No need for electric as you can now buy solar powered fountains. The water needs to be at least 2 feet deep in the centre. This stops the temperature going up and down too much in hot weather . You'll need to decide whether to buy a fixed shape plastic or fibreglass liner or whetrher to use a butyl liner.

Butyl liners are cheaper and easier to install but solid ponds are more robust.

Take a look at my blog on here on ponds. You might find some of the information there helpful

http://www.growsonyou.com/anchorman/blog/11683-replacing-a-pond-liner-and-creating-a-new-pond

1 would have electr1c excuse me 1ve lost the use of my 1 lol . theres a lot to cons1der realy . do you want 1t 1n anyway natural 1e tadpoles etc or 1s 1t ma1nly for the f1sh . 1f your not hav1ng power you cut down a lot on the amount of f1sh you can have . 1f you dont have power 1 would have a ready moulded pond or a l1ner as when you get 1ce 1t w1ll expand and break anyth1ng else . also as f1sh breath threw the oxygen taken 1n threw the surface you can see how the f1sh could suffer under 1ce hence hav1ng mov1ng water to stop the 1ce cover1ng the pond . 1 th1nk 1f 1 was you 1 would buy a moulded pond myself .

soler power 1 dont th1nk 1s good enough to be garunteed excuse my spell1ng so you cant rely on them . there ok for fun and the summer . also the next th1ng youl th1nk about 1s alg1 or should 1t be a ra1sed pond or ground level . 1 have a 2000 gallon pond myself wh1ch 1s on some of my blogs or you can look under nosey potter on utube as theres f1lm of my pond etc .

Hi Pippa and welcome to GoY. I agree with NP solar power can't be relied on... To have all the things you want, especially the fish, the pond is going to need to be a reasonable size with lots of oxygenating plants. Personally I would suggest you get your pond up and running and then think about adding fish. Good luck and I look forward to seeing photos.

I've kept fish in ponds with no power for years. OK not koi but straightforward goldfish are fine. A good balance of oxygenating plants and water coverage by plants is all that is strictly required.

A pump will ofcourse help the water not freeze over winter but Pippa said she'd like to avoid electrics.

I assumed the fountain was for show. A solar powered one would be fine.

If the pond is required to be stocked with large numbers of fish, or a few big expensive fish, have a filter etc obviously power is required . That certainly doesn't come over from Pippas question.

My goldfish are 13 years old this year and I do not have a power/pump in my pond but it is about 4 ft deep in the middle which protects the fish over winter and all I do is pour boiling water on the ice to let the gas escape.
Waterlillies help shade the water from the summer sun which reduces algae, edge plants give the pond wild life cover as well as looking good, and you will need oxygenating plants. You need to let the pond water stand before as fish the frogs and newts will just arrive. You can calulate the number of gallons of water in your pond which then tells you the number of fish you may have in your pond.
So good luck and enjoy.

what sa1d no 1srespect1s you w1ll cut down subtant1onal cut down the amount of f1sh you can have and you 1ll save a very commen w1nter problem of lo1ng f1sh under the 1ce as one dead can k1ll a lot of f1sh under 1ce that has a knock on effect of k1ll1ng much more . very relevent to the quest1on as1t was a 1g quest1on after all . ofcourse there s know prob havn1ng plenty of plants and a few goldsh .1ts just worth th1nk1ng about before 1ts 1nplace . a st1tch 1n t1me . as 1t goes the solar ones cannot be anyt1ng but pretty rather than prac1cal thow as you cant rely on tmem espec1aly w1nter . you should never keep f1sh w1th a tempory or sperad1c founta1n as they get used to the desolved oxygen and there realy w1mpy and w1ll freeze over 1n one of these cold w1nters . you say anchorman that part of moon grows answer 1snt relevent yet you just assume 1ppa only wants a pump for show yet 1 see know ment1on of that 1n the quest1on e1ther to be honest . 1m not try1ng to be a pa1me but 1ve kept f1sh over 40 years so thow 1m know plantsmen 1 do know about ponds . 1f you hadnt not1ced my 1 1s knackerd sorry and take care everyone lol x .