Has anyone used a plastic animal water trough as a pond? I am digging (muddy work today) a hole for one that is 110 gallons near my small kitchen patio. Now I am wondering if the sides might collapse or will the water weight counter the pressure from the dirt surrounding it? What a pain, with the rain and my lovely clay soil digging is slowwwww.
C
MUD HOLE
The weight of the water will support the sides of the container. What you gonna put in it besides water?
A small lotus, small water lilly relative, Black EE, Typha minima (sp) and some feeder gold fish. All depending on whether I ever get the hole complete and the container level! This is the first time I don't have the plants before the project is done, maybe I can learn.
C
I think the only problem you might have will be with the plastic pond floating in a heavy rain. Water gets under it and pushes up the plastic since plastic floats. Even our lined 750 gallon pond bottom began to float when the ground got so saturated. Our solution was to put cobblestones in the bottom with the gravel to weight it down.
I hadn't thougth about that. I had a tiny preformed pond and didn't have that problem but it was not in TX. I wasn't even going to put any gravel in the bottom but will think about that now.
C
We also have a three foot wide and 20 inch deep pond that did the floating thing once. It popped up three or four inches out of the ground and all the sand that we had filling in the spots where shelves were, slide to the bottom of the hole. So when we reseated it we put a heavy concrete statuary in it.
This one has no shelves as it is a water trough. I will use sand on the bottom but don't plan on backfilling the sides with it. This rain has shown me that the hole where it will sit does fill with water, so I might buy some pond rocks for the bottom.
If you have water stand on the ground in that area, I would definately not sink the tub too low. We did that with the big pond at first. Dirty water and sticks floated over into one end. So we went back and pulled the liner up around the sides and backfilled with soil, laid down the liner and put rocks on top of that. It took away some of the shape and size but we don't have that problem now.
It is all a trial and error situation sometimes, but we wouldn't take for the pleasure it gives us. After a season you have frogs, dragonflies, and definately birds actively enjoying it. As they told me .....this is only your first pond...it is a disease. You will want a bigger one later. LOL!
Are you talking about those heavy plastic stock tanks, like from Rubbermaid? Yeah, sure, they're fine to bury, I see folks with that a lot, even around here where the blacklands soil moves quite a bit with raining and drying. I guess maybe you wouldn't use it as part of a retaining wall, where there's extra soil pressure, but just straight in the ground, right?
The only other thing I would say is think about drainage from the tank before you sink it. Like if it rains and overflows, or if you ever need to change the water.
Have fun! Show a photo when you're done...
If you are using the blue livestock tanks, the weight of the water in the tank should keep the bottom from puffing up. You will, however, need a sump pump to drain it if you need to clean it up. I've been thinking of getting one to set up near the house, but am worried about finding water moccasins in it since they are everywhere around here. So I thought I'd bury about 8" - 10" and surround the rest of it with self-stacking concrete blocks leaving enough room between the pond and blocks to fill with potting soil for plants.
If I don't bury it at all, I could replace the drain plug with a small piece of hose with a plug at the end for easy draining.
The galvanized stock tanks would work really well, but burying them is not a good idea. They rust. My DH banked dirt on the sides of some of the tanks out in the pastures. When he finally removed the dirt, there were rust spots everywhere. Stand alone, they work great. Plants and fish have no problems. The tank shape of the plastic ones is slightly smaller at the bottom. So the same diameter galvanized tank holds more water.
I thought about the galvanized but decided against due to heat and the fact that the area I want it in is already slightly raised and I wouldn't see it well if it were above ground. I am using a recycled version, not the rubbermaid but it seems quite thick and sturdy. As for draining, I rarely drain them and if I really need to I could easily bail out 110 gallons. I didn't think about the poor drainage here so now I am wondering what will happen when it over flows from rain. It is in a raised bed, about 7 inches or so above the level of the lawn. I suspect overflow will travel down the lowest side and make a little stream in the lawn, which will be ok. This is my first pond in TX and I was afraid to tackle a bigger one right now as my yard isn't laid out well to put in a larger pond and I its a pain digging into the clay. Thanks for the advice and suggestions and I will post a pick if the darn thing is ever finished!!!
C
A pic of the hole, thinking this might shame me into finishing.
ok with pic
Area prior to the destruction.
