Heres a good view of the pond being all done except landscaped. Notice the dirt is pushed up now to cover that liner that you could see in the last picture. No mortar was used at all. I have heard a few things about both . Using mortar would be a lot of work and it will crack and seperate eventually anyway. This is a very strudy construction. The dirt has been tamped in behind the rocks as I went. The black cord you see  going across the front is the pump cord. The black pipe sticking up out of the ground at the bottom of the pic is a sprinkler head.
Picture  Page 7
I didn't get a picture of the pump and filter setup I used.  It is very simple...the filter consists of a bucket full of lava rocks. The Pump sets in the middle of the bucket surrounded by the lava rocks. The lava rocks act as a home to benificial bacteria which help keep the water clear. Lava rock is used because it has a great surface area with all its nooks and crannies.  The pump you pick should pump at least half the total volume of water in the pond per hour. An exception would be if you plan on putting in a waterfall feature, then use a minimum of 1000 gallons per hour pump to have enough flow over the falls. A flexible hose is connected to the pump and run along the edge of the pond up and behind to where it is teed into two lines spilling the water over a large flat rock . A larger pond would require a biological filter placed outside the pond. It would normally go right behind the waterfall. This pond holds about 300 gallons of water.

Here is a formula for determining the gallons in a pond.
Length X Width X Depth X 5.9 (if eliptical) or 7.5 (if geometrical) = Gallons of water in your pond.
A better more acurate way is to record the water meter reading before and after filling the pond.

Here is a formula for surface area Length X Width = surface area of your pond. 
You need to know the aproximate surface area to determine stocking rates for plants and fish.
Floaters: 1 plant for every 10 -15 square feet of surface . A good one is Water Hyacinth.
Lilies: 1 plant for every 15-20 square feet of surface.  Tons of choices for these.
Oxygenating plants: 1 bunch for every 2 square feet of surface. Anarcharis is excellent.
Marginal or Bog plants:  1/3 of circumference of pond. Many many types to pick from here as well.
Fish: 1 inch of fish for every 1 square foot of surface.  This is just a guideline, your pond situation may allow more with good filtering.  If your thinking about having Koi you will need a much bigger pond and a much larger filtering system then this site has shown. For beginners and small pond owners like myself,Goldfish are the best choice. There are many sites dedicated to Koi on the web.
Snails: Start with a dozen or so ,they will multiply.
Here all the plants are planted and mulch is applied.
Behind the falls I used ornamental grass which will give it a good backdrop and add to a tropical feel I like. Across the top I used daylilies , great looking leaves that also add to the tropical feel. Around the side I used contrasting foilage, both texture and color. From Boxwood to a small Blue Star Juniper to Golden Japanese Forest grass. Across the front I used mostly perenials , flowering and low growing. I mix in annuals all over to add color.
This completed the instalation of the pond. Now its time to relax and enjoy it. This was one of the best projects I have ever accomplished. We really enjoy sitting on the deck and looking at it and listening to it. The following pages will show some pics of year 2.  I was going to add information on plants and fish and maintaining the pond  but instead  I will leave that to the experts.  Only advice I can give is to use plenty of floaters and oxygenators to control that algae. If you get what is called "Hair algae" or "string algae" you may want to try a product called Pond Balance to control it. I have found it very effective.
Happy ponding to all!!!!  Enjoy the pics on the next pages .
If you have questions fell free to e-mail me at:  mshake5918@yahoo.com
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