You can do stuff like this when you’ve got a hard working couple that manages their funds. Gotta remember, he was in finance for years so he’s no slouch when it comes to budgeting lol
After digging out of the clay of lower pond, would recommend to make it deeper, but a smaller pond. Easier to maintain and pump water out of, and less evaporation because it has a smaller surfuce area.
The only expertise I could reference is as a spectator who followed the 5-Acre Pond build over on the Bama Bass channel. I recall that they worked with test holes and soil experts but still ran into water leakage to some degree along the way. So don't feel bad for feeling your way along by self-managing your own pond build. It's a tough project to get right. I'm happy you found a decent honest man to do the soil work with you.
What you were doing looks like a smart move. I would suggest you look into putting a couple of ram pumps between the lower pond and the upper pond. This will save you a lot on electricity and should satisfy the need to maintain the level on the upper pond.
I would recommend you make the borrow pond deeper and smaller. Go bigger to get the clay then deeper to fill in the areas you took the clay from. 3' deep pond will be covered with moss and cattails. Looking good.
I, have always had ponds on my property. I would recommend the smaller pond be used for fishing. You have invested money into your property get the most out of it. Plan on aeration for the small pond to improve quality of your water, or you will be pumping green pond water to big pond. Good Luck
Ok so two things. First any water that seeps out of the upper pond will now make its way into the lower pond. Second you should invest in burying a pump line and install a overflow pipe that feeds down to the lower pond, you can install a windmill pump and continuously fill the upper pond. PS wind mill pumps are great because it gives you the capability to run any small engine with a pulley setup and pump that way also. I just finished an install for a fella I put an in-line pulley on the vertical shaft so he only needs to take it apart when changing the belt.I personally like a stream to connect two ponds with fill capacity from low to high. It gives you control of water flow. Witch with reasonable amounts of water power generation becomes an option. !!! Great work so far BTW on figuring out clays you got this .!!!
Love that the clay was on the homestead and free! The clay looks great, and I think you've got a great idea going here. Can't wait to catch up on the future content and see the progress!
The last time you tried to fix the pond i was concerned about that small area at the bottom of the pond that you were unable to pump dry. My reasoning was if water can come from below, it can be pushed back with a large column of water above it. That area still looks wet this time too. Make sure a good layer of clay is put over that area this time. As for a pump, I would wait to see what you end up with both for the big pond and this second pond
Seems like a very solid plan. That lower ground even looked kind of swampy before digging began. That clay looks great. Hoping for good sealing of the primary pond. It will be loads of fun once it is stable!
This pond (2nd) can be made to be awesome curb appeal since it is much closer to the highway. Also the small pond could be a great one to learn how to ice skate. Doug always comes through. 😊🙏🏼
I like the creativity in this solution and happy that it looks like better clay than the other options so far. As far as the use of this pond, it is brilliant if for no other reason that it creates storage potential for balancing out the seasons. Tree farms do the exact same thing for managing irrigation and have multiple shallow ponds (actually catch basins) that are used to fill (feed) the primary deep pond. When I inquired about why have multiple catch basins instead of just one bigger deep pond. The answer is a complex one that addressed actual rainfall into the large surface basin, increased watershed utilizing natural slopes, minimizing dam management, and reducing overall evaporation surface. The catch basins either gravity drain to the deep pond or get pumped up to it depending on location.
Wishing you luck, hopefully this will finally cure your pond issues so you can start enjoying the pond. I can't image how frustrating it's been trying to get it fixed. Hang in there you might have found the solution.
Win, Win, also, makes your property more beautiful. Who doesn’t like water. Likely a watering hole for wildlife, deer. If it ends the frustration of the big pond, worth a lot.
Hi Adam, it seems you got a plan and I do hope this works. Your pond is awesome and the second pond will be just as nice when it holds water too. Have a great weekend. Donald
GOOOOOOD MORNING EVERYONE OUT THERE in Hometown Acres video land!!!…..Adam I do believe you have finally “struck gold” for sure. Clay & water…WHOO HOO!!…Adam I applaud you in not giving up & doing what you must to seal that upper pond & making it what you dreamed it should & would be… NEVER GIVE UP 😁😁 Have a day!!😊
Adam, I’ve watched the pond series since ground breaking and well before. I’m so sorry about the trials and travails, despite my awful enjoyment of the updates and your work to get the first site right.. And whoever said you wife is a saint is correct. Good luck and keep us informed. I really hope you get that swimming/skating enjoyment you long for from it.
