Plan Your Pond

• Place your pond close to your house, where you can enjoy the sight and sound of it. Your pond should receive four to six hours of direct sunlight every day. It should be protected from runoff, which can hold fertilizers and other chemicals that will damage your water and kill your crawfish.
  
  Plan on a depth of a couple of feet, with a capacity anywhere from 50 to 500 gallons. If you live in an area prone to freezing temperatures, dig a foot or two deeper to prevent freezing.
  
  Use plenty of rocks and wood for the crawfish to hide under. Remember that larger ponds are easier to maintain than smaller ones.
  
  Calculate the length and width at the longest and widest points of your pond. Add the depth to each measurement, plus 2 feet extra, to determine the size of your pond liner. You should end with measurements like 10 feet long by 5 feet deep at the longest point, and 5 feet wide by 5 feet deep at the widest point.
  
  

Build Your Pond

• To build your pond, you'll need the following: a shovel or backhoe, depending on the size of your pond; a pump; a filter; heavy-duty scissors; a plastic pond liner and pond underlayment, both available at your local pond supply store; stone to use as the edging for your pond; and mortar to secure the stone. Gather things to put inside your pond, such as rocks, pieces of wood, and live or plastic plants.
  
  Instead of a straight drop, give your pond sloping sides, with several steps. These steps, or shelves, should be used for plants, rocks and wood, for the crawfish to hide in and under.
  
  Line the pond excavation with pond underlayment to protect it from leakage. Avoid wrinkles in the underlayment. Place your black plastic pond liner over the underlayment--again avoiding wrinkles.
  
  Always use materials from pond suppliers, as these are specially manufactured to withstand the water of a pond and prevent leakage.
  
  Place stone or edging around the edge of your pond, to secure the pond liner. If necessary, mortar the stones into place.
  
  Place your pump and filter at the bottom of the pond, if you're going to use them. Though crawfish don't necessarily need clean water, they do need oxygen, and a pump will keep the water from growing stagnant. A filter will help keep the pond clean.
  
  Build plywood ramps for the crawfish to get out of the water to scavenge for food at night. You may want to build a small fence around your pond, to keep them from straying too far.