500L Preformed Pond Successfully Buried, What Now?

I am only speaking from research, my pond hasn't happened yet, and if it doesn't stop raining it will be another year round. (Have to take a digger across the grass). Anyway one school of thought seems to be to put in plants in containers, the other is put a layer of sub soil - the really poor, yellow-y stuff from well down - into it to support plants. I think I will be going with the sub-soil theory, but I have no actual experience yet.

The other theory is that in order to get loads of oxygenating bacteria going you need lots of surface - like gravel and stones - as against the smooth plastic, so that would suggest a layer of subsoil and a layer of gravel. As I say though, this is just what I have read up, so don't take it that I know what I am talking about!

Taking a bucket of water from an existing pond to introduce the microscopic ecosystem components is a good idea and I did this myself to get my own pond started in the right direction. Within weeks there were visible water skaters and beetles active in the water and it was kept fairly clear for the first four or five years with nothing other than a few marginal plants (Creeping Jenny) on the edge of the pond adding oxygen to the water when photosynthesis is active during the day.

Somehow last year duck weed managed to get into the pond and this now makes a covering on the surface that I don't appreciate but it does provide tadpoles with food and I could see them feeding on it today while at the same time missing the effect of seeing the reflections from the pond surface which was a nice feature before this plant found its way in. Will rake some out again in the next few days. Just used the water from the house well to fill it without it being a problem and I don't see not using just rain water to fill the pond initially as being a problem, but treated drinking water might be an issue with an existing pond. I have left extra pond liner up hill from the pond to allow rain find its way onto the pond and so do not top up the pond from the tap which would not be that easy since it is a distance from the house. I wanted to have a home for frogs (so they can eat slugs) as my priority with the pond so fish were not a good idea since these will eat the young tadpoles and frog eggs.

Happy gardening!

Maybe a bit of gravel won't do any harm and might provide a habitat for some organism or other. Now that I think about it, gravel might provide a solid base for plants to take root. If you go to a garden centre they'll tell you that you need some super-expensive gravel that is specially designed for ponds. Don't be taken in by any of that.

You should pee in it too, good way to start the nitrogen cycle

You do at the start

Doesn't look crap at all. Following, put lots of pics up as it progresses, thanks.

I found the golden leaf form of Creeping jenny that I already had growing in the garden elsewhere to be very good to cover the edges of the pond I built and it is very easy to propagate. There is a good view of how it looks at the start of my latest video post here even with it now overgrown by some other plants that were put in place around the pond it still stretches into the water a bit and seems to provide good shelter for pond life. I also read that filtration is only needed for keeping fish which I avoided as they would eat frog eggs which I had as my main reason for making the pond.

Happy gardening!