I live in Florida and had a mud pond dug four years ago, it's about a 26 foot diameter circle, five feet deep. I was considering putting koi in there at the time it was dug. Well, I hate it. It's a giant mud puddle and when I look at mud ponds with koi they all look worse than mine. To make things worse it was improperly dug and isn't safe.

So, the plan is to drain it in the winter, bring in dirt to raise it to about three feet, line it with EPDM, no built in plant shelves (I'll have movable shelves inside), with steep sides. I was planning to install a micro bubble tube aeration system to the bottom and a floating fountain in the center. The thought was to have rocks in trays for easy clean up, lots of plants, and once established by the frogs and snakes, adding just a few fancy goldfish (no koi).

Can this be done without a water pump and filter? I know I will have to manually remove debris, I have seen people be successful in doing this with smaller ponds, I just worry that it may not work with a 12,000 gallon pond. The addition of a filter would be impossible at this current time, if it turns out it is a necessity I will just fill the entire existing pond in. Please advise me of my best course of action, I look forward to replies! Thanks.

Dotty