FEL and pond construction

[gregfender]

Am looking to build a small pond using the contours of my land in a spot fed by a spring on one corner and a small stream on the other. Nothing huge...about 150 x 100, probably 8 feet at the deepest dug part. I have all summer to work on it so time isn't an issue, but my question is, how realistic is it to try with my FEL to do the digging...little by little, and work my contours with the box blade? Anyone else attempted the same? Pics and advice appreciated.

 

[crazyal]

I've never done it but the biggest issue I could see would be keeping water from turning it into a mud pit, or even worse a pond preventing you from driving into it. If your land is hard I would invest in a tooth bar.

 

[gregfender]

I've got a tooth bar already attached. In fact, it's a grapple bucket which makes moving dirt pretty easy.

 

[EddieWalker]

Am looking to build a small pond using the contours of my land in a spot fed by a spring on one corner and a small stream on the other. Nothing huge...about 150 x 100, probably 8 feet at the deepest dug part. I have all summer to work on it so time isn't an issue, but my question is, how realistic is it to try with my FEL to do the digging...little by little, and work my contours with the box blade? Anyone else attempted the same? Pics and advice appreciated.

How much time do you have?

Yes, you can do this. It's just a matter of taking the time to move enough dirt to make the dam big enough to stay in place. It takes a very heavy dam to hold back 8 feet of water!!!! Off the top of my head, I beleive you will need a 3:1 slope on the inside and 4:1 on the outside with about 4ft of freeboard above the waterline. Make it as wide as it is deep at the waterline and you will be fine.

Every time you dump a load of dirt, spread it out nice and thin, and drive over it as many times as possible. You need it to be compacted as hard as possible for it to be water tite.

Most of all, when you figure out how long it will take, quadruple that number!!!!

Eddie

 

[KennyG]

Based on the original post, I'm not sure how you will keep it dry enough to dig. Can you divert the flow? If the stream will be the outflow of your pond, consider a concrete dam/spillway. A completely dirt dam will erode if you have flow constantly.

 

[gregfender]

Based on the original post, I'm not sure how you will keep it dry enough to dig. Can you divert the flow? If the stream will be the outflow of your pond, consider a concrete dam/spillway. A completely dirt dam will erode if you have flow constantly.

The plan is to dig the pond, leaving space between the stream and spring. (they form a right angle where the spring dumps into the stream). There is a meadow at the bottom of the hill where the pond will be. Once the pond is dug, I will cut a new channel for both the spring and stream dumping into the pond.

 

[Deere Dude]

Have you thought about a box-blade for dragging dirt away and smoothing it out?

 

[Ken45101]

IMO, 100x150 IS HUGE for the equipment you have!

I had one dug by a contractor about that size. He used a large excavator and two earthmovers to move the dirt. It took 10 days to dig it IIRC.

I think you underestimate the amount of dirt you will have to move. The dirt sitting there now is compacted. When you get it broken loose and in your bucket, it will take up two or three times as much space.

I one time did dig a pondlet with a FEL and box blade.....it was 10' wide and 30' long and 5' deep. That alone was quite an effort. I did it more because I needed the dirt to raise the trail than for the "pondlet" itself.

Have you considered what will happen when you get started and it rains and water collects in the hole?

It's also possible that you will hit a vein connected to the spring and water will be seeping in while you are digging. With the pond we had dug, the day after they finished, we had a couple of feet of water in the bottom. Wet conditions are not so much of an issue for an excavator but it sure is for a tractor.

I also urge you to talk with your local soil and water conservation people. They will have recommendations on pond size, construction, etc. As I recall, here locally, they recommend that 50% of the pond be at least 8' deep. If you don't get the depth, the water warms too quickly and the green stuff grows.

Ken

 

[20 20]

Humans have dug ponds with shovels and elbow grease, so to answer your question "yes" it can be done. Now I'd like to ask you a question, which crazy house should we come and visit you at :laughing: Seriously, that is going to be a lot of work and will seem like 2 steps forward and 3 back, especially if it rains. Could you rent an excavator and do the main digging then take the time and move the spoils? I have dug a few ponds and just finished dredging one. If you run into bad weather, broken machinery or something else your pond could easily end up being just a big skeeter invested mud hole. If that happens it'll cost you tripple of what you ever dreamed. What other type equipment do you have for the long dig? Do you have any type of water pump, stand by way to get unstuck {if it happens}, attachments, tire chains etc.....?

 

[Combustix]

My dog started my pond in 07 if you look at the circle of water you will see my lab in there, he used to play in this mud hole for hours, which inspired me to start digging. I mainly used my FEL with a little down pressure. This was all before TBN so I did not know about toothbars and other digging means, other than my FEL, BB and backhoe, but again I mainly used the two former.

My pond goes dry 3 to 4 months a year which is when I worked on it. Each summer I would spend a week or two expanding it ever outward. planning on how I wanted to expand it, and experimenting with how I wanted it to drain. It wasn't till a friend turned me on to this site and I discovered I was doing it all wrong:laughing: I read Eddie Walkers thread which is very informative, and has some links to pond sites.

The second picture is my pond starter walking the dike of his pond, the third is the pond at the biggest it reached with just the use of my B2710. Last summer I cheated and got a Hitachi 135 and made another expansion. though I used the tractor to remove a lot of dirt instead of useing hours on the ex as I was paying for those. The last pic is useing the tractor and BB to smooth it out.

Yes it can be done useing a compact tractor, though it will take some time, I have one more expansion to do and will try and do it this summer or next. The one thing I would do differently is go big right from the get go and use lots of dirt to shore up the rims. Also when it was smaller I just used 4 inch tubes, to drain. Don't do this, make sure you have enough pipe to carry a lot of water away. I also have a spill way now as well. You may have issues if your pond or hole fills with water before you finish. If you can keep the water out before then you will have a good shot at it. I still don't have a toothbar and just dig with my FEL.

Good luck and enjoy your pond

 

[ryer]

Gregfender,you can check my thread "digging with an L39"to see what you can do with a small tractor and plenty of time.I dug out 2 acres with a B 26 then an L 39,just picked at it here and there and constsantly expanded it over 3 years.Good luck and just have fun with it.Ryer.

 

[rekees4300]

but my question is, how realistic is it to try with my FEL to do the digging...

It's realistic to try but unrealistic to do. Tractors and ponds just don't mix. There's more to building a pond than digging a hole. Hire a professional and you will save yourself a ton of grief.

 

[jpm1]

Don't mean to pop your bubble by saying its impossible but . . . an excavation of that size in cubic yards makes me stop and think to mention is it worth the "wear and tear on my equipment" fuel and how about my cost per hour? I did one dig about 4 years ago not a pond but a complete cellar hole under an existing 26' x 42' house dug down to 9'. The house had a 2' dirt crawl space which turned to mud because of an underground water problem, There was so much ground water and mud that it compromised the concrete wall holding up the house. We cut into the wall, dug a ramp down to what would be floor level and comenced digging with my brand new Mahindra 2810HST and KK 30" dirt scoop on the rear. I guess it took 50 continous hours of my digging while the boys shored up under the house to keep it standing. We did a complete poured wall under the house and saved the house from collaspe. The amount of dirt that i brought out from that hole i dug seemed to never end but it finally did. Would i do it again? . . .No Way! simple reason my neck, i started thinking i was an owl with 360 degree swivel. Only reason i did this was it was my uncles house and family does for family. One thing i can say is it was a 50 hour test for my brand new tractor and it passed beautifully. Thinking of this project makes me rethink how i'm going to clean and redig my own pond. RENTAL EQUIPMENT! Here are some pic of the cellar dig . . .John