DIY Dog Pond, Construction

 Hey Tribe,

This is a continuation post in our DIY Dog Pond series. We're talking about the hard work part of the project here.

In the grass of my front yard, I staked out a rough outline of where I wanted the pond to be and the shape I was hoping for and TheFather got busy with the backhoe.  It's a good thing I wanted a ramp built into the pond, because our little backhoe needed one to get in and out of the pit that was being created.  We found trash in the pit, probably from when the yard was originally being constructed, and a giant rock that was so large and heavy that we barely got it up and out of there.

Look at that giant rock!

To make any minor corrections and to smooth out some places, we used shovels to move the dirt and rocks.  It was hard work.  

It was roughly finished just before winter and the pit sat empty until Spring.  Unfortunately, with nothing to support the sides, some of the dirt fell down into the bottom of the pit like little erosion areas, so our sides became a bit wider than planned and the bottom wasn't as deep.  Then, it was decided that a crabapple tree was too close to one side, so we transplanted it across the driveway where it won't as easily drop its leaves into the pond.

Crabapple on the lower right is no longer there.

Finally, after all the dirtwork was complete, we lined the pit with old tarps to act as a cushion for the pond liner, so the many rocks exposed in the dirt wouldn't be in direct contact with the liner and possibly cause a puncture.  This pre-liner can be bought from pond places, but old tarps should work just the same and we had them on hand.

Then, with some friends to help us, we pulled the liner in place and I tried my best to minimize the inevitable wrinkles.  We initially placed a new tarp over the liner, to act as top protection from dog claws, but removed the tarp after the first day, because it make the pond look yucky and we came up with a different solution to protect our liner.  It took four days to fill the 20,000 gallon pond with a garden hose and our well: we didn't run the hose all the time, but would fill for a few hours and then let the well pump rest for a few hours, since I was concerned for the health of our well and the aquifer we tap into for our house water.  Possibly it was an unnecessary precaution, but we weren't in a hurry to fill the pond.

Fly was in a hurry to get this thing filled!

Once the pond was filled with water, we took the excess liner from the edges and folded them back over and into the lip of the pond, so they drape back into the water and act as an additional layer over the pond liner.  It tends to float up in the water a bit, so I weighted down some spots with rocks and other areas are left to float and they provide shelter and hiding places for the fish.

Before I weighted down the excess liner.

The astroturf stuff we placed on top of the liner edge and let the edges of the turf drape down into the water as well.  This stuff is the genius of our pond design.  Not only does this turf cover the edge of the pond liner and "finish" the edges of the skirt by hiding the liner, but it provides a secure walking area around the perimeter of the pond.  It prevents dirt and grass clippings from getting into the pond, which keeps the water cleaner; by draping the edges into the water, it gives the dogs some traction for climbing up and out of the pond and simultaneously protects the liner from being clawed and scratched.  I lined the plant and filter shelf in the pond with the turf as well, to protect the liner from direct contact with feet and paws, plant pots, and filters and it provides traction for walking, since the bare liner is a bit slippery.  Seriously, that astroturf stuff was well worth the additional cost to the pond project!

I weighted down the edges of the pond liner and the turf cover with rocks.  Three large rocks are placed so people can sit on them - including the beastly rock we unearthed and pulled out of the pond during the dig.

The beast

Eventually, when I finally decide on where to best place my pond filters, we will run permanent wiring under the pond skirt.  We generally only run the filters during the day and turn them off at night.  What I do like about the wiring setup I have (and will keep) is that all four of my pond pumps can be turned off and on at one location, rather than having to go to each pump to plug/unplug them. 

So, that was the actual build.  The next post will discuss finishing touches and overall pond observations.