I'm looking for advice/tips on making a concrete pond for my caiman enclosure. The enclosure is already constructed and the pond I had initially installed (out of plywood/epoxy) leaked from day one so I was foreced to use a liner until the upcoming spring/summer when I can move the caimans outside and I'll try my hand at cementing the pond. The whole area measures roughly 6X6X1.5 and is framed well enough to handle the weight/pressure of the concrte itself as well as the water. From what I understand, mixing and applying the concrete itself isn't too difficult of a task, I'm just looking for suggestions as to which brand to purchase (I'll be buying materials from home depot), how much sand/gravel to mix in, if at all, should I line the walls with the reinforcing mesh? The pond won't be exposed to any extreme weather and the bottom, underneath the wood, is insulated (I'm in Ontario, so the winters get fairly cold). I also plan to paint the pond with epoxy for looks, seal the cement and hopefully make it slightly more smooth so the caimans don't scrape their feet. The front of the enclosure also has a sheet of glass for viewing that extends a few inches below the surface of the water, so my concrete would come to the top of the glass and I would silicone it to ensure it did not leak(another use for the epoxy). Any help/tips would be greatly appreciated. I'm pretty handy when it comes to workign with wood and wiring but have very little experience with masonry.



Matt

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