Go for a decent solar water pump set up. dig a sump towards an edge of the pond, drop in a drop tube for a sump pump, fill it with gravel & geo textile fabric. If the pump has an integral float you have a maintenance free water supply whenever the sun is shinning. Pump selection should be head height x 1.5 with a pipwork velocity of 1m/s as a general rule of thumb.
I’d def make the pond as deep as possible but maybe reduce the overall diameter. Looks to be in a very sunny area and at only 3 feet deep that’s going to turn swampy/ stagnant and fill with cattails/ vegetation in only a few years time. I’d also worry about sourcing warm or stagnant water that could potentially contain harmful bacteria for your pond when its primary use is swimming.
Great plan, Adam! In regards to pond being larger then expected, you could dig deeper in the shale and fill in the sides to shrink the size. Which is better - large & shallow vs. smaller & deeper?
I would get all the clay that I could now and get the bigger pond fully covered with 6-8 inches of good clay and they worry about fixing the little pond, which as you say is not as important. It can always be worked on later. Thanks for sharing and have a great day.
Using the borrow clay to line the pond is good use of material but it doesn’t fix the leaky core. Good clay should have went into the core and thoroughly compacted. You will always fight the leaky core. The only way to really help a leaky floor/core without re-coring is to invest in a synthetic liner. It will require much less water to keep full. Buy once, cry once. It will make a wonderful recreation pond. Best of luck friend!
I'm glad you finally got it figured out Adam. The idea is brilliant. Can't wait to see the finished product and your family enjoying the fruit of your labor. Anyway, stay safe healthy and cool. Bill H from Cranberry Township
I would also grade the bottom of the new pond to a low point that you can easily access with your mini-ex to clean it out every so often and to provide a point where you drop your pump into. With that deeper point, the rest of the pond can be shallow and it will drain to your pumping point. Put a standpipe next to it and a drain point for the winter. You might even consider a solar setup to constantly pump water into your "real" pond that would replace evaporation and just augment it with a gasoline pump when necessary. As for the crazy part... it's not crazy if it works.
Have you considered making a "creek bed" from the upper pond back to the lower pond, it would be a nice esthetic for the front of your property plus allow circulation of the water to keep bugs from breeding....
Looks good Adam! I seen a few commenst about adding fish to the second pond!! Try that and have fishing pond also with the big pond as you pool and ice rink!!
Idea for the next project to go with this: A little utility shack / pump house with a solar system to power the pump. Pumping water uphill is energy intensive.
My son and I set up a solar powered 1 hp pump pumping 30 gallons a minute to our drip blueberry field. It's initially more costly, but should save in the long run. Ballpark cost for panels, inverter, battery, pump, wire, etc.,pipe was $5000. YMMV
Sooooo exciting!! It looks like you've figured out the problem! 🙌💃🙌 Thanks for another great video, as always!! God bless you and your family!! That man is a good businessman & person for doing the work for you!! He's rare!! 🌟👍♥️🙏
I'm not a negative Nancy by any means, but I believe drilling a well would have been a better solution. This 2nd "frog pond" is gonna dry up also, once u start sucking water from it during the dry months. Just my 2 cents. I have a neighbor who spent 1 year building his pond and now will spend the rest of his life trying to fix it , all because there is no year round spring to feed it and zero runoff from surrounding fields. 😂 Best of luck from Ohio.
Congrats on finding some clay on your property for your first pond. I am no expert but I would make sure to make the second pond big enough that when you start pumping water from the 2nd pond to the 1st pond that you don't run the 2nd one dry.
With that clay you could make some bricks in your spare time, provided you can get some straw from somewhere 😊. All the best with the pond from England.
