My first pond (still)

Hello again everyone!

I was here back in August planning to build my first pond. I received
some great advice from several people here, and was well on my way to
becoming a pond expert ;-) Currently I am planning on a
goldfish/water garden avenue, as koi seem to require much more.

Then however, my job took over and after some heavy traveling he
weather was to cold to play pond. (I may live in GA now, but I moved
from FL, so cold is a relative term). It's about time to get back to
the process now, I have a big hole in my yard the dogs have been using
to play in and it's time to fix that (my carpet is already red!).

Quick Pond Specs:
14'L x 9'W x 2'D - around 1900 gallons
I've got some details up at
http://www.woosworld.net/pond/

I was planning on making a skimmer out of a rubbermaid tub, but I have
been considering buying one after reading alot of horror stories about
leaks etc. Can anyone comment on the home grown skimmer idea? My
current plan was to feed my bottom drain into the tub(skimmer) to
allow my pump (installed further down the line, to allow gravity to
feed water as far as possible) to pull water from the skimmer(sort of
a combo bottom drain/skimmer). I think I may need to get a leaf trap
or do something as I am afraid I will get to much junk in my pump.
This is where we left off last year.

I would appreciate anyone who has done this before helping me to avoid
some common mistakes. I'd like to get it right ;-)

Thanks alot!
Josh