If you have more liner than is needed for the old pond, then I would remove
the old liner and dig the pond deeper. Deeper gives much more volume for
the same amount of liner. As for the shelves, that is a personal choice.
The more straight up and down the sides are the more water in the pond, and
the less likely of heron or raccoon attacks. You didn't say what type of
ground you have. If it is real sandy, then a concrete collar about 6 inches
thick and a foot wide around the perimeter will offer stability. If you
have a fair amount of clay in your soil, then it probably is not needed,
since the soil has good adhesion anyway. The plastic milk crates that are
sold in office supply places make good stands for plants and they have the
benefit of being able to be moved to the location that you want them,
whereas the shelves are there for ever and ever.

Good luck with your improvements. I know the koi will really like a bigger
home, and they really like deeper.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html


"Amanda Galiano" wrote in message
om...
I went ahead and
bought new liner and I have a few questions about replacing it!

I'm inclined to just start over (and I'll have a
few feet of extra liner so I can make it bigger...did I say that? No,
nobody wants a bigger pond!).

Do I need to concrete the edges if I take the PVC out? How stable
will it be?

If I do remove the liner, should I go shelves or no shelves?

Thanks for reading my post and extra thinks if you can answer some of
my questions. I plan to drain and move all the landscaping material
tomorrow. My poor fish (just three little koi...they probably need a
little bigger pond anyway) are sick of swimming in a foot of water and
I'm afraid for their lives!