I laughed when you said, 'Doug suggested'! Of course, Doug came up with the idea. Adam, I think Doug is the most valuable resource and asset you gained when you bought the property. Good luck with this project. Ralph must be happy he doesn't need to shuttle clay from off-site.
When you're thinking about how to get water from the lower pond to the upper pond, it might be good to think about how to get all the runoff from the new barn into the upper pond too. An inch of rain falling on 1,000 sq ft is 600 gallons. I don't know if the elevations work for that to gravity feed.
That might be a lot of effort for a small amount of water. That area gets about 41" of rain a year, so that would be about 24,000 gallons of water...that would fill my swimming pool which isn't very big, that wouldn't make much of a dent in the pond.
@@ian3580 You may be right. It's 24,000 gallons per 1000 sq ft, and the building is much larger than that. If it's gravity fed, it may not be much work at all.
I’m no expert but definitely go deeper on the new one if possible. It will silt in and lose depth, plus organic material will accumulate faster allowing cattails and other plants to grow easier. Within a couple years it will be a solid mat of weeds. Put some fish and grass carp in to keep the weeds down.
It sure looks like your plan should work and using the advise of the other commenters I know you will have the perfect solution. Like you said sometimes you have to fight fire with fire so best wishes on the project!
I believe your going to want to have that second pond deeper so it can sustain fish to keep it from being a breading and growing pool for insects. Or hopefully it will draw frogs to control them.
You aren't crazy at all. Whenever you can dig and have a good spot to put the material, you're golden. I think you're going to solve your leak issue too. Never surrender! 😀
I hope that the new pond works out for you. You tried several times with the first pond. Dug it. It leaked. Sold all the dirt so you cant fill it back in. Bought stuff to dump in to plug the leaks. Didn’t work. Hired a different guy to dig the pond and it didn’t work. Looks like one of those photos from the Mars Rover.
I would Say "The Proof is in the Puddin'!" since you have done a few different tests. And honestly, If you really want to, you can always back fill the pond to get the acrerage back but why do that? Its less you have to mow! I'll say this much... we had a 240v Goulds pump 2hp ... I think over 35+ years old and it was rebuilt every decade or so as long as you do your winter maintance on it or pull and store in warm garage. We use it off of a lake from April until September/October. I think it is a 1.5" pipe out but the original owners of the house installed a 2" or 2.5" feeder once the pipe goes back under the dock and up the hill. That pump can push the water up almost 75' in elevation gain to the front zones and run dual zones, if we wanted to(15 working heads) and not loose pressure. It got to the point we had to swap out pumps last year. Now I will say we neglected it when we were doing my parents additions and forgot to remove and store it inside their large but warm garage. The housing cracked next to a previous repaired spot and our irrigation guy said its better to replace then to band aid again. So now I think we have a 2hp Wayne wls 2400 and it work just as good or better than the 35+ year old Goulds, like it should. But the other thought here is are you wanting to have a perm setup or use the PTO on your tractor? Or do you want to run a fountain and if so, add included 2 valves - recirculate or refill from second pond? I am kinda thinking like an ingound pool that has 2 drain points - Skimmer and deep end drain. If you are runnin the pump on Low but want the "High" suction for the skimmer, you close the deep end drain. Only diff is it would be reversed. in theory, all you need to add to your 2nd pond feed line is a back flow/check valve with a 45 degree pvc fitting and 6" pipe with the filter top. We also have that for the irrigation that runs under the dock on the lake bed about +/- 120'
Like many have commented after your done harvesting the clay recontour what is left to leave just a smaller deeper borrow pond. Remember the more surface area the more evaporation you don't want to create a mosquito swamp in your back yard.
Can't wait to see how it turns out. Bring some clay this weekend and we can play share and compare. haha. RPS Solar Pumps could be a good solution once you have pond #2 complete and know it will hold water. I.e. If you rob ALL the clay it may struggle as well.
I saw another video where they were putting in a pond and used a chemical, I think bentonite to add to the bottom and walls to bond to the clay to better hold water. Looks like you have a good game plan
How about some kind of solar powered pump. I don’t think you need something big like they use to pump out flooded basements. Something strong enough to pump up hill and a long distance.
