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Loch Badger
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This is a pond journal. But since said pond contains water, fish, and plants, I guess it qualifies as an aquarium too.
Our story so far:
When I bought what was to become Badger Manor, it was just a big cow pasture: Grass, alfalfa, an irrigation ditch, and nothing else. In the 13 years we've lived here, we have planted lots and lots of trees and shrubs, built garden beds, raised chickens, and planted flowers. All of that means water. The trouble is that it doesn't rain much here in the summer, and the ditch flows intermittently. During the mid-summer haying time (when trees and tomatoes need water the most) there is often no water for a couple weeks at a time. A couple of years into this adventure, I shared this problem with the ditch boss, and he suggested digging a pond.
So, we hired a neighbor/friend who runs an excavation business to do just that, and we were soon the proud owners of a 40x50x7' hole in the ground, filled from a spur off the ditch. But despite the fact that our soil is pure clay, it never did hold water for very long. So after a couple of years, we bought a liner. In what was to become an ongoing pattern, I put it in wrong, and it leaked. By this time I had also built a drip irrigation system, and the liner still held a couple feet of water in the bottom, so the trees still had water. But most of the time, it looked like a big, ugly mud hole in our yard. Unacceptable.
Well, bring us up to the modern day. Last year, the Badgerling started kindergarten, and Mrs. Badger went back to teaching after a very important but not at all lucrative gig as a full-time mom. For the first time in several years, we had a big of disposable income, and toward the top of the list was a new pond liner. Last spring, a truck delivered a huge roll (about 900 lbs. worth) of 45 mil EPDM to our front lawn. A few good friends helped me drag it into place. I have spent a good portion of the summer moving rocks in to cover the liner. Our last liner was 60 mil, and I wish we had gone with 60 this time, as I've already had to patch a couple of small holes. But as the say, it is what it is.
This is pretty much a natural pond. The fish rustle their own grub; there's no filtration system except a waterfall I'm putting in for beauty and aeration. Water changes consist of drip irrigating 100 or so trees (I lost count several years ago), watering the lawn, and topping off the pond when I irrigate the back field. I do plan on planting a lot of water lilies and cat tails (in pots so they don't take the whole thing over). But once some good habitat is provided, my job is pretty much over. Current stocking is around 8 gold fish, plus whatever finds its way in from the ditch. Hopefully, if the thing holds enough water that the fish don't winter kill, I'll stock it with sunfish and brown trout at some point.
OK, still with me? Stand by for some pictures.
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The south/west side of the pond. My excavator friend moved the rocks over; all the rest is being done with a wheel barrow and a stout pair of gloves.
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North/East side.
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A seam I had to make to fit the odd shape of the hole. I sealed it with liquid EPDM, two sided EPDM tape, then filled the voids with expanding foam and coated the whole thing with four coats of Flexseal. If that doesn't hold it, to heck with it! 
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Looks like the laying of the rocks was back-breaking work if you did that all by hand.
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Tom, do you have enough rock at the site now or will you have to have more hauled in?
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 Originally Posted by BluewaterBoof
Looks like the laying of the rocks was back-breaking work if you did that all by hand.
Yep. Between that, cutting firewood, and mountain races, I haven't felt a strong need to go to the gym this summer. ha ha ha Kind of looking forward to going back to "work" next week so I can get some rest!
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 Originally Posted by Taurus
Tom, do you have enough rock at the site now or will you have to have more hauled in?
I'll have to have more hauled. There's still a lot of rubber exposed, but I'm waiting for some free/cheap materials to become available. It will probably have to wait until next spring. But I have enough done that I shouldn't ever have to drain it all the way again.
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I built a wall. It's huuuuuge. The Mexicans are going to pay for it. I have my top people working on that.
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I dug a low area into the hill for the waterfall. Did it wrong the first time (I told you; it's a pattern) and had to tear it out and start over. Hopefully I got it right this time: Stacked up the rocks into walls (huuuuge!) for three tiers, and mortared them with expanding foam. Hopefully they're more or less sealed and the water will go over the top instead of just trickling down through the rocks unseen. Once it's sealed and cured, will paint the ugly foam with gray and brown Drylok leftover from my Angkor build, and/or cover it with stones so it doesn't show.
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It's a big project, my hats off to you for taking it on and sticking with it. Oh, and I can confirm that rocks are never where they're supposed to be. I think it's a law of nature.
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