This is how i'm doing it this time. The long ditch is to drain ground water away from the bottom of the liner.

lay down liner...that's Albert.

I lifted up the sod around the edge and used some long galvanized nails to somewhat secure the liner in place.

I placed some coarse sand around the edge of the liner to make it level when I flipped the grass back over. Eventually, the grass will cover the liner better. Now I can just mow around the edge---no weeding!

2" PVC pipe for under gravel grid. I cut slots about every 2" with a chop saw. It worked very well.

This is the grid. I covered that with about 4 to 6" of washed drain rock.

Pumped water up from old pond.

I hooked up the pump temporarily while I return the old pond site to yard again and dig the other half of the new pond. There will be a bridge between the two ponds to make it appear like one pond. I will have a bulkhead connection between the two ponds, so water and fish can travel from one pond to the other.

The water level will be about 2" higher than what it is now. Next project will be to create the main waterfall where I piled all the dirt from this great dig. I will be creating all my own rocks from cement, sand and peat moss.

I think the fish are liking their new home. :)

I hope this helps some people and gives them some ideas. Happy ponding!!!

Mossy,
What? No more pic?
You have probably completed your pond by now, please post more pics.

I wasn't sure if anyone was interested, so I quit posting..lol.
Here are some more pictures. I'm actually getting to the main waterfall now, but I don't have pictures on this computer.

More rocks made from smaller rock piles.

The final spillway rocks. I don't really care for the way they look, but when water is flowing over them at 4500 gal/hr maybe they will look ok.

Water finally cleared when the plants kicked in. :)

Plants from the old pond.

The main waterfall taking shape. :)

This is the side view.

Mossy,
That is beautiful! All the work you are doing, you really love ponding. The rocks you made of cement look real too.
You are an artist.
Please post final pics!
I'm sure i am not the only one reading this, I have been following it.
It's beautiful!

I sure will! I hope to have the main waterfall going by this weekend. It has been so hot here lately that I find it's hard to motivate myself to go outside after work. Tonight I plan to hook up the pump. :)

Finally turned on!

Another night shot

Starting the 2nd pond!

The top of the wooden steaks is the projected water level.

Reflection.....

Yay! Liners are connected together. :)

This is where I will be putting the bridge....right where the two liners are connected together.

Your project looks wonderful, you have a space to crate a world of peace. Your concrete rock building looks great. What's your ratios for the mix and how do you cast the shapes ? Does the waterfall stay water tight with the mix you use ?
Love someone that shows project timeline shoots. Keep up the good work.

Thanks hwarrick! As for the mix, it's not really precise. 10 parts mason sand, 2 parts cement and sometimes I use 1 or 2 parts mortar mix. It varies, depending on how sticky I need it to be.

I have tons of quarry rock from my previous pond. I just pile them in general shapes and then dump the mix on them and shape it with a trowel or my hands. I sprinkle colored grout on it when it's all shaped to the desired affect. I use a spray bottle to wet the grout and use a damp wadded up rag to work out trowel marks and create texture. On some rocks I sprinkle on dry sand (I have white and regular brown sand) when I add the colored grout. This gives the rocks added texture and more of a natural look.

You can use Styrofoam blocks also, if you don't want to have the added weight on the liner below. Plus, you can get scrap styrofoam for free.

The mix is NOT waterproof, so you have to keep in mind where the water level will be when you are finished. I tried to keep the liner 2 to 3 inches above the water line (including where water splashes like around the waterfall.) You can use water proof type cement, but for me it was too expensive.

The mix for the vertical face of the waterfall (about 3 ft) was 5 parts mason sand, 5 parts mortar mix and 2 to 3 parts cement (guessing on that mix). You want it real sticky and it takes some practice. I would grab a hand full and throw it at the rock wall. It takes a couple applications and you cannot finish the vertical wall in one application. After it sets up in a few hours (depending on temps) you can throw another layer of mix on and kind of shape it with the damp rag and trowel. It looks a little ugly at first, but when you get to the final coat, you can really dress it up with colored grout, etc. Let you imagination go!

You can use stucco mix, but that is not available in the PNW.