Although this is my first pond project so I'm speaking from thoughts not experience, I think your right. It does give you a much different view of them. I was considering making two sides of my pond transparent but from what I gathered that would require buying two (or four) 6' x 2' pieces of thick glass about an inch thick and walling/flooring the rest of it with PVC sheeting... and that price tag was simply over my head. The more surface space you have the better your viewing angles will be.
I've found tons of sites that discuss indoor ponds but 90% of what I've read has been for small (100 Gal or less) ponds. The actual design/construction has been made from personal experience and ideas. I've built a lot of structurally sound large (non fish) projects so the wood working skills were already there.
I basically took ideas for small indoor ponds and merged it with large outdoor pond ideas... and didn't come up with much. That research is actually what got me here to try to find those few people who may have previously attempted such a project (which I've actually not found but one or two).
For guidance on structural design I would balance input from a carpenter or two if you know any, an engineer if you know one. That's just to make sure what you build will not destroy itself (that much water can put out a lot of PSI on the outside walls; and remember gently moving water increases PSI more than you’d think).
For now I'd rather offer more food for thought than actual 'guidance' as like I said, this is my first and isn't up and functioning yet. But by next weekend I'll know if my design held!
This fish will require at least 8'x3'x3' to itself, preferably 10'x4'x4'.
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