Novembergrl: I'll try to answer some of your questions. I have an 1100 gallon pond, deeper than yours but things should be similar except I'm in a lot colder zone than you. I suggest you get yourself a skippy or some other similar upflow filter. I use a 600 gallon per hour submersible pump. The pump is in a large plastic flower pot weighted with pieces of half brick so it sinks and stays down. I have a loop of black nylon cord through a cork for a handle that I use a stick with a hook to move it in the pond. I have similar handles on all my plant pots. I use those laundry bags to protect delicates stuffed with nylon scrubbies as the prefilter. By putting some 1-2 inch stones in the bags with the scrubbies, you can arrange them so that you can stuff them tight around the pot so that they serve as the prefilter. My pond starts in mid April and is taken down early November. I have to clean the pre-filter about 4 times in that period. When I first start the pond, I get the pea soup green algae bloom. My biofilter starts to work on it in about 2 weeks after which my water is clear. I get string algae but the cure for that is to have lots of other plants that are growing. I ensure they grow by giving them iron supplement which also contains some other trace nutrients they need. If the plants are growing properly, you should not have a big problem with string algae. I do have goldfish and yes, I get visits from Mr. and Mrs. Great Blue Heron sometimes. I do lose some fish but the depth of the pond makes it hard for them to take more than 1 or 2 and then the fish are scared and stay deep. They reproduce fast so I have no need to buy more. I also have 10-20 rosy reds which you might consider having as they are more colorful than mosquito fish. Activated carbon and charcoal are the same thing. A rule of thumb is hour pump should pump 50% to 200% of the volume of your pond per hour so a 600 gallon/hour for your pond should be good. You should be able to put a skippy behind your waterfall arranged so it feeds the waterfall. 14" is not very deep. You might consider digging the center of your pond down to 2' or so to give the fish more hiding places and also give your pump a deeper place to sit.

With reference to the new home, you need to use a product called BIN Pigminted Shellac. It's sort of expensive, but well worth the cost. During application it smells like a bottle of rubbing alchol was spilled, and it is advisable to wear a respirator while applying. Because it's a shellac (white) it's a permanant seal for the nicotine (brown color) as well as the odors. It is suitable for use on both the walls and the floor underlayment. DO NOT use a water-based product REGARDLESS of what the salesman tells you. I spent 9 years running a Sherwin Williams paint store, and know what I'm talking about. Waterbased primers that advertise as odor blocker/nicotine blockers require at minimum 2 coats, but offer no guarantee against bleeding from the nicotine, and very little odor blockage. Secondly, although the tempation is to use 'cheap' rollers, DON'T. The alcohol in the BIN will dissolve it shortly (the glue) leaving a terrible mess. Use rollers in the $5-7 range. The product tries odor free within an hour or 2, and unlike oil based products there isn't a lingering odor afterwards. You can paint with latex over the primer after it dries. Carpet/tile over the floor. Good luck!

thank you so much for trying to help me. this is a big project but i so love it.. :) my pond is 6x6 kind of a circle shape, and it is 3 foot deep in the deepest point. but there is a shelf area on the left. i will try and get some pics up tomarrow for you all. i have encountered a new problem. it is real damp and rainy outside and my gfc keeps cutting off. this is not good because there is not oxogen getting to the fish.. the electiction said this will happen but there must be a way to fix it.. oh yeah, i live in south east virginia, right on the nc, va boarder. we are in the blue ridge mountains right near the blue ridge parkway. i am thinking that i will have to bring in all the fish for the winter to ensure they live. we get real bad snow here. so we have a 250 gallon aquarium and two preformed ponds that we can bring in to for them to stay in. right now my koi are only 5-6 inches long. 3 normal ones, one premium one, and two butterfly. and the 6 comments, and 10 shubukko's. i so hope i spelled that right. we are trying to get more tanks on free cycle for the gold fish to stay in.. i hope this all makes scence .. thanks again for all of your help.. hugs, laura

I do have a black plastic crate in the deepest part of the pond that has a pot of waterlilies on top of it. It's a decorative crate that I bought at walmart with all different size holes in it. I'm not sure if the biggest of the fish could have fit in it but I know that all of the mid-size and smaller fish could have. I can cut a larger hole in each side of the crate and run some of the black tubing through it. I even have some of the tubing just laying around. The ponds already 2 1/2 feet deep so I'm not sure how much another 1/2 foot would help but at this point I don't have the time or resources to make the pond deeper. I wish I had a way to rig up the mono filament line like you've described but with the way the garden is set I don't think that will be possible. Here's another picture of the garden from last year. The pond is right in front of the porch and that part of the garden forms a triangle that narrows down to a point where I was standing when I took the picture (The garden looked really good this year so I have no idea why I have no more recent pics to share!). I've done some research on the netting and can get enough for my pond for about $25 so I'll probably be ordering some in the next few days unless I come across something I like better. Once the netting is in place I can start looking for new fish! Since I'm starting all over I'm going to be a bit pickier as to what fish I get. More shubunkins and fancy goldfish instead of so many common goldfish. One thing I have decided though is when my family asks me what I want for christmas a heron decoy for the garden will be at the top of the list! Not only would it look neat it should also help deter other big wading birds from coming for a visit. Kara