The Seedstart of Persimmon Pond

[Sangreaal]

Here is an aerial shot of my property taken from Google Earth sometime early this summer. I've drawn in (poorly and not to scale) the reservoir and satellite pond site on the lower 5 acres of the property.



White lines: proposed ponds
White dots: 4" irrigation risers 30' apart
Thick blue line: water source to reservoir
Thin blue lines: spraybar from res to individual ponds
Blue dots in northern oasis: ponds extant around the house

I'm not sure of the length of the satellite ponds yet, but they are going to be 20' in diameter so I have a good 10' separation between ponds. The reservoir is going to be raised 6-8' above ground with 4' below for a total depth of 10-12'. The satellites will be ground level and averaging 6' deep with a 20 x 20' hole at one end that is 8' deep to harvest from when the ponds are drained in the fall. The smallest of the satellites will be 4' deep for fry.

It's the beginning of something good... ...and it's going to all unfold in this thread as I work out the particulars to make this thing fly. I know I already need a mathematician to help me where my brain ends when it comes to working out flow rates and pond volumes and sizes of pvc and orifices and....it just goes on and on. Roark is already on board for this fiasco. Anybody else game?

Marie

[jnorth]

Pretty cool Marie! I like forward to seeing the progress shots.

[Richard Rombold]

Marie,

When your brain has rested please consider how you are going to deal with birds. The herons and egrets will take a few, but you have to be prepared for the cormorants and mergansers. They hit those ponds and it's lights out. King Fisher's also will work the ponds constantly. If you loose 20 fish a day (very conservative) then that adds up to 7,300 fish a year. If those are culled fish that's a good wallop. You can loose that number overnight if a flock lands. Oh yeah, American Pelicans as well. They are a treat to watch. They land as a flock and start at the edges of the pond and heard everything into a tight ball in the center. Once there they gorge themselves. It's the opposite for most diving birds. They work from the center out where the Herons and Egrets are waiting along the shore. Also, brood stock can be taken by Osprey and Bald Eagles. I don't want to scare you, but plan for it.

[Sangreaal]

Quote: Originally Posted by Richard Rombold Marie, When your brain has rested please consider how you are going to deal with birds. The herons and egrets will take a few, but you have to be prepared for the cormorants and mergansers. They hit those ponds and it's lights out. King Fisher's also will work the ponds constantly. If you loose 20 fish a day (very conservative) then that adds up to 7,300 fish a year. If those are culled fish that's a good wallop. You can loose that number overnight if a flock lands. Oh yeah, American Pelicans as well. They are a treat to watch. They land as a flock and start at the edges of the pond and heard everything into a tight ball in the center. Once there they gorge themselves. It's the opposite for most diving birds. They work from the center out where the Herons and Egrets are waiting along the shore. Also, brood stock can be taken by Osprey and Bald Eagles. I don't want to scare you, but plan for it.

Thanks for the head's up, Richard. I haven't yet forgotten about losing my favorite koi ever to a heron, and we have every one of the feathered predators you've mentioned, right down to the pelicans.

I don't want to scare anybody, but I'm probably going to utilize hotwire against the wading birds. One touch of that and they'll think they just met God and he wasn't very happy. As far as the diving birds, it'll probably be monofilament line criss-crossing over each pond in a harlequin design small enough to (hopefully) ferhoodle the most diminutive of divers. And hopefully it won't be aesthetically unpleasing. Maybe I'll grow a network of vines suspended as cover...there's no telling what I'll come up with between now and then.

Besides green lasers, what else in your experience have you used on your ponds to deter predator attacks? What worked and what failed miserably?

Marie

[mitten]

When I do this kind of planning I gravitate to the 20' width also. One of the reasons I do is birds. I figure that 20' could be spanned by metal hoops holding netting, keeping out the birds, just leaving snakes, bears, and gators to worry about.

BTW, there are no producing farms I've seen that have 20' wide ponds. Well, ponds for tropicals I have, but not koi.

Hi.

Mickey the windowman

[Sangreaal]

Quote: Originally Posted by mitten When I do this kind of planning I gravitate to the 20' width also. One of the reasons I do is birds. I figure that 20' could be spanned by metal hoops holding netting, keeping out the birds, just leaving snakes, bears, and gators to worry about. BTW, there are no producing farms I've seen that have 20' wide ponds. Well, ponds for tropicals I have, but not koi. Hi. Mickey the windowman

Hiya Mickey! *hugs* Where have you been? Been missing you...

Ayup, 20' is easier to cover, easier to seine, easier to manipulate and manage the water. At least I *think* so.

Never seen any producing ponds that width?

*prunes lips, knits brows into a tight weave as a bright lightbulb shines overhead*

I have.

And they produce gazillions of salmon, steelhead and trout every year. Of course they're lined with cement and have gigantic bakki's with chilled water flowing through....


Marie

[Richard Rombold]

Hot wire, propane cannons, pyrotechnics, guard dogs, full time bird chasers, mannequins, lasers, depredation, taped bird calls, one eyed balloons, fake birds of prey, hum lines- tried them all. Only thing that works is a completely enclosed pond. The fish most at risk are the brightest smaller fish. Two to five inch are the most vulnerable.

[Birdman]

Marie, how did you get your picture so clear? I down loaded google earth and when going to a close up of my place it got real blurry.

[Sangreaal]

Quote: Originally Posted by Birdman Marie, how did you get your picture so clear? I down loaded google earth and when going to a close up of my place it got real blurry.

I really haven't a clue. There are clearer places and some pretty vague places all over the globe. For instance, I tried to find the Nazca Lines out on the Nazca Plains of Peru and it just wasn't enough resolution to see them. And there are places adjacent to each other that are very clear in blocks and then vague in blocks. Maybe atmospheric conditions at the time of photographing? Something not up to snuff with the lens or something technical? Or something else?

I just dunno.

M

[Sangreaal]

Quote: Originally Posted by Richard Rombold Hot wire, propane cannons, pyrotechnics, guard dogs, full time bird chasers, mannequins, lasers, depredation, taped bird calls, one eyed balloons, fake birds of prey, hum lines- tried them all. Only thing that works is a completely enclosed pond. The fish most at risk are the brightest smaller fish. Two to five inch are the most vulnerable.

Wow, Richard...you've been pretty inventive in your anti-predation campaign, and I bet I would have come up with as many other similar ideas before finally coming around to the conclusion that completely enclosed ponds are the way to go. Thanks for saving me the trip.

Hmmmm.... Now to mull over the idea of completely enclosed. A vision of the DFW hatcheries up here comes to mind--chain link and netting. There must be something more aesthetically pleasing....

M