With the constant flow from the retaining pond into the main pond are you going to do some kind of water feature in the main pond? Could be like a waterfall or a fountain into the pond, or waterslide.
solar powered or ram pump? Maybe having a water fall connecting the two ponds together for a more natural aeration...whatever you do looking forward to what you come up with.
Just a thought. Our spring was covered in invasive privet where nothing else grew on the ground beneath. Once we cleared the privet, grasses reemerged which collected more water in the aquifer.
I have a garden hose filling mine. It runs about 1 gallon per minute. The water level goes down in the summer, and fills up starting in the all, maybe middle of October.
Steal as much clay as you can from the borrow pit and get your first pond up to par and figure out what to do with borrow pit at a later date . You live in the sticks no tree huggers or conservation knot heads there. no rush
Good find. Great resource. Enjoy watching your videos. As for 3’ deep, have you considered going a tad deeper just to keep vegetation from encroaching over time?
I know hindsight is a wonderful thing and I'm not knocking you for what you've done so far but I'm interested in whether you didn't think to do this before you built the first pond (so you could place it where it would be near the water table) or if you wanted the pond where it is so it didn't matter about the water table then? I'm asking so I can avoid the same mistake myself (if it was a mistake) and concentrate on making some new mistakes of my own.
Adam just call you "CA" and it's not Chartered Accountant. It's Crazy Accountant!!! Nice find , money savings in the ground. I see those wheels turning!!
Save some clay for the retention pond. Scrape land and refill if you need. Your sawmill is literally providing the main component for compost. Ugly for 1 year and blessed for eternity. I'd dig that retention pond 8ft deep, scrape 100yds all around to find and use the clay and then start reclaiming the earth. Big ol compost, free topsoil? sure dump it here, chip some trees??? I'm sure you have a bunch that you'd like done up.
Your wife must be a saint.
More than that!
Tensions are as high as the debts you're paying off lol
No debt
I was thinking the same thing lol.
You can do stuff like this when you’ve got a hard working couple that manages their funds. Gotta remember, he was in finance for years so he’s no slouch when it comes to budgeting lol
Yes i think your on the right track even if you dont get much water the big pond will hold better so less water needed
After digging out of the clay of lower pond, would recommend to make it deeper, but a smaller pond. Easier to maintain and pump water out of, and less evaporation because it has a smaller surfuce area.
Adam - you've got a WIN-WIN situation having the 2 ponds. One pond for recreational use and the new pond for nature, fish, plants, etc. 👍👍
The only expertise I could reference is as a spectator who followed the 5-Acre Pond build over on the Bama Bass channel. I recall that they worked with test holes and soil experts but still ran into water leakage to some degree along the way. So don't feel bad for feeling your way along by self-managing your own pond build. It's a tough project to get right. I'm happy you found a decent honest man to do the soil work with you.
What you were doing looks like a smart move. I would suggest you look into putting a couple of ram pumps between the lower pond and the upper pond. This will save you a lot on electricity and should satisfy the need to maintain the level on the upper pond.
I would recommend you make the borrow pond deeper and smaller. Go bigger to get the clay then deeper to fill in the areas you took the clay from. 3' deep pond will be covered with moss and cattails. Looking good.
good idea, also having it deeper and smaller will mean less evaporation
Great idea
Came down here to say exactly this.
Might be worth putting some erosion sock or silt fence along the top side of the pond to help with erosion of the new material.
I was thinking the same thing
Listen to this guy.
I, have always had ponds on my property. I would recommend the smaller pond be used for fishing. You have invested money into your property get the most out of it. Plan on aeration for the small pond to improve quality of your water, or you will be pumping green pond water to big pond. Good Luck
Thinking ahead, I like it!
It looks like you're going to have a nice fish pond there! Dig a few deeper spots for hibernation, bring in some structure and bring in the bass. Dave
Ok so two things. First any water that seeps out of the upper pond will now make its way into the lower pond. Second you should invest in burying a pump line and install a overflow pipe that feeds down to the lower pond, you can install a windmill pump and continuously fill the upper pond. PS wind mill pumps are great because it gives you the capability to run any small engine with a pulley setup and pump that way also. I just finished an install for a fella I put an in-line pulley on the vertical shaft so he only needs to take it apart when changing the belt.I personally like a stream to connect two ponds with fill capacity from low to high. It gives you control of water flow. Witch with reasonable amounts of water power generation becomes an option. !!! Great work so far BTW on figuring out clays you got this .!!!
