Thanks, everyone. I broke every nail, hobbled like an old woman, smashed fingers, bled and scraped my fingerprints off, walked on my knees to pond with big rocks I couldn't pick up, and loved every minute of it. I still haven't figured out how to hide the filterfall box just yet, but I will. I have many plants I want, and some that need planting right now. Long view of my vision will likely take a couple years minimum, but it will get there along with the rest of the yard.

I love your BD cleaning tips Joan. It won't work for me because of the dome but it is a great tip for those who can remove the dome or don't have a dome. One of the best tips I have is to know your source water. If you use city water look up the city water reports. My city tests the water yearly and I found out the water is high in phosphates. High in phosphates means high algae so this report was valuable and I cut down the frequency of water changes. Next- Do not underestimate the importance of veggie filtration. You can add watercress, WC, and many other plants in your pond, in floating planters, and in your filters or filter ponds that will help keep your pond crystal clear. Have tree whirlybirds but no skimmer? Use a garden hose to move them to one section of the pond and then use a leaf skimmer remove them. No bottom drain, no pond vacuum and a mucky pond bottom? Take a debris handling pump, hang it by a rope and go over the bottom of the pond with it. Stir the bottom up a little with a net to get the debris moving a little as you pump the muckiness out. Need pond shade and want pond plants without using shelves or plants that sit on the bottom of the pond? Look up floating planters. Easiest floating planter in the world is to take a piece of styrofoam from Home Depot or Lowes- paint it black, cut holes to fit your annual pots and place pots inside the hole. Viola! Cheap floating planter. Can't make a waterfall to save your life? Take the discharge pipe from your pump- put a 90 degree elbow on it place on edge of pond over a spill rock. Plant a creeping juniper or plant, vine or tree that hangs over the pipe and hides the discharge pipe. Very natural looking without the fuss. These are some of my tips from years of ponding. Right now my set up includes skimmer with UV light, bottom drain, settling pond, and large veggie filter. Maintenance is very easy but even without the bells and whistles you can still keep a clear pond. Most important- build it as big as you can. When you can use it as a swimming pool you have met your goal. lol Lisa

Check out the thread below. The husband of a forum member build a neat little wooden "dock" over the skimmer to conceal it. I'm sure it removes or lifts for cleaning the skimmer, but it does an effective job of concealing it. There's does have the faux cover, but it wouldn't matter, since the "dock" covers the whole thing. Here is a link that might be useful: Skimmer dock

Thanks Mike, is this what you are talking about http://www.lowes.com/pd_239232-27977-23711_0?productId=3172833&Ntt=cim+1000+trowel+grade&Ntk=i_products&pl=1&currentURL=/pl__0_s?newSearch=true$Ntt=cim%201000%20trowel%20grade$y=8$x=43 Also, is there a specific type of seaming tape you use or does it matter. As for the trowl grade, if I apply that to the tape seams there should be no chance of leak right? Also, I was talking to a relative of mine who runs a construction company. He spoke of some sort of compound that you can toss in the water that finds the leak and plugs it. Have you ever heard of this or used it?