OT: Backyard pond with Aquarium type "window"? Options

[Mueller]

Okay, I built an in-ground pond a few years ago...guess it's a few hundred gallons...it is surrounded by 2500 pounds of flagstone....after killing all 40+ goldfish last year*, I've let the pond dry up and now it's a trip hazard (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wacko.gif)

Now I'd like to rebuild it with a new and better pump and filter. But instead of keeping it in-gound, I'd like to raise it up and make a viewing window at least a foot or so from the ground level..basicly a one-window aquarium.

Anyone have experiance with making something similar?
Should I plexiglass or tempered glass? What about sealing it to the rest of the pond walls?


*too much tap water into it when I drained it to clean it out some....poor fish (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/unsure.gif)

[john rogers]

I had a cousin back on the east coast (deceased now) who built several aquarium "walls" and used 1 inch thick tempered glass since they went to the ceiling. Remember the force of wather is about 1/2 pound per square inch per foot of height so the glass has to be pretty strong. If you are going up a foot or so then 3/8 inch should work okay. To seal it, I'd lay out the surfaces it sits against, seal them with a thin layer of concrete and then use GOOP sealer to glue the glass to it. If it were on a hill such as my back yard then the window could be much higher. This is on my todo list some day when I retire......