Love that the clay was on the homestead and free! The clay looks great, and I think you've got a great idea going here. Can't wait to catch up on the future content and see the progress!
Fingers crossed!
The last time you tried to fix the pond i was concerned about that small area at the bottom of the pond that you were unable to pump dry. My reasoning was if water can come from below, it can be pushed back with a large column of water above it. That area still looks wet this time too. Make sure a good layer of clay is put over that area this time.
As for a pump, I would wait to see what you end up with both for the big pond and this second pond
Great find Adam! You dig out the clay to seal the main pond and then have an alternate water source. Good luck!
Seems like a very solid plan. That lower ground even looked kind of swampy before digging began. That clay looks great. Hoping for good sealing of the primary pond. It will be loads of fun once it is stable!
This pond (2nd) can be made to be awesome curb appeal since it is much closer to the highway. Also the small pond could be a great one to learn how to ice skate.
Doug always comes through. 😊🙏🏼
I like the creativity in this solution and happy that it looks like better clay than the other options so far. As far as the use of this pond, it is brilliant if for no other reason that it creates storage potential for balancing out the seasons. Tree farms do the exact same thing for managing irrigation and have multiple shallow ponds (actually catch basins) that are used to fill (feed) the primary deep pond. When I inquired about why have multiple catch basins instead of just one bigger deep pond. The answer is a complex one that addressed actual rainfall into the large surface basin, increased watershed utilizing natural slopes, minimizing dam management, and reducing overall evaporation surface. The catch basins either gravity drain to the deep pond or get pumped up to it depending on location.
Wishing you luck, hopefully this will finally cure your pond issues so you can start enjoying the pond. I can't image how frustrating it's been trying to get it fixed. Hang in there you might have found the solution.
Win, Win, also, makes your property more beautiful. Who doesn’t like water. Likely a watering hole for wildlife, deer. If it ends the frustration of the big pond, worth a lot.
Hi Adam, it seems you got a plan and I do hope this works. Your pond is awesome and the second pond will be just as nice when it holds water too. Have a great weekend. Donald
Not to be captain obvious…but that should have been the pond site originally.😄
I feel like the new pond will be covered in mosquitos unless it is treated.
Nope t far away from the house for the family to travel.
@wolfpack4128 small aerator in it and it'll be just fine.
That's what was done with our pond. Dug were always wet and fed by drainage swale. Pond is always full. No sense fighting nature.
@thav2175
Not really, all sorts of ATVs, side by sides, truck, tractors, etc. to ride down on. Or good old-fashioned walk, their young.
Good luck with the project. I hope it works out. Can’t wait to see updates and final outcome.
GOOOOOOD
MORNING EVERYONE OUT THERE in Hometown Acres video land!!!…..Adam I do believe you have finally “struck gold” for sure. Clay & water…WHOO HOO!!…Adam I applaud you in not giving up & doing what you must to seal that upper pond & making it what you dreamed it should & would be… NEVER GIVE UP 😁😁
Have a day!!😊
Good luck with these plans Adam. Hope you get it all worked out.
You ought to plant a bunch of trees down there around it too, a wall of Aspen would look really nice throughout the year!
Glad you lucked out with the clay find!
Let’s hope the results are excellent.
Adam, I’ve watched the pond series since ground breaking and well before. I’m so sorry about the trials and travails, despite my awful enjoyment of the updates and your work to get the first site right.. And whoever said you wife is a saint is correct. Good luck and keep us informed. I really hope you get that swimming/skating enjoyment you long for from it.
Fill the old pond. Make new pond.
I am wishing you the best of luck with that damn pond, Adam.
Go for a decent solar water pump set up. dig a sump towards an edge of the pond, drop in a drop tube for a sump pump, fill it with gravel & geo textile fabric. If the pump has an integral float you have a maintenance free water supply whenever the sun is shinning. Pump selection should be head height x 1.5 with a pipwork velocity of 1m/s as a general rule of thumb.
