First pond questions

Ok...I'm back. ;-)

I rent so I can't dig but I have a concrete patio where I can put a
pond. No electricity, so no filter but that's OK. I want lots of
plants and only a fish or two to keep the mosquitos down is fine by me.
I'm in Southern California, zone 10 and never any frost. After some
research, it looks like I have two choices, since I'm not super handy
and far from rich.

First, build a 4' by 8' frame of pressure-treated 2x12s on underlay,
line, and fill. Supposedly this works. The resulting pond is shallow
and will have a lot of bottom area on the concrete so I'm concerned
about the temperatures. Volume should be about 200 gallons. This
appeals because I like how the wood will look, it will be easy to break
down when I likely move this summer, and it is very inexpensive to see
if I like ponding. Cost is $50 in liner plus lumber costs - should be
well under $100.

Second choice is a stock tank. Not elegant but maybe I can camoflage it
a bit with trailing marginals or build a wood box around it. I'm not
sure what size yet, but there are some bathtub-shaped 150 gallon ones
that look affordable and manageable. The stock tub will be deeper, with
less bottom area on the concrete, but also less surface area for
oxygen/C02 exchange and plants.

I want to eventually grow dwarf lotus, papyrus, Acorus rush, and keep
one or two shebunkins.

I'd appreciate any input at all since I'm so new to this. I'd really
like to have a nice small pond that I can enjoy.

--
__ Elaine T __
__' http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__