Never mind. Letting this thread fade away.

Most (if not all) filters you see in the stores greatly overstate their filtering ability. The reason for a large biofilter is that if your pond is 1200 gallons, you will need to plan on moving 1200 gallons of water per hour through the filter. If the filter is too small, the water moves through it too quickly and will not have contact with the beneficial bacteria long enough to neutralize the ammonia. The faster a pond flows, the more efficient (usually meaning larger) a filter has to be. You can bury the 100 gallon stock tank right next to the pond, only leaving 6" or so sticking up higher than the pond which can easily be disguised with rock. Cut a spillway out of the rim of the stock tank and either make a spillway flange out of plastic, or bring the liner to the stock tank and attach it well so it will not leak at the joint. Also, I don't know if you have thought about rocks in the bottom or not, but honestly...if you are planning to have fish (especially koi), don't put rocks in there. Rocks trap fish waste and uneaten food and it sits there and rots, creating very unhealthy conditions for your fish. The rocks will not contribute to the filtration one bit because beneficial bacteria needs oxygen to work and the decaying matter in the bottom of the pond is void of all oxygen. Harmful bacteria and parasites will thrive in that much though. Another thought....you could install a bottom drain and tie it into your filter, making pond maintenance a breeze!! Since you are still in the planning stages, it's not too late!! Check out the link I have provided at the bottom. Look at the construction forum and you can get some great information about building ponds for fish. Here is a link that might be useful: koi shack

I got hooked on this forum in the Summer too because of all of the sprout and flower photos. I peeked in at the forum a number of times in the years before that, but until I saw the summer photos I sort of thought that they all must be a bunch of crackpots with their milk jugs out in the snow banks. But those Summer postings on the forum - Wow! So many people having so much success with so many different kinds of seeds. Summer is a good time to enjoy all of the flower photos and keep some notes on who you are going to want to trade seeds with. There is an amazing abundance of garden variety on this forum. Nice people too - there must be something about having an abundant garden that really mellows people out. Mich nicer than the forums where people are in a panic over every seedling. :) Lynda

Sara-Ann, Another thing I thought of with Austins. In the light pinks there are many look-alikes. And white-based pinks vs. yellow-based pinks. Cameras can make the first appear to be the second. That's a question to ask if you have a preference. And it never occurred to me that Austins can have 6 small flower buds each on 4 upright stems on a main stem. Duh. But until I saw 'Windermere' it hadn't occurred to me. Here is one of my lusts growing over 5 ft. with multi mini candelabras atop a long stem. For a bouquet I have to cut one of the candelabras with buds tightly closed and opened?! I also cooled on 'Queen of Sweden' for that reason. I love my 'Apricot Nectar' sprays but those 2 Austins ..... maybe it was the formality and rigidity of how the buds/flowers were held that didn't ring my chimes. Growth habit (Austin) was the biggest adjustment for me. I still love the sculptured beauty of a hybrid tea bud but Austins in the blended pink/peach tones make me swoon.