Think srealing the good clay from the other pond will work to help you enjoy the big pond!! Stay Hydrated and Have a Safe Day
I’d def make the pond as deep as possible but maybe reduce the overall diameter. Looks to be in a very sunny area and at only 3 feet deep that’s going to turn swampy/ stagnant and fill with cattails/ vegetation in only a few years time. I’d also worry about sourcing warm or stagnant water that could potentially contain harmful bacteria for your pond when its primary use is swimming.
Great plan, Adam! In regards to pond being larger then expected, you could dig deeper in the shale and fill in the sides to shrink the size. Which is better - large & shallow vs. smaller & deeper?
That’s a good idea
I would get all the clay that I could now and get the bigger pond fully covered with 6-8 inches of good clay and they worry about fixing the little pond, which as you say is not as important. It can always be worked on later. Thanks for sharing and have a great day.
Yeah that’s what I want to do
This won't end well, either. There does not seem to be much thinking going into the development of all of this...
Using the borrow clay to line the pond is good use of material but it doesn’t fix the leaky core. Good clay should have went into the core and thoroughly compacted. You will always fight the leaky core. The only way to really help a leaky floor/core without re-coring is to invest in a synthetic liner. It will require much less water to keep full. Buy once, cry once. It will make a wonderful recreation pond. Best of luck friend!
I don't know squat about building ponds but that plan makes sense to me. 🤣
I'm glad you finally got it figured out Adam. The idea is brilliant. Can't wait to see the finished product and your family enjoying the fruit of your labor. Anyway, stay safe healthy and cool. Bill H from Cranberry Township
Don’t bet on it! Lol but sure is better than watching TV! Especially soap operas
I would also grade the bottom of the new pond to a low point that you can easily access with your mini-ex to clean it out every so often and to provide a point where you drop your pump into. With that deeper point, the rest of the pond can be shallow and it will drain to your pumping point. Put a standpipe next to it and a drain point for the winter. You might even consider a solar setup to constantly pump water into your "real" pond that would replace evaporation and just augment it with a gasoline pump when necessary. As for the crazy part... it's not crazy if it works.
I Bet you find a solution. And the Wildlife will Love that second pond. ❤
Kinda saw this coming. I’d still consult a pond expert with multiple references. Otherwise you’re just throwing good money after bad.
This reminds me of the intro to the Beverly Hillbillies with Jed Clampett....and up through the ground come a bubblin crude.
Have you considered making a "creek bed" from the upper pond back to the lower pond, it would be a nice esthetic for the front of your property plus allow circulation of the water to keep bugs from breeding....
Looks good Adam! I seen a few commenst about adding fish to the second pond!! Try that and have fishing pond also with the big pond as you pool and ice rink!!
Now u need sum fish structure and sum fish to y'alls pond when its full
Wow you found 2 treasures on your own property. Doug is more than a good neighbor 👍👍
I’d have to sacrifice some of the trees on the road side of the small pond and go that was. Would look good following that valley down
Idea for the next project to go with this: A little utility shack / pump house with a solar system to power the pump. Pumping water uphill is energy intensive.
Spot on, second Pond.
Resources at your feet. God provided. Faith Test.
My son and I set up a solar powered 1 hp pump pumping 30 gallons a minute to our drip blueberry field. It's initially more costly, but should save in the long run. Ballpark cost for panels, inverter, battery, pump, wire, etc.,pipe was $5000. YMMV
Sooooo exciting!! It looks like you've figured out the problem! 🙌💃🙌 Thanks for another great video, as always!! God bless you and your family!! That man is a good businessman & person for doing the work for you!! He's rare!! 🌟👍♥️🙏
I'm not a negative Nancy by any means, but I believe drilling a well would have been a better solution. This 2nd "frog pond" is gonna dry up also, once u start sucking water from it during the dry months. Just my 2 cents.
I have a neighbor who spent 1 year building his pond and now will spend the rest of his life trying to fix it , all because there is no year round spring to feed it and zero runoff from surrounding fields. 😂
Best of luck from Ohio.
