Just a quickie note to introduce myself. I saw this group when it was
proposed over on news.groups and thought it might be interesting to at
least lurk for a bit from time to time.

My wife and I recently moved out of the city (in Bryan, TX) onto a 6.5 acre
property. I am in the initial stages of digging a pond next to the house
(roughly 20 yards off to the side). Right now, I've just been scratching
the top soil off (using it to landscape other areas of the property). The
final dimensions will be approx. 50'x100' with a small island on one end
(the "shallow end").

The pond is purely dug out and won't get much runoff from rain. Because of
this, there won't be a dam or even much of a "burm" to help keep water in
(it can't really run anywhere anyway). I will have a water well dug to
help keep it full in the summer (the well is also used for irrigation for
the garden, yard, etc).

The purposes of the pond a
(a) decoration (close to the house, landscaping, etc)
(b) We raise Labrador Retrievers; this provides a place for the big dogs to
go swimming (and do some basic training) as well as a place to introduce
puppies to water (hence, the shallow end).
(c) have a place for pet ducks (mallards) & geese (Canadas) to live and
nest (the island).


Q1: how deep can I expect to get the "deep end" of the pond? I would like
it to get "as deep as possible", at least 20'.

Q2: Ponds in this area tend to be really muddy/cloudy, mostly from the dark
clay in the soil. Is there any way to help keep the water clear (clearer)?
And yes, I am aware of the poop factor from the ducks & geese...

Q3: what kind of fish? The fish are pretty much just there to control
insects, although grandkids are probably not too many years down the road,
so having perch they can easily catch might be fun. I'm not interested in
having bigger fish (catfish, bass) unless I need them for some other purpose.

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Chris Barnes AOL IM: CNBarnes
(also MSN IM) Yahoo IM: chrisnbarn