The article I linked to was written by me 10 years ago, so I thought it best I double check.

The price of (small) solar fountains has come way down, average price is now £10 but is really designed for a bird bath or tiny pond. (Which is what I said 10 years ago)

I was able to find a large solar floating fountain (See picture) which is suitable for the OP. However as I said 10 years ago, any such fountain will need an array of solar panels and will not be cheap, I was correct on both counts, this one needs 4 solar panels mounted on a pole (Pole not supplied) although I suspect as the fountain is in America it will probably need 6 or 8 solar panels to make it work over here, there will also be shipping to add to the cost as well as import duty and V.A.T. (The seller also said the price is subject to sales tax, thats an American thing) oh and the cost before you add on all the shipping, vat, duty etc? $6,900 roughly £5,300
Still want solar? I thought not.

Solar operated fountain, sounds good, no running costs, what more can you ask for? If it were only that simple.
If you have a quick search for "solar fountain" you will find lots of them....................all designed to go in a back garden tiny pond.
I say tiny pond because at best the jet height is less than a foot (and that is if you are lucky)
With a pool as big as yours you are going to need a jet(s) that are in the region of 5 foot tall, anything smaller and you will not be able to see it.
The down side is there is not readily available a 12v pump (it is solar) that can do that, and if there were it would need an array of solar panels to generate enough electricity. There is also the consideration of where would you mount the solar panels? (Not to mention the cost of the solar panels)

You may want to read an article I wrote some time ago, its still as true now as it was then, Click Here

You would be far better off with a mains operated fountain, since it can have lights and run when ever you want it to.

If you do have any other questions, please reply here.

The theory of a raised wooden pond is sound, but lets go back to basics.

The first thing to consider is what timber will you use, it can not be treated with anything that is not "fish safe" (I have recently read of one where the person used railway sleepers, when it rained all the fish died soon after, the reason the sleepers were painted in a toxic finish, which was washed into the main pond when it rained.)

Assume you build a frame (Vaguely like the picture you posted) you will then have to line the frame with something like plywood, as you want the pond sides to be smooth, if you just added a liner to similar to the picture the liner would stretch over the internal timber and possibly rip. Also the weight of the water would push the external cladding off. (Maybe not immediately, but nonetheless it would)
The other thing is if you build the pond as I suggest, you could then add insulation (fibre glass?) to keep the water from freezing in the winter.

So far so good? well no, you have said you want a koi pond, and I have told you that you should only build a koi pond once, koi are a fast growing fish, and, need room to swim up and down as well as side to side, with that in mind, koi ponds are often 5 feet deep. Most koi ponds are built 60/40 with 60% being below ground (Including bottom drain) and the other 40% on the ground, so you would have to build a pond that is at least 5 feet tall, which would be of no use what so ever.

I can can understand that you want a surface pond, so I would suggest you start off small and work your way up, that way you will gain experience, and learn that there is more to building and looking after a pond than it appears.

On a personal note, I do not rate wooden ponds, since no matter what they are treated with the timber can and will rot (Been there, done that) and it is almost impossible to change without emptying the whole pool.

Hi, yes you can have a koi pond without a bottom drain, (A lot of first time koi pond owners don't have a bottom drain in their pond because of lack of knowledge.)

You have to understand why a bottom drain is best to understand what are the alternatives.
Basically Koi poop a lot, and the bigger they get the more they poop. The poop has to be sent to the filter for removal, the easiest way is a bottom drain, since it does all the work for you.

There are a couple of alternatives.

1) Use the side skimmer inlet to connect a hose to and connect a "pond broom" to this and "sweep the floor"

2) Buy a pond vacuum. (As the name suggests it is a vacuum cleaner for ponds)

3) Have the pump inlet close to the pool floor, and you can "sweep" the bottom of the pond towards the pump inlet on a regular basis.

Option 2 is what most koi owners end up doing.

As for using a paddling pool for a pond (Such as the one you link to) the answer has to be NO !.
There are so many reasons why it is not suitable it would take a few hours to type them and you to read them, but in short it would be:

Not designed for the task
Not for fish use
Not deep enough
Too dangerous
Prone to damage / leaks
Has no suitable filtration
Not to mention "The small print" The information with the pool clearly states "a)Pool must be stored if temperatures are expected to fall below 5°C."

CasualKoi, if you want a koi pond this time of year is the wrong time to build one, I would suggest you wait till spring, and in the mean time design and cost a koi pond.

You should only build a koi pond once, as it will save money in the long run as you never need to alter it, so sit and think about it now. Koi ponds are not cheap, average spend is around £3-5K for DIY

Better late than never. Merry Christmas to you both and everyone else that reads this.

still no joy.

Yes, the add my signature box is ticked.

I can only assume that the person who asked the question has found out that what I said is actually true and that is why he has deleted his account.

click here

I thought something was not right, I just realised what it is.

I replied to a post and typed sorry if its not what you want to hear, then I was thinking I am sure I have done that before. lightbulb moment. Its in my signature, but signatures are not showing even though it says in my profile to always show signature, so is the forum slightly broken?

I never said 10m of cable was safe, I said that it was decided that all pumps will come with 10m Of cable and a plug fitted.
You could have 50m of cable if you want, the longer the cable is the more chance you stand of damaging it, that is why you should use SWA cable.
Or on the flip side, if SWA cable was not required why do your sockets have it?

I really do wish you luck asking a pump manufacturer to make you a pump with 30m of cable, they are not allowed to, and also it would be cost prohibative (to you) since they would have to alter an entire production run for just one pump.

I am sorry it is not the answer you were hoping for.