Congrats on finding some clay on your property for your first pond. I am no expert but I would make sure to make the second pond big enough that when you start pumping water from the 2nd pond to the 1st pond that you don't run the 2nd one dry.
With that clay you could make some bricks in your spare time, provided you can get some straw from somewhere 😊. All the best with the pond from England.
That pond ain’t cheap. Looks like fun though.
run the shops roof water into that pond as well. That is crazy awesome news for sure.
Dig three ponds….get local university to pay you to study malaria and zika in the swarms of mosquitoes on the property!
I laughed when you said, 'Doug suggested'! Of course, Doug came up with the idea.
Adam, I think Doug is the most valuable resource and asset you gained when you bought the property.
Good luck with this project. Ralph must be happy he doesn't need to shuttle clay from off-site.
Neighbour Doug is the type a friend that everybody needs lol.
Maybe Adam should clone Doug.
No matter what, this pond is very interesting stuff
Very informative and interesting. Many thanks. 🏴
great ideas, consider making part of pond 2 rice field, food for you or wildlife
When you're thinking about how to get water from the lower pond to the upper pond, it might be good to think about how to get all the runoff from the new barn into the upper pond too. An inch of rain falling on 1,000 sq ft is 600 gallons. I don't know if the elevations work for that to gravity feed.
That might be a lot of effort for a small amount of water. That area gets about 41" of rain a year, so that would be about 24,000 gallons of water...that would fill my swimming pool which isn't very big, that wouldn't make much of a dent in the pond.
Good idea to capture and harvest rain water from the new roof.
@@ian3580 You may be right. It's 24,000 gallons per 1000 sq ft, and the building is much larger than that. If it's gravity fed, it may not be much work at all.
Wow…..now ur a pond expert wid wat u have been thru……ur great in the way u attack ur problem
This has got to work! Now you will have a pond view from both your house and your barn.
You should abandon the original pond anyways. Doesn’t match the flow of the land. Make the new pond in the lower bottom area.
I’m no expert but definitely go deeper on the new one if possible. It will silt in and lose depth, plus organic material will accumulate faster allowing cattails and other plants to grow easier. Within a couple years it will be a solid mat of weeds. Put some fish and grass carp in to keep the weeds down.
It sure looks like your plan should work and using the advise of the other commenters I know you will have the perfect solution. Like you said sometimes you have to fight fire with fire so best wishes on the project!
The lower pond will make great wood duck habitat.
Added bonus for the borrow pond, less grass to mow.
I believe your going to want to have that second pond deeper so it can sustain fish to keep it from being a breading and growing pool for insects. Or hopefully it will draw frogs to control them.
We’ve got a ton of frogs
Fingers crossed looks like you’re finally going to get a pond
Looks like that will be a great pond site!
At first I thought you had lost your mind. Makes much more sense now. Gonna be fun to watch.
Hi Adam,
If water can leak in, it can leak out. I think even if you find good material like you did, there will always be leakage.
We can't wait to see pond #2!
best of luck! hopefully this does the job you need.
You aren't crazy at all. Whenever you can dig and have a good spot to put the material, you're golden. I think you're going to solve your leak issue too. Never surrender! 😀
I hope that the new pond works out for you. You tried several times with the first pond. Dug it. It leaked. Sold all the dirt so you cant fill it back in. Bought stuff to dump in to plug the leaks. Didn’t work. Hired a different guy to dig the pond and it didn’t work. Looks like one of those photos from the Mars Rover.
Fingers crossed this works buddy!
I would have dug that second pond and do just like you did , I would probably bury the water pipe between the 2 ponds. Funkster
I would Say "The Proof is in the Puddin'!" since you have done a few different tests. And honestly, If you really want to, you can always back fill the pond to get the acrerage back but why do that? Its less you have to mow! I'll say this much... we had a 240v Goulds pump 2hp ... I think over 35+ years old and it was rebuilt every decade or so as long as you do your winter maintance on it or pull and store in warm garage. We use it off of a lake from April until September/October. I think it is a 1.5" pipe out but the original owners of the house installed a 2" or 2.5" feeder once the pipe goes back under the dock and up the hill. That pump can push the water up almost 75' in elevation gain to the front zones and run dual zones, if we wanted to(15 working heads) and not loose pressure. It got to the point we had to swap out pumps last year. Now I will say we neglected it when we were doing my parents additions and forgot to remove and store it inside their large but warm garage. The housing cracked next to a previous repaired spot and our irrigation guy said its better to replace then to band aid again. So now I think we have a 2hp Wayne wls 2400 and it work just as good or better than the 35+ year old Goulds, like it should.
