I have a smallish pond with a liner, and I realize that is different than your setup, but I needed to do the same thing as you, to cover the liner. Acutally, what I did is quite similar to what you described. Last Saturday I bought a curved pond planter that had holes in its handles on either side. We ran fishing line through the holes and drove in small stakes at the ponds edge, and attached the fishing line to the stakes. It worked well, and the stakes are easily covered with rock. You might want to try the same idea with heavy gauged wire or even old wire hangers to suspend them from the side. Full plants will easily cover the wire. I have also used styrofoam as well as black foam from packing materials, like for computers, and cut holes in their centers to fit plants or small pots. They float, they are free, and they work well. My wee turtles appreciate them, too. Tenroc

Hi aggierose, I'm no expert on pumps and filters, but I'll share with you what I know. I have 2 in-ground 300 gallon Rubbermaid stocktanks. One is a lotus bog and the other is a little pond. I can't remember the exact size of my pump, but I think its 450gph. I don't have a pump in my lotus bog. In the pond, I have a little waterfall and it works great. My pump sits inside a filter box at the bottom of the stocktank, with a tube running up and out through the waterfall rocks. If you have a pump outside the stocktank, yes, there will need to be a tube that goes from the stocktank to the pump, and then another one that goes back out to the stocktank. You could put that tube to a small fountain, so to aerate the water. Just be aware of how much soil you will need to move, in order for the stocktank to fit. Its alot more than you think! About the stocktank plug. What I did was to put some plumbers tape around the screw and screw it it tight. Then I took some caulk and went around the plug, just to be on the safe side. You will definitely need a pump and filter with those fish, since they make alot of ammonia. Plant lots of plants in your stocktank.......some oxygenators on the bottom, something like a small water lily to cover the surface and then 1 or 2 plants on milk crates that give some height (like an iris, pickerill rush, etc.) The milk crates work well because they give the fish places to hide from things like raccoons, heron. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will give you advice about an outside pump and filter. Good luck.

I have always used the galvanized tanks. I have two very large ones that were used when I got them. They had pin holes in the bottoms but my husband soldered them all up and then he sprays the bottoms with the spray on rubberized undercoating that you can buy at auto parts stores. That seems to work pretty well to help them last. I have had people tell me that doing this will only make them rust out faster but so far that has not been the case. The two tanks have been going for almost 3 years now and they have not sprung any leaks. I don't like the look of the poly tanks and don't really want to spend that much buying landscape blocks or something to cover it up. I spray painted the outside of my galvanized tanks a light tan/dirt color and they blend into the area better. The galvanized tanks will eventually spring leaks but if you can fix them yourself its not that big of deal. The poly tanks may or may not last longer, it just depends. Sometimes they will crack if the tank isn't real level and the weight of the water isn't even. Sometimes they will crack if something hits them pretty hard, such as a rock thrown by a lawnmower.

I replied to your post, cjc45, a couple of hours ago, but somehow it isn't here. Usually that means the "Submit Response" button wasn't clicked, but I'm SURE I clicked it. Oh, well. Guess I'll try again. I'm glad you have been spurred into creating a pond, cjc. Every garden deserves one! I don't know why we went five years without one at this house...oh, wait. Money and time, that's right! We were going to put a larger, in-ground pond with a stream, and it was going to be VERY labor-intensive and costly. I'm glad we decided to go this route, or we might have been another five with no pond to enjoy! I've seen two ponds close to each other, with a "bridge between them, planted so that it looked like water might be connecting them. It was very effective. You could even just put some rocks between them, with broms on them, or a waterfall into one of the ponds, and it would give the same effect, I'll bet. I have been to Biosphere lots of times and have known Jim Thomas for over 30 years, but I haven't been out there in at least a year now. I need to get back over there. It's a longish ride from Sanford, but worth it. The last time I was out, the pond area was just getting going. I'll bet it looks great now. Anna, somehow I missed your post earlier. Thank you so much for your kind comments...coming from someone with a pond as beautiful as yours, it's especially nice. You have one of the prettiest big ponds I've seen, for sure. Yes, I expect I'll be getting tadpoles and will have to try to figure out if they are good guys or not. The doves walk around the rim of the pond and bend over to drink, but the smaller birds go to my birdbaths. Not quite as frightening looking to them. Potter stands on his tippy-toes and tries to drink, but I discourage him. He has his own water dish out there and doesn't need to be drinking pond water. He has also jumped up on the edge and walked around, looking in the water. *sigh* I will be very unhappy if he messes around and falls in! My yard is starting to have a bit of color in it again, after much very hard work. We had to tear out so much dead stuff, and I basically started over. I've put in a lot more things that are cold-hardy, and some natives, like Walter's viburnum and Simpson Stopper. I don't want to go through another devastation like this winter produced. A few things came back, but most had to be removed. I think I'll try to find time tomorrow to post some before and after shots, just to reassure myself that it is getting better out there. The pond helps!! Marcia