Pond!

No, not a Doctor Who reference...this time!  We are building our second pond!  The first being a small patio pond in a 20 inch resin pot under a rain chain at the corner of our deck.  This pond is based in a 300-gallon Rubbermaid stock tank. 

We moved into this modest house almost a year ago and one of the first thoughts to cross my mind was "I can have a pond!"  My partner and I are avid water garden fans.  For many years we eagerly went on the Water Garden Society of Greater Kansas City's tours, taking hundreds of photos, asking questions and dreaming of what we wanted when we could finally dig in the Earth.  Almost as soon as we got settled in here, we joined the Society.  It was the first step almost everyone over the years said we needed to do.   Membership includes discounts at numerous local and not-too-distant merchants of rock, fish, plants and supplies, as well as the knowledge-base of past newsletters and the entire membership in their great generosity and fellowship.  Awful nice folks!

We rent our house and do not wish to risk the wrath of our manager by excavating the entire back yard.  The best solution we have thought of or heard from any of the hundreds of folks we've asked is this:  Buy a stock tank, preformed liner, or build a raised pond.  Of the three, we thought that the third, with tons of rock or timbers to buy and haul, would be the most expensive and labor-intensive.  We would like to finish it this summer.  Preformed liners tend to be too shallow for fish to live in in the winter, even with a heater, and too small for koi.  We want koi.  The stock tank is a solution we have seen before.  On the first Tour we went on, there was a home in my grandparent's old neighborhood South of Bannister Road that had at least 20 galvanized stock tanks in the back yard.  There were rocks cemented to some, some cascaded into others, some were still, some had fountain heads spraying water.  It was quite the sight.  I have photos of it, somewhere.

We bought the tank last week.  We started excavating a level site yesterday.

Part 2 to follow