"Pond Diver" wrote in message
...
I have always wanted to get into water gardening and ponds. I've always
rented and it never was an option. Now that I own my own home I can
finally
do what I've always wanted.

I had a small preformed pond (90gal) that was very successful
(proliferation
of fish, vegetation as well as looks). But alas it was in the front yard
and a neighborhood dog thought it was a better swimming hole. Since,
shooting the dog isn't politically correct in suburban America. I'm
moving
the pond into the backyard (fenced in of course). The wife knows how much
I
loved my pond before and has given me a fairly generous budget. GOD I
love
this woman!

I'm not trying to build a lake or anything. And I was considering another
preformed liner in the 140-170 gal range...and perhaps incorporate my
other
small pond liner into the mix.

What kind of filter systems ya'll recommend? Pumps? UV or not? The pond
will be in full sunlight from sunrise to sunset.

The Home Depot in my area sells a preformed pond that has a built-in
spillway (150 gallons or so). I started with a regular preformed pond
(about 200 gallons) placed at a seating location, keeping the spillways in
mind. I used a Supreme Pondmaster 700 gph pump with 3/4" tubing to feed a
homemade external filter and the built-in pump fountain. When I added the
first spillway I was able to use the same pump and filter, placed at the
top. The top pond then became more or less a veggie filter with various
fast growing plants, with the fish in the bottom pond (comets and
plec*stomus catfish)

When I added the second spillway the 700 gph didn't provide enough water
flow so I went to a Supreme Pondmaster 2400 gph (slightly overkill) and a
bigger homemade filter. I was able to hide the now 1 1/4" tubing from the
pump to the filter under the lip of the ponds. Now both spillways act as
veggie filters. UV was not needed, thanks to the suggestions of the kind
folks in this NG. The ponds are in full sunlight from sunrise to sunset in
Central Florida, no algae problem. I do add a teaspoon of Potash every so
often. Without UV, you may have an algae problem though, until things get
established. I had the advantage of getting my bacteria from an already
established pond in the back yard. Hope this helps.