Do you have raccoons? I really vote against sloping edges and if you are
making a wading pool for the dogs you have to consider what their claws are
going to do with a liner. Have you considered putting heavily sanded/stoned
cement on top of the liner? This way you can have the slope and keep the
dogs from puncturing the liner plus it would give them traction even with
algae buildup. If the sides go straight down on the deep end you also might
be able to keep the raccoons from destroying your plants and you would not
have to cement the sides... Just some thoughts. Donna

"Jim Elbrecht" wrote in message
...
I'm about to make a small pond for some plants[?], the birds, a water
feature and a doggie wading pool. [our pug Gizmo likes to wade- but
doesn't like to swim.g]

Tell me how many things I should do/change before I start digging.

I'm thinking about an 8x10 or so pond liner- depth of the pond to go
from 2-4 inches on one end to 18inches or so on the deep end.

Sand or gravel on the bottom of the shallow end.

More or less kidney shaped- with pavers/stone edging.

My plan was to utilize the unused dug well adjacent to the site and
re-circulate the water between pond and well. The well holds about
1000 gallons, usually about 10 feet below the surface. I was
hoping to keep the water cool and refreshing.

The more I read the less this seems like a good idea- and the more I
think I should just set it up to be self contained. [though there
will be running water from a bucket over the well to the pond through
a trough over the flower bed.] I'll use one pump to fill/cool off
the pond- and another to skim & filter.

How many cardinal sins have I committed so far? g
[BTW- I'm in NY zone 5-6ish and the site will be in full sun only
about 5 hours on the longest days. It is on the west side of a
deciduous tree.]

Thanks-
Jim