NANFA-- pond placement

schmidtcarney_at_ecr.net
Sun, 7 Jan 2001 09:40:08 -0500

I, too, have a sloping area, and I dig my ponds into the slope, using
the earth I dig out to make an earthen dam on the downhill side. I often
add a retaining wall/bench so I can sit by the pond and watch the fish.
Some of the Ohio/Michigan NANFA members saw the ponds built this way
when they were at my place in August for the Kokosing River collecting
trip.

There are a couple of advantages to doing this. The big one is that it's
a lot less work, since I A) don't have to haul the dirt away, and B)
don't have to dig as much since the earthen wall serves to raise the
pond level. Plus, it's nice from the landscaping and garden enjoyment
standpoint to have a bench built in along the pond that has you sitting
almost at water level.

As far as I can tell, the ponds made this way also don't seem to freeze
any more quickly than the ones I made "on the flat." The earth berm is
fairly thick (a couple of feet, usually) and seems to insulate well. I
plce the deepest section (usually about half of the pond area) at the
back (high point of the slope), which seems to give additional
insulation.

Anyway, just my 2 cents worth.

Catherine
Mount Vernon, Ohio

/-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
/"Unless stated otherwise, comments made on this list do not necessarily
/ reflect the beliefs or goals of the North American Native Fishes
/ Association"
/ This is the discussion list of the North American Native Fishes Association
/ nanfa_at_aquaria.net. To subscribe, unsubscribe, or get help, send the word
/ subscribe, unsubscribe, or help in the body (not subject) of an email to
/ nanfa-request_at_aquaria.net. For a digest version, send the command to
/ nanfa-digest-request_at_aquaria.net instead.
/ For more information about NANFA, visit our web page, http://www.nanfa.org