here are the above pix of the pond that was installed on the 24th March. Over the past week, the water has become a lot clearer and not with the green slimy foam on top. i think that this is on its way to stabalising itself now, and i'll not worry about it anymore as i was about to buy some barley straw to clear it. the pond was originally going to be in 2 boxes but decided to use one bigger one at 1m x 0.70m x 1m depth approx.
the plants installed are some kind of reed which may need to come out as it might be too big for this small pond, some kind of iris, eau de cologne mint, duckweed (yes, it's an invasive, but will be properly controlled). canadian pondweed was naively put in, but realised it was a native, so i pulled that one out. the tadpoles seems to be thriving, but none have legs so far, i think it's in partial shade so they only love it when the sun's out and they're by the sides of the pond where they're basking in it.
somehow, my cats haven't really taken an interest in the pond/taddies, but when they're more conspicuous then the netted frame, that i've made will go on top.