Sorry we didn't respond in a timely manner. Your idea sounds great. I
would not do the bird bath thing for many reasons. save the money.

The sand base is to help make sure that your fiberglass pool is supported on
all face without any void. If there is a void that is significant, it may
cause your tank to crack as fiberglass does not stretch like a liner! If
your sand is dry and sandy then don't worry about the sand! OTOH sand is a
cheap insurance.

The 500 gph pump sounds perfect also. Didn't really understand how you will
use the galvanized flashing to act as your weir for the waterfall without
cutting the rubbermaid stock tank. How do you attach the metal weir? How
do you seal around it's edge?

--
_______________________________________
"The difference between 'involvement' and 'commitment' is
like an eggs-and-ham breakfast:
The chicken was 'involved' - the pig was 'committed'."

http://community.webshots.com/user/godwino

"Donald" wrote in message
...
Hey did this post really get to the group. No one has replyed. I see
almost
every other post sent after mine has gotten a response but not mine . Is
it
because I am Canadian LOL. Anyhow i called the gas company today as soon
as
they survey and give me the goahead I start digging. Someone sugested I
put
3" of fine sand under the fiberglass tub and back fill the sides with sand
as well is theis nessasay? Great another expence LOL LOL.

"Donald" wrote in message
...
Hello all,
I have been following this group, doing research and talking to all
the
pond owners in my area. To my surprise building a pond is more than
digging
a hole, lining it and filling it with water. I have been wanting a pond
for
a long time (since the creek dried up when I was a kid). I will lay out
my
plans for you and I am asking for comments and suggestions. Especially
if
I
am WAY OFF TRACK on something.

First a little about my location. I live in southern Saskatchewan,
Canada. 40 minutes outside of Regina. The area I picked to place the
pond
is
a 12' x 16' area north of my deck. I was originally going to place it on
the
north side of my garage but 2 reasons made this undesirable first is not
enough light, garage and trees block direct sunlight a good portion of
the
day. Second a local pond owner pointed out that a location should be
where
it can be "enjoyed" .e.g.. after his first pond he and his guests would
routinely move there patio chairs across the yard to sit by the pond
(away
from the 'refreshment' stand) so he built another closer to his deck
(best
of both worlds). Originally I had planed to conceal all plumbing,
filters
and electrical in the garage, WAS a good idea.

So, For my plans. I found a old fiberglass bath tub (the kind with
the
molded enclosure) at the land fill site. it has the holes for tap,
drain,
shower ect. I plan on using some for plumbing others I will just put
pipes
on them that will extend above water level to run cords, hoses ect. so
they
are not hanging over the edge of the pond. Inside dimensions are aprox.
81"x60"x31" (about 650 gallons ?) I plan on digging down so there is
only
7"
to 10" above ground (depends on how many friend I can convince to come
over
and dig LOL) . I want to build a wall from ground up to top of tub
extending
it past the back of the pond about 18". this would be used to hold pumps
electrical, plumbing, food, nets ect. And hold the waterfall filter that
I
will describe in the next paragraph. The waterfall filter will be on the
backside of the pond dropping down to ground level (If the basin I get
is
tall enough) and extending above the pond about a foot.. this will also
be
have the wall built around it to give it a nice clean look. This I think
is
pretty straight forward. Any ideas or criticisms?

The filter will be a Rubbermaid tub (cattle trough) about 100
gallons.
The water will be plumbed into the bottom though the filter medium (lava
rock and ??? with a screen of some sort to hold it down). Then it will
waterfall back into the pond. I have my eye on a 500 gph pump, will this
be
sufficient to run the filter and/or fountain? Should I get another pump
for
the fountain? I also want to somehow place a bird bath with a hose in
the
bottom to trickle water into the pond (to keep bird bath water clean
and
fresh). Back to the filter. I want to keep plants and tropical fish in
the
filter. To build the overflow, is there anything wrong with galvanized
tin
the kind roofers use for valleys?. I plan on having a 2" valve in the
bottom
of the filter to "flush" it out occasionally. Good idea or bad?

I an on a very tight budget (the main reason its not built yet) I
would
especially like money saving tips on filter medium, plants, food, pumps
ect.
Also important is if there is a major design flaw or something I have
overlooked as this is when I should address it (before building). I want
to
do it right and do a nice job, another reason its still in planning
stages.
I could have dug it down filled with water and then worked on it slowly
but
as I said I want it to be done right the first time. LOL.

Thanks for your time and suggestions!!! Reply to me directly, though
the
group or both.

Don Meyer

remember remove NO SPAM from my address when replying