Lisa C. wrote:
In the do-it-yourself realm of things, how dry does it need to be
before you dig out a pond? I have been told that it pretty much has to
be dry as a bone to keep from getting stuck - but I'm wondering what
that really means.

Are we talking a week with very little rain? A month?

I must admit I disagree with that to a certain extent. I found myself
moistening the clay when I dug out my first pond. Clay when dry is
really tough to sink a shovel into. OTOH, when it's really wet, it's
heavy and tough to do anything with.

FWIW, I've gone the DIY route with two ponds now. First one taught me a
lot - don't just decide that wetspot in the yard would make a good pond,
use a liner (fortunately I knew that before I started) not a preform
cause preforms can be problematic, keep away from trees, keep the dog
out of the pond cause their naisl tear liners (*sigh*) and it's going to
take a while. Longer than you thought. Also, have a plan for what you
are going to do with all the clay you dig out.

Second pond taught me that some spots in NC can be solid rock. Witness
digging down 6" to hit sandstone. Pond is 8' x 6' and 36" deep. The
entire pond is carved out of that single slab of rock. We never found
the edge or the bottom. It took renting an electric jackhammer to carve
it out. (Yep, there are such critters.) One other thing, do not put
rocks on the bottom as it cause all types of water problems. The liner
will rapidly be covered with a nice, healthy coat of algae.

One last thing, you need to treat city water in this area for the most
part to remove chloramines. This is not the same as chlorine. DOn't
put fish in it immediately as it takes time for the water to cycle
through and the pond to become safe. Buy a cheap water test kit to
watch the ph, nitrates, nitrites and ammonia levels. One way that I've
heard to jump start the biological cycle of a pond is to get some water
from a pond that's established. This will introduce the beneficial
bacteria and help them get established faster.

Above all, don't let me scare you off. My first pond took me about a
month to dig out and set up. My second - a three day weekend.
Jackhammering I found is a lot faster than digging. *grin*

Come hang out on rec.ponds. There are a lot of very knowledgeable
people on the newsgroup and will readily answer just about anu question
you may have.

Susan
shsimko[@]duke[.]edu