What a lovely setting you will have when you are finished! It was a beautiful flower garden before but I know you will still enjoy them elsewhere in your garden.
OK now get with it!!!
Yes, that is a lovely mud hole you have there, I think it is going to be beautiful,
I am impressed at what a neat digger you are. When you said "mud hole" I figured you had a mess on your hands.
Good going ~ you can't be far from done. Just be careful in this heat!
LOL to a neatly dug mud hole. Thanks for the encouragement, I will have to finish when I return from vacation. I have a few weeks before school starts and then I will have a pond this fall.
C
Well I finished the thing. It is not what I imagined, much more contrived. I was determined not to spend money and use what I had on hand. I am hoping some plants around and in the pond this fall will soften it some.
C
A few more pics
Looking down from the top, not the way I will usually see it.
Well, I think you did a great job, it looks great!!!
Looks great! What is that, a bug standing in the back?
The plants will grow in, and you can fidget with the rocks to get everything just perfect to your taste, but you did all the basic work, so it will be fine.
The little statue is a rock ant I bought in Santa Fe. Thanks for the encouragement and I really think with time and some landscaping it will be nice to sit and look at.
C
How cool is that! But today I would not be sitting admiring it... I'd be sitting in it enjoying it! LOL Very nice, definitely a job well done.
I picked this spot because the small patio it is adjacent to has shade most of the day. It would be a funny pic of me standing knee deep in the tiny thing! But in this heat you just never know.
C
Wonderful little pond, Cheryl! I think it's going to look great when you get some plants around and in it. It will be so peaceful to sit out on the little patio and listen to the water, watch the birds and such, and relax on the cooler days of spring, summer, and fall.
Yea!!!! Great job! You put a lot of work into it but you will get much more out of it as time goes on as Stephanie said. Nicely done!
Oh my goodness! I forgot what a chore it is to plant water lilies and other aquatic plants. My dirt is full of dirt and I am hot and frustrated! Anyone have methods that get the job done and minimize the mess?
Cheryl
I had used the aquatic soil in the pond planters. Lowes' used to carry it, but didn't find it this year. There is some bag type planters that have a drawstring on top, but i bet you could make some with a close weave fabric. There is nothing going to keep roots from growing through, but you can pull them out in the spring or in the fall after they start going dormant and clip them back.
Check http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/pond-supplies/pr/c/5163 to see what they look like.
I don't understand the part about you are hot? Aren't you sitting in the pool while you do this?
I planted them in containers with no holes, it came out from the top...because I turned it sideways trying to get into the pond!
C
The pond will always get dirt or sediment in it, so just let it settle. No holes is good. Taller plants get tipped over in a wind, etc. So if they are too light just add rocks to weight them down. The aquatic soil isn't dirt at all, it is more like kitty litter. You have to ease it into the water and then it absorbs the water and gets heavy.
Sheila,
I used clay soil right out of my yard. I had read that it would work. I put rocks on the surface to hold down the dirt. I have used garden soil before but I am wondering if this extreme clay might stay in suspension longer.
C
Not sure on the clay.
Me neither but I had read it was ok to use. The pond has cleared up some this morning but still looks sort of cloudy. I guess doing something on the cheap is not always better. The only thing I bought for this project was the trough (on sale) and the plants. The pump I have had for years and everything else was scrounged from my yard.
C
It looks pretty good to me Cheryl.
Thank you Josephine. The pond is for me and it will be pleasing to sit out and watch the fish and look at water lilies. I intend to enjoy it but I still want it to not be an eyesore to others (DH) and to be working well enough not to be a pain to maintain. To be honest I am not quite sure what is bothering me about it right now. I do have plants to move into the area from other beds as soon as the heat breaks. I think the area has been a mess for most of the season and I thought once the pond was done it would be better...but that will take some work.
C
Plants in a pond get water always so grow and multiply fast. I pot mine up with 5 gal. pots with a plastic WM bag inside the pot. Small rock will keep the fish from digging in it and making the water always mucky. Count on an algae bloom until the pond gets settled. A small pump to help move the water will be good for oxygen and fish.
Good luck, pond are a nice addition to the garden.
DD
Cheryl....I think you said no fish for now...but DD is right on the algae bloom (green water). You might want to buy some "good" bacteria to add to the pond now. It may be labeled as a start up for ponds. It will save you a lot of headache later. It jump starts the bio-system.