What if you determine exctly wehre you want it, and then build a netting structure far enough away from it like a canopy/tent that had an entrance door and then build your pond in there. You could determine the exact type of netting, probably a fine mesh-but something that you can see through from a distance too. I'm thinking umbrella-ish and large enough like a pergola. I'm just trying to think outside of the trees. I don't deal too much with trees but think your shade is pretty nifty (hot desert summer temps make me tree envious). Also if you are goign to put water plants in there think of ones that like shade. Mine are in full sun so I have no problem. I have 3 bucket ponds (2 no pumps) and one stock tank (110 gallon) metal one with a 24/7/365 running pump and gambusia affinis (mosquito fish). A set above ground tank would help since you don't need to set something in the ground amongst the root system of all the trees (and it's easier on the back and knees to clean). I just hate to see a gal that is yearning for a pond and not be able to fulfill her dream of it! Hang in there and hope all of us spark some great ideas for you to find a solution. Love, Jules

Annie = I know you are giving up on the idea but I want to clarify a couple of things. the fountain kit I was suggesting remains hidden. My husband & I used one to create a fountain out of a redesigned, hypertufa leaf platter (think water dripping down the edges to the leaves - into a terracotta bowl. - it runs on electricity, but it at least conserves water. It's not that fake looking fountain at all. An example can be seen by following the link below: the antiquity fountain you describe - like the ones in ROME were powered by the aquaduct system. No electricitiy for certain but it required a huge engineering undertaking to channel water down from mountain springs into a reservoir which is normally in a valley setting and by the force of the water rushing it, it was able to push water outward and upwards through a narrow channel into the various water pipes the Romans have built. The steeper the incline of the downward flow, the more powerful the water going up into the aquaducts. A better picture is to use a a small container as an example. The container has only 2 openings. One for an intake hose and the other, an outtake hose. Fill that container with water, now push water in via the intake hose. See how the water will spurt out the other hose. This was how the Romans managed to channel water from the mountains over rough hills into the cities below. This means, the water flow was continues and never stopped flowing. I was thinking about how wasteful this was but that was the way it is for the ancients. This was the water for their drinking, their saunas, and also their communal potty (and this is truly interesting. there was no such thing as privacy when sitting on those chamber pots.) OH -- they lined their canals, pipes with lead. So in the long term, they managed to poison themselves. RE: "Thanks for your input, too. Good ideas, but I don't want one of those faux fountains kits made of resin. I'm a "naturalist, hippie-type girl:". I would rather do without one than have resin or fiberglass or...gag....plastic. No offense to those of you who like them just fine, but that's not me. The other problem is running electricity out there. That would be a MAJOR undertaking for me. I ain't a young chickadee anymore. So...how did they do it BEFORE there was electricity? The old ones didn't use electricity. I know there is a way.! Obviously, the people in antiquity built fountains that pumped the water around and around. What was their system? Even if I don't do it, I just want to know.. Don't you? " Here is a link that might be useful: fountain kit

Take a look at our pool build. We are almost done. Our water feature was pencilled into the quote as about $15,000 (by the beach entry). The spa and pool were not separated in the bid as we knew we needed both so I am not sure what it would cost. Pentair's Intellibrite brochure (google it on the web) in PDF has a picture of a lovely spa and spillway into a pool Behind the spa is a nice rock waterfeature that I really liked. I am not sure incorporating it into the spa would save you any money as the waterfall still has to be built, but it would look great. When we were designing the pool, we got lots of books out of the library and searched as many pool builder sites as we could for examples of what we wanted. The closer you are to knowing EXACTLY what you want, the better you can get the prices to meet your expectations. I found that the quotes were too general at first but when we really narrowed down our requests (5ft high, 9 foot wide waterfall of natural boulders, etc) we got more accurate and consistent quotes. Katherine (search for San Diego Sunshine poolbuild thread for our initial drawings and then the build process). Here is a link that might be useful: Thread 2 of our poolbuild; thread one is linked in the first message.

Hi Guys, Thanks for replying. Actually not even using it as a Spa. Its just a water body kind of thing for us. My bungalow is very small and hence we couldn't afford any more space for a pool even if we wanted to. So this pool (or water body as id like to call it) is only for visual appeal. Its located outdoor and is open to the sky and direct sunlight on it for about 4 hours. Secondly, im in India. Nobody here heats a pool at least as far as i know. We have only burning summers & other times summer. There is no actual winter in my country, at least in my state, as the temperature in winter is only as low as 23degree centigrade. That's our winter. We have gone with a combo filter from EMAUX POOLS brand. It comes with a .2hp pump and a sand filter matched for it by the company itself. This is ideal since i intend to run the pump on solar power (owing to abundant summer sunlight more than id like to have) and the pump shouldn't have a huge start-up power draw. Usually motors take about 3-4 times their rated power when they start ? Hence this small pump was preffered and they said its about 8000 ltrs per hour capacity. My pool has 6000 ltrs in it. I also heard the cartridge filters are very sticky and dont wash or hose out easily. Apart from this the pool company only advised us to use chlorine granules and brush the pool daily (or even alternate days, since its very minimally used). The location of the home is in the city outskirts so not much of dust and no trees around. Its located in the middle of a 20 acre grass land. What else will i need to do to maintain this pool on daily basis ? Thanks