Fish reefs

I've got a couple of pretty good sized ponds that have very steep sides so they can be deep (20+ feet) and therefore very little plant growth.

I've also got 4 spent tires.

I was thinking of bolting 2 together kinda like a short barrel and sinking them for fish refuge. This would give me 2 different "reefs".

Does anyone know if there is there a problem with sinking tires?

In your pond,no problem. At the public swimming hole, big problem.

pilotbraden wrote: In your pond,no problem. At the public swimming hole, big problem.

We always had them at our public swimming hole, they just wouldn't let us put them in the pool.

I was drilling some holes to try to wire or bolt the tires together and I realized that to get all the air out I will probably need to be in the water with them so I can turn them every which way to let the air escape and that water's way too cold to even consider putting my lily white body in it!!!

Holes drilled in the sidewall seem to reseal themselves and cutting tires is tough.

When I was a kid, Boy Scouts used to collect Christmas trees and bind them together, head to feet.

Someone volunteered a barge or boat and would drop them a coupla hundred yards off shore (Florida). This would inhibit beach erosion, give the fishies a home and get the kiddies a badge.

Maybe a biodegradable tree would do it. Unless of course you're just trying to ditch some tires ....

About 20 years ago there was a program to sink large truck-type tires in the Atlantic off Miami- Ft. Lauderdale. Fastened together pretty well. US Navy divers have been retrieving them for the last five years. Seems they came apart and spread all over the place. Navy boys consider it a training exorcize. Tough duty.

CWH there are no tides in my pond so I'm probably OK on that count.

I so have some tires that I want to get rid of and if I can put them to good use rather than just take up space in a land fill someplace then we're all winners.

cwh wrote: Navy boys consider it a training exorcize. Tough duty.

Yes,no tides, no storms, no hurricanes, no problem. Just made me think of unintended consequences.

cwh wrote: About 20 years ago there was a program to sink large truck-type tires in the Atlantic off Miami- Ft. Lauderdale. Fastened together pretty well. US Navy divers have been retrieving them for the last five years. Seems they came apart and spread all over the place. Navy boys consider it a training exorcize. Tough duty.

They also never really supported any type of life. Seems like it failed horribly.

What kind of "reef" are you trying to make? I don't know that tires are going to start the ecosystem you're looking for. You want to fish off these?

If you are trying to get all the air out, drill bigger holes. Surface tension against the rubber is pretty stout. You could also try coating the inside of the tires with soap to break the surface tension and let the air out.

You will find that the tires eventually disintegrate. The water will rust the the belt fibers and the light and oxygen in the water will eat the rubber. It might take 10 years, but they WILL start leeching nasty petroleum based toxins into the water. I don't think you'll die from eating the fish, but the fish will die from the stuff.

I equate it to living under power lines. Everyone says its perfectly safe, but there are a LOT of berkeleyed up people who grew up near power lines.

carguy123 wrote: CWH there are no tides in my pond so I'm probably OK on that count.

Well sure there is…it’s not as large as those found in an ocean but it’s there.

I would prefer this:

http://pittsburgh.craigslist.org/zip/3674020187.html

I have a boat you could use.

As a reef that is.

carguy123 wrote:

pilotbraden wrote: In your pond,no problem. At the public swimming hole, big problem.

We always had them at our public swimming hole, they just wouldn't let us put them in the pool. I was drilling some holes to try to wire or bolt the tires together and I realized that to get all the air out I will probably need to be in the water with them so I can turn them every which way to let the air escape and that water's way too cold to even consider putting my lily white body in it!!! Holes drilled in the sidewall seem to reseal themselves and cutting tires is tough.

hole saw > than regular drill bit ... hard to reseal a 1" hole

You guys are scaring me, which is why I posted this. The ponds aren't free flowing so any toxins would remain. The only time they flow from one to another or the next one downstream is when we have the heavy spring rains. I was hoping there were no evil by products of the tires decomposing.

The purpose of the tires is more for structure. If you've ever scuba'd much in fresh water you find the fish congregate around any kind of structure. Since the sides of the ponds are so steep there's not much plant life or structure very far down. I was thinking of adding some artificial structure, but since this is also my swimming hole I didn't want anything that might cut or hurt us.

We don't really fish in there, although I have some 5-7 lb Koi, large bass & a boat load of perch. We do get a lot of ducks. Presently we have 30-40 that hang out there daily. Since the back pond is maybe 50" from the front of the house it's kinda cool to sit on the porch and watch them.

The closest pond is maybe 200' X 60', so not overly large.

DUH! Hole saw!!! I was just using 1/2" bits. But that might not matter if I don't end up putting the tires in.

carguy123 wrote: You guys are scaring me, which is why I posted this. The ponds aren't free flowing so any toxins would remain. The only time they flow from one to another or the next one downstream is when we have the heavy spring rains. I was hoping there were no evil by products of the tires decomposing. The purpose of the tires is more for structure. If you've ever scuba'd much in fresh water you find the fish congregate around any kind of structure. Since the sides of the ponds are so steep there's not much plant life or structure very far down. I was thinking of adding some artificial structure, but since this is also my swimming hole I didn't want anything that might cut or hurt us. We don't really fish in there, although I have some 5-7 lb Koi, large bass & a boat load of perch. We do get a lot of ducks. Presently we have 30-40 that hang out there daily. Since the back pond is maybe 50" from the front of the house it's kinda cool to sit on the porch and watch them. The closest pond is maybe 200' X 60', so not overly large. DUH! Hole saw!!! I was just using 1/2" bits. But that might not matter if I don't end up putting the tires in.

dang, that's close

I would skip adding tires to the environment and just make some reef rocks out of cement like they do for the saltwater aquariums

See:

http://www.garf.org/class.html

The weather channel had a program awhile ago about sinking old fishing boats and airplane fuselages for reefs.

Yep the Florida tire reef disaster was the first thing that came to mind...I'd recommend using a cinder block instead. The "professional" artificial reefs are like giant concrete whiffle balls cut in half and placed on the sea floor.

Use concrete. You can probably get a truck full of broken concrete fill off of your local Craigslist.

Concrete block, ceramic drain tile and gravel are what my friend Jim used on his ponds.

You should shoot this guy an email and ask him if his blocks would be suitable for an artificial reef.