I’d like to put in in an addition to my house. Not just any goldfish pond, though. I’d like it to be above “ground” and have a couple of glass panels in the sides so I can see the fish like in an aquarium. Am I asking too much?
Thanks, Lee
They do it in some restaurants, hotels, casinos, and doctors offices. I know that it can be done because I have seen them in lots of different sizes. I have also seen below ground indoor ponds. There is one in a Chinese restaurant near here.
I guess the real question is who can build it and how much will it cost. I think this is a textbook case of a don’t-do-yourself project. Maybe a specialty fish and aquarium store (not Petsmart of the like) could give you some names or you could find out some place that has one and ask them. There are also corporate service businesses that do large aquarium maintenance. They might know.
My optometrist’s office has one. It is built with fieldstone and one end of it butts up to a plate glass window which has an opening in it where the koi can pass through to an outside pond with a waterfall. It’s very well done, and I wish I had room for one on a smaller scale. 
Cool. It can be done. I didn’t mention that I would like it to be made of stone. Getting glass to seal against stone does not sound like a DIY project at all.
Sharky- any chance you can get photos of your optometrist’s office, or PM me their number?
Thanks.
Sure, no problem. I’ll swing by there next week and take a picture.
We have something simuler at work for the alligator. It’s almost the size of her room, maybe 15’X8’ and about 18’’ deep. There’s a “beach” off to the side.
Our pond is made out of cement and it’s shaped over wire “hardware cloth” forms. There’s also a cement tree in one corner that looks very good. I don’t suppose it would be hard at all to set rocks into the cement or sculpt them in directly. The iguana pool was done in the same way and it has a “rock” waterfall and ledges up the back that look very real.
The tricky part is finding non-toxic sealer. The gator knocked off a lot of the original sealant with her claws and it had to be redone, but that won’t be an issue with fish - I hope! I’ll see if I can find out what we used.
We don’t have pumps set into the ponds because aireation isn’t really a concern. To clean them we simply drop in the sump pump and run the hose out the back door. A proper filtration system is going to be tricky, but I guess it’s possible. The big plastic Rubbermaid turtle pond has an external pump and filter that works fine. You could go that route and just do a coverup with a fake plant or two.
Post pics when it’s done!
I know someone with exactly that set-up. If I see him again soon I’ll ask him about it.
It can easily be done using 2x4s, plywood and plexiglass. link.
Add any stone facing later.
Plywood is definitely the way to go for cheap, large tanks. One problem with the design linked is the top brace (to avoid the glass bowing). One possible solution would be to have the “window” be inset into a more substantial “frame.” Or else you are looking at much thicker (therby heavier and more expensive) glass.
Lots of people build elaborate tanks themselves - but DO NOT enter such a project lightly. I’ll look around and see what I can dig up, but you should be able to find some out-of-this-world pond projects by surfing the various pond sites and forums.