Examples of above ground, preformed patio ponds?

[fish_tale]

I got a little (~48" x 30" x 18") preformed pond (very similar to the attached pic, dirt cheap off craigslist,) with the intention of setting it up on our patio to house a lily and some hyacinths and maybe a couple of small fish (guppies/mollies/platies) for color and mosquito larvae control; I will probably also get a solar powered spitter for water movement and sound.

The main drawback is that it doesn't have a flat bottom, so I am kind of at a loss as to how to set it up to be both stable and attractive. On the plus side, the curve of the pond pretty much aligns with the curve of the retaining wall that it will be situated beside; my primary worries are how to provide support under the plant shelf zones and how to camouflage the liner. I'm guessing it would look best to create a surround using the same kind of blocks that the retaining wall is made of, but then I have to worry about filling in the dead space and how to landscape around it...

I'd love to see examples or hear thoughts on how others have addressed these challenges!

 

[pecan]

I would build a wood structure to set it in. With cross beams just under each shelf to hold the weight and face the outside of the wood structure with stained wood to look nice. Thinking along the lines of what a hot tub looks like from the outside.

 

[EricV]

Any structure you build could be filled with sand or gravel to support the shallow parts

 

[Mmathis]

Any structure you build could be filled with sand or gravel to support the shallow parts

Good idea!

 

[sissy]

They need sand or dirt under and around them .Had the same one and every spring I had to level it .Frost and cold would heave it

 

[fish_tale]

thank you for the ideas...I toyed with several, but am not at all handy and just could not make the thing look good above ground, so ended up sinking it nearby my 300g... I found a taro and corkscrew rush at a local nursery and set in a couple of my hyacinths and some hornwort