hey all

got the pond together and it's ready to show. 300 gallons, it measures
about 7' x 3' x 2' deep and took two solid days to hand dig. it's
amazing how much dirt is in a small hole (the wife got a few new
flower beds in the process). am using a pondmaster 950 with the
discharge split to a venturi and a bioforce 1000, with that return
going through the urn.

the liner was laid sunday, with the excess pulled over the first
course of pavers, which allows me to fill about midway to the first
couse but was very fortunate that all sides remained level during
liner installation (the pleats on the corners of this formal pond
*almost* tripped that up ). finally got the urns in place tuesday,
spiked the filter with some substrate and filter material from a
tropical tank and circulated, adding three comets thursday. the fish
are doing well so i must have done something right ;-) .

being under a patio cover in zone 9 and receiving three hours of
direct morning sun should help with algael blooms (i hope). for extra
insurance, i added a small bale of barley. i plan to eventually stock
12 - 15 comets and am looking forward to share my knowledge when
possible.

pics can be found here :

http://rynholland.tripod.com/
http://rynholland.tripod.com/pond/id1.html
http://rynholland.tripod.com/pond/id2.html