But the other thought here is are you wanting to have a perm setup or use the PTO on your tractor? Or do you want to run a fountain and if so, add included 2 valves - recirculate or refill from second pond? I am kinda thinking like an ingound pool that has 2 drain points - Skimmer and deep end drain. If you are runnin the pump on Low but want the "High" suction for the skimmer, you close the deep end drain. Only diff is it would be reversed. in theory, all you need to add to your 2nd pond feed line is a back flow/check valve with a 45 degree pvc fitting and 6" pipe with the filter top. We also have that for the irrigation that runs under the dock on the lake bed about +/- 120'
Like many have commented after your done harvesting the clay recontour what is left to leave just a smaller deeper borrow pond. Remember the more surface area the more evaporation you don't want to create a mosquito swamp in your back yard.
Hell No. This is an awesome idea. Hopefully it is deep enough to plant some fish. One swim pond and one fishing pond. You would not be sorry
Good luck Adam. Stay safe.
Can't wait to see how it turns out. Bring some clay this weekend and we can play share and compare. haha. RPS Solar Pumps could be a good solution once you have pond #2 complete and know it will hold water. I.e. If you rob ALL the clay it may struggle as well.
I saw another video where they were putting in a pond and used a chemical, I think bentonite to add to the bottom and walls to bond to the clay to better hold water. Looks like you have a good game plan
How about some kind of solar powered pump. I don’t think you need something big like they use to pump out flooded basements. Something strong enough to pump up hill and a long distance.
With the constant flow from the retaining pond into the main pond are you going to do some kind of water feature in the main pond? Could be like a waterfall or a fountain into the pond, or waterslide.
solar powered or ram pump? Maybe having a water fall connecting the two ponds together for a more natural aeration...whatever you do looking forward to what you come up with.
Looking at solar pumps
Just a thought. Our spring was covered in invasive privet where nothing else grew on the ground beneath. Once we cleared the privet, grasses reemerged which collected more water in the aquifer.
I have a garden hose filling mine. It runs about 1 gallon per minute. The water level goes down in the summer, and fills up starting in the all, maybe middle of October.
I would like to see Mrs Adam on camera with her comments about all this.
Steal as much clay as you can from the borrow pit and get your first pond up to par and figure out what to do with borrow pit at a later date . You live in the sticks no tree huggers or conservation knot heads there. no rush
Good find. Great resource. Enjoy watching your videos. As for 3’ deep, have you considered going a tad deeper just to keep vegetation from encroaching over time?
I know hindsight is a wonderful thing and I'm not knocking you for what you've done so far but I'm interested in whether you didn't think to do this before you built the first pond (so you could place it where it would be near the water table) or if you wanted the pond where it is so it didn't matter about the water table then? I'm asking so I can avoid the same mistake myself (if it was a mistake) and concentrate on making some new mistakes of my own.
You should research more on the pump you will need, that’s along way up to the other pond as well as the gain in height!
Everything looks good. IMO you did the right thing here. Keep up the great work and look forward to your videos.
Adam just call you "CA" and it's not Chartered Accountant. It's Crazy Accountant!!! Nice find , money savings in the ground. I see those wheels turning!!
Save some clay for the retention pond. Scrape land and refill if you need. Your sawmill is literally providing the main component for compost. Ugly for 1 year and blessed for eternity.
I'd dig that retention pond 8ft deep, scrape 100yds all around to find and use the clay and then start reclaiming the earth. Big ol compost, free topsoil? sure dump it here, chip some trees??? I'm sure you have a bunch that you'd like done up.
Damn..... You're a Pitbull, you just don't give up... Keeps me coming back!!