Building a pond from scratch

[StillMedusa]

Our garden needs a complete overhaul. Currently there is a preshaped smallish pond with a decking surround that has rotted away... we NEED to replace it this summer. As I have 5 fat goldfish, a ton of frogs and my grandmother's water lily that blooms around the date of her death..I want to keep it.

I would rather like a floor level pond..or just slightly raised (for the benefit of the baby frogs ) but we have't got a deep soil base to dig into. Happy to do a liner style one, or another preformed one but wondered how other folk have gone about it? I'm hoping to reposition it so that we can get it up and running with rain water for a few weeks before moving the fish.

Also..do ANY solar pumps actually work for more than a few months? We spend out lives unclogging the bloody things and they seem to break too quickly! Thanks!

We have a liner pond. If you have fish I think you need a proper electric pump as they poo and the water gets dirty, and you need a proper pump to sort it and keep the water nice and clean.

Frogs are great! For the babies, make sure you have some slates or rocks coming out of the water so the baby frogs can get out. Also make sure you have enough plants in the pond so the froglets can hide under the leaves.

The frogs should be mating and laying eggs very soon - so maybe put on hold pond plans till the tadders have hatched!

Oh we won't disturb the current pond... I can't wait for the frog porn chorus that will wake us any day soon Our last electric pump conked (despite very regular cleaning and maintenance from DH) and the solar was a temp thing.. they have survived the winter without it (and are still all alive thankfully) but I want something that will last better. Weirdly the pond looks pretty clean . The pond is quite full... there are a couple of pots in there that the fish hide in (we even had fish babies once...but they got eaten ) and several lilies, pond weed etc so it's a nice ecology going.. it's just the actual pond surround that is collapsing..fast. I'm hoping to create a new one then once spring is over, transfer the inhabitants over.

Last year we repainted the surround.. it was so funny.. hadn't seen a frog form months but as I started painting 3 frogs popped up and watched me the whole time... I felt like I had to do a really good job with six beady eyes watching me!