You don't have to put stones in the bottom, but you can for decorative purposes, or for wedging any aquatic pots with plants in between. Fill with tap water initially - the chlorine dissipates within an hour anyway, and you use tapwater for topping up when its hot in summer if you need to.

thankyou bamboo,ive filled it with tap water and now i can shop for more plants

are you not digging it in the ground ?
excuse my presumption but if your leaving it out of the ground you can get them half logs on a roll and cut them down to size . would look lots better . youl be amazed at how quickly wildlife realises you have water . give the birds a realy shallow part and they will love washing in it to . also if your not burying it your going to need a way of some creatures making it to and from the pond .you could even bury just the deepest bit leaving it just half out the ground .

You will find the water very quickly goes green. Get some oxygenating plants (which should be sold with small weights to make them sink to the bottom of the pond) and this will help the water go clear again

i am burying ot nosypotter,thats just where i want it to go,a log would be nice near it tho,very arty farty(sorry thats what the teen says)with some ivy maybe

lol great minds maybe lol .

Would you need small fish to keep down mosquitoes there, as we do here?

lol tugbrethil,sorry made me laugh,im a geordie and its a wee bit cold for mozzies,wonder if sticklebacks would be an idea tho,do you have a pond too,i suppose its always hot where you are,chris

sticklebacks are perfect ladybug

Sticklebacks are a lot more fun than goldfish. In spring the male builds a little tunnel-like nest and chases the female until she swims through and lays her eggs. He swims after her and fertilises them. She they has nothing more to do, but he stays by the nest fanning fresh water through it with his fins. Sounds good to me.

It can be difficult to balance a pond as small as yours and the water can turn bad very quickly, so make sure you keep an eye on it. Plenty of oxegenating plants will help, and possibly a plant with floating leaves for a bit of shade.

I wouldn't bet on it being too cold for mosquitoes! The ones in Alaska, and the White Mountains of Arizona, are something fierce!! Something else may keep them down in the UK, though. Around here the Health Dept. hands out free Mosquito Fish to people with ponds, cattle tanks, reservoirs, etc.

thanks for all the idea,s and im def thinking on sticklebacks,i will have to get the pond right first i suppose,i used to live up scotland tugbrethil and the midges used to drive me nuts,nasty little things

the males in breeding colours are amazing to .

I just looked up some pictures of midges...just as I thought, in the States, we call 'em mosquitoes!

In the south of England, we always used to call them gnats - but they're mozzies alright, which is what we commonly call them now.

I'd druther have a moggy than a mozzy, and midges gimme the idges!