I've got 10 acres in vermont and want to dig a pond myself on the
property..

does anyone have any recommendations as far as books or websites that
would give me
direction? I'm planning on renting a backhoe for a week to do it
myself..

has anyone done the job themselves? is a backhoe enough or do i need
an excavator?
how deep should i go?

plans are to use it for fish
swimming hole in the summer
skating rink in the winter..

size will probably be 30 yardsx 20 yards..
hopefully...

so many questions..

help!!

wrote:
2. Look for the book "Earth Ponds" by Tim Matson.
(nearby library or Amazon.com) Tons of info.

Saw his website... will get his book.



5. My excavated pond is 15' deep -if I were to do it again I would
go to 10'deep.

Ok, I'll bite.

Why?

In general it seems "deeper is better". Or maybe that's a geographic thing
- I'm in Texas where depth is needed to reduce water loss to evaporation.
It also allows the water to remain cool - a shallow pond would get to "bath
temperature" in the summer (something no fish could survive).




--

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
Chris Barnes AOL IM: CNBarnes
(also MSN IM) Yahoo IM: chrisnbarnes

We put in an acre pond here in central MS. I got together with the
wildlife people and with the soil conservation people. They were VERY
helpful. Also, they had a conservation grant that piscked up 75% of
the conservation part of the dig.

We used a dozer and a pan. Backhoe for the bass holes.

The dam is about 80 yds long.

Read well first. If you are not familiar with the equipment, a pro
does it faster and safer.

Jim

"Chris Barnes" wrote in message
...

Brevity snips

In general it seems "deeper is better". Or maybe that's a geographic
thing - I'm in Texas where depth is needed to reduce water loss to
evaporation. It also allows the water to remain cool - a shallow pond
would get to "bath temperature" in the summer (something no fish could
survive).
=================
I'm in hot and steamy mid TN in zone 6. Some summers saw the water reach
the mid 90s. Water lilies help shade the pond and keep it cooler. I did
add extra small water pumps for better oxygenation of the warm water. No
koi, goldfish or amphibians died. When the water went over 96/97F we
covered the ponds with old white bed sheets. Not much of a problem when the
ponds are netted as ours are. I still don't think any would have died since
a friend didn't cover hers and all her fish came through OK. She said they
stayed on the bottom all day so she fed them just before dark.
--

RM....
Frugal ponding since 1995.
rec.ponder since late 1996.
My Pond & Aquarium Pages:
http://tinyurl.com/9do58
Zone 6. Middle TN USA
ISP: Hughes.net
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