the fish dig out plants while grazing on them, thereby creating leakages?

Hello Sanjay,
I can't answer all your questions, but I can give you some information about stocking fish. What kind of fish you can stock depends on how deep your pond will be and how warm or cool the water is. Deeper ponds are colder; shallow ponds will be warmer.

Here is some informtion about temperature requirements for various fish:

http://stoneycreekequip.com/form/fishinfo.htm

Sanjay : One of the 1st people that you must talk to is a local geologist who can tell you at what angles the sides of Your future pond my rest at !

As Your ponds soils become waterlogged they will have a tendency to 'slump' Over time your Bowl shaped Pond will become a Shallow dinner plate with
swampy waterlogged margins !

A very important issue for ANY plant growth on the bottom of your ponds is turbidity and amount of algae micro-plants, the clearer the water, the
deeper light can penetrate to towards the bottom ! Your Choice in fish species will have a lot to do with how clear your water is !

Also the deeper your pond is the harder it will be to seal the pond to prevent water loss and possible dam collapse in indeed your plans call for a dam structure.

You may be able to terrace the land and stabilize you soils perhaps with retaining walls of 'Rip-Rap' with or without Gabions ! This would be a first start ,
allowing you to have a shallow pond that you could then use Animals* and Animal 'Gley' to seal the bottom moving slowly towards your goal !

Bamboo has a reputation for being good for planting on the margins of ponds lakes ! Good Luck ! Big AL

* Ducks , pigs, water buffalo are commonly mentioned for this process - See Link below !


http://www.geofflawton.com/fe/78976-fixing-a-leaky-pond-with-ducks

Finally in the following link look at the 3rd picture down, a combination of gab ions and rip rap, with gabions used for a base even taller and steeper retaining
walls are Generally possible ! A.L


http://elementsunearthed.com/2010/06/09/the-legacy-of-the-tintic-mining-district/