Hey kaysbelle, Usually my water lilies are in pots at about a 2.5' depth while they are actively growing. When winter begins to set in, I move them to the 3.5' depth in a pond. I've noticed some plants overwinter better when moved to lower depths. I also move my lotus to lower depths. Water Hyacinth is allegedly being voluntarily restricted because of problems with people taking their excess and dumping it in natural bodies of waters such as streams and lakes so you will probably find it increasingly more difficult to purchase if not illegal to purchase here in the very near future. Best to take in what you feel you need as starts for next year. It seems to overwinter fine for many but there are those who claim they move it and it's dead. I'd experiment with two clumps in two different areas of your home to see what is going to work well for you. About a week before you intend to bring them in, try floating them in a mild solution of Miracle Grow or similar product. Overnight should be fine. From there try one clump in a small washtub in front of a south facing window and maybe another clump in a less desirable location with fluorescent lights hung over the top of them. Get the lights in close to the plants. Maybe one of those overwintering methods might work for you? I've never overwintered Water Hyacinth but I've used those methods along with placing other tender aquatics in kiddie pools in my basement under metal halides and they made it. Can't try to help with your question about Hornwort because I don't know which one you have but as a rule of thumb fast growing plants such as what you described in small ponds are generally not a good idea in the long run. They can be nutrient hogs. Plants that double their mass in short periods of time often use up nutrients that other plants need to survive and thrive. The Anacharis you have is probably Brazilian Waterweed. I'd be very concerned about that particular plant but if you'd like to check it out on your own to determine what you think about having it in your pond, use the Latin name ( Egeria densa ) plus the word invasive in any search engine and you'll come up with tons of hits but here's a decent site where if you scroll down you can click on anything that might be of interest to you- http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/aquatics/brazwaterwd.shtml Anacharis can easily overwinter outside in our zone. Problem with it is that it is extremely difficult to control even when it grows in what we believe to be self-contained environments such as a small backyard ponds. Anacharis, like Hydrilla verticillata, can be spread to other bodies of water by birds. http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/PDFpubs/2524.pdf These are the states in which this plant has escaped cultivation- http://plants.usda.gov/java/profile?symbol=EGDE Got any frogs kaysbelle ;) Frogs are our friends. Just teasing, I know some people don't like them. Hey Zinnia, I have 3 small herp ponds now supporting 5 different species of frogs and toads. I cheated though. Had a few biologists and herpetologists dumping over here. They were scooping up eggs and tads from vernal ponds that they believed were going to dry up prematurely and relocating over here while I was at work. I finally put up signs that instructed them what went in which pond. Basically; toads to the left, frogs to the right, and straight ahead with any bull frogs they might have picked up from other bodies of water. Ended up getting some interesting dragonflies and damselflies too. Species I've not seen over here so they must have come as and added bonus with the herps. It's kinda neat here at night with those dim photo cell walkway lights around the ponds. Those attract the moths and such and the toads just hang out waiting for their meal to come to them. If you don't have one of those cheap KMart type walkway lights, you really need to think about getting one. Just one of those can bring in prey for our little green friends. Time for me to leave to go wetlands exploring.

c2g, Vernal ponds, dewponds, etc are great in the right location, under the right conditions. Remember that most of the ones you see on the internet are rarely located near buildings, especially homes. Most of the time they are for livestock that churn up the bottom. They are rarely filled by hoses. In England, there is a lot of rain and a lot of clay. The bottom of a clay lined pond is thick. Try Googling Bentonite lined canals to see the construction. It is tricky. I'm glad you decided not to use it to tell the truth. To the unwary, it is a disaster waiting to happen. It takes practice and a lot of willingness to get coated with unbelievably sticky messes once it gets wet. We used to live in an underground house that was topped with it and then had 2 feet of earth on top of that so I had a lot of experience in twenty years. While it did what it was supposed to do, I lost more than one pair of shoes and several pairs of jeans to it. You could not wade into the pond you want to construct. I haven't ever seen a really good book on wildlife ponds. No two ponds are ever going to be alike. But then I wanted something for fishies too. my pond is 1000 gallons and three feet deep. The birds and critters usually take over my Skippy Filter (!00 gallons)for bathing and drinking. Since my pond will never be completed(even after 12+ years), that can change from year to year. I love to experiment.You won't want anything as elaborate as Joanne and Cliff's but parts of their ponds are perfect for what you want. Check out their many videos. Just don't get intimidated. For your pond, the first thing to consider is that the ground is flat. So as you dig, pile the dirt around the outside perimeter of the pond so the pond edges will be above grade.If you plan for a filter, the tank can be positioned there so it won't be obvious. Use the link to see the Skippy. It doesn't have to be that large for your use but the concept is the same no matter the size. I have seen so many variations it is amazing. They all do the same thing. I would go with the same material. Thinner, less weatherproof materials than a stock tank are just a waste of time and money. I made mine in an afternoon. The most difficult part was tying it to the roof of my car to get it home from the Farm and Fleet store. A fifty gallon tank would do well for your plans. Before you start cutting, think it through. You can always delay it if you are unsure. For your purposes you don't need a huge pump. Figure the amount of water in the pond and get a submersible pump that moves about twice that number of gallons in an hour. There are lots of people here to advise you on brands of pumps although they usually talk about the bigger volume pumps. If you like, you can design a low waterfall with this or not. I like the sound. For safety you should have a properly installed GFCI outlet. Extension cords are not recommended. Here is a link that might be useful: Skippy Stuff.

I haven't kept them but I have seen several posts from people who keep them in their ponds in areas that get ice on the pond. The article below mentions that you should keep them in groups of 3 or so. Most aquarium articles about them mention they will eat small fish if they can catch them but they are generally peaceful. Red eared sliders will occasionally eat fish too but they really like snails. Here is a link that might be useful: Weather Loaches

Yes Gary and Tebow are Koi-goldfish hybrids. Tebow is the white one above Gary. He is the one swimming away from camera and Albie is the Comet that is swimmint toward the camera. They are right together and can't see him very well. They both are about 18 inches long by guesstimation. Tebow is white with just a few real dark red streaks on his fins and just a little red around his face. Here is a picture of both of them together.