MTS - multi tank syndrome. The uncontrollable urge to keep getting more fish which requires getting more tanks which requires getting more fish causing a neverending spiral into fish land.
As for the pond you are looking at, it looks like the outside dimensions are roughly 5 feet long, 3 feet wide, and 2 feet high (rounded to the nearest foot). I have a pond outside that is at least 150 gallons. It is a preformed pond with a rock/block wall built around it so I could plant plants around it. The pond that you are looking at is plastic, but the walls are not solid. If it is like the ones I have seen, the walls are hollow and open from the bottom. This is great for making it more lightweight, but it does not insulate the pond at all. Also, it makes the pond more bulky. This makes it look like it would hold more water than it actually does. In my opinion, these types of ponds are great for a water garden - plants only with maybe a few mosquito fish or other native minnows that will stay less than 2-3 inches long to keep the bugs down. Or put
chlorine in them like you would a swimming pool so they stay sparkling clear with no plants or animals in them.
Here are a couple of links so you can get the idea what I'm talking about with the preformed liners:
http://sutherlands.com/products/view...cat=2501002001 http://www.aqua-mart.com/orpoli.html http://www.azponds.com/Ornamental_Pond_Liners.htm
The az ponds web site has good prices and free shipping - I'm not sure about the shipping to Canada. Another note - with the preformed liners, the ones on the az pond site, if you scroll down to the round and oval ones, they are over 300 gallons (that is 10 times the volume of the one you are looking at) in roughly the same price range ($120 - $160) as the one you have your eye on ($150 + shipping). You may want to look around in your area - sometimes the home improvement stores (like Home Depot or Lowe's) will have the pond liners. I got my first one at a fish store that was going out of business and my current (second) one from a friend who was moving and couldn't take it with her - she hadn't had it very long and had not had a chance to install it yet, so she let me have it.
Now for your predator issues - My biggest predator (since I am in the middle of Phoenix, AZ) is cats - and not just feral cats, but pet cats that roam the neighborhood. The first two pics are of my shubunkin female that a cat took a couple of bites out of. The first pic is the day after the cat got her, the second pic is several months later showing how well she healed.
Depending on where you are and what type of animals are in your area, you will have to deal with cats, dogs, raccoons, skunks, birds of prey, and whatever other native critters are around. If you have a deep enough pond and plenty of surface plants, the fish can hide from predators fairly well. I have lillies in my pond. Other surface plants that work well are water lettuce and water hibiscus. I'm not sure what plants would be available or would survive in your area. Water lettuce and water hyacinths do so well here in Arizona, that they are illegal to have and no one will ship those plants to Arizona. The fun part is watching the birds come down to get a drink or take a bath. This morning my Mom was sitting in the sun by my pond and a hummingbird was taking a bath in the waterfall about 9 inches away from her arm.
I actually prefer the outdoor pond because it is easier to keep than an indoor tank with the goldies. All of my
goldfish (except the shubunkin) started out as feeder fish from Walmart (or other fish stores). I have had several born in my pond over the years. Our original pond (which was older than me) was built onto the front of the house out of cement. It eventually started to leak into the front wall of the house, so that pond got filled in. I missed the sound of the pond, so I bought my first one and had it on the front porch. It didn't get any sun, so I could not get any plants to grow in it. When I got my second one from my friend who was moving, my Mom and I built the rock wall and block wall (to sit on) on top of where the old original pond was against the front of the house. Because it is a fully self contained preformed liner/pond, there is no chance for it to leak into the house. I have an external pressure filter with a uv bulb. The water coming out of the filter is split between two waterfalls. Some of my goldies are getting very close to the 12 inch mark (if they haven't passed it already). The pics I took of them are with them in a little 2.5 gallon holding tank so I could get pics from the side.
After the two pics of the shubunkin, there is a pic showing the rock wall, then a front view showing the block wall where we can sit, and an overall pic so you can see the two waterfalls and the general look of the pond.
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