My new pond will be about 8' x 11-12' x 4' deep...about 2000 gallons, and mostly DIY. Over the past few months, I have built a skimmer (copy of a Helix) and aerated bottom drain which will feed through separate lines to a DIY vacuum sieve pre-filter. As Steve (icu2) suggested in one of my first posts, I will be pumping about 4000 gph and sending half of it to a S/G filter which will flow to a MB waterfall which is basically a 55 gallon barrel version of the Helix. The other 2000 gallons will go to TPRs with the option of sending part of it directly to the waterfall bypassing the S/G filter.
I don't have room for a filter pit, so I'm going to try burying the filter in the yard in the waterfall hill. The pump and sieve will be hidden behind the bushes in front of the house. There's not much room there, but I think I can make it work. They will be somewhat protected from weather by the eve of the house, and I will build some kind of a frame around them for complete protection.
Here are some pictures of the front yard to show the current pond and what I'm working with. The new pond will be in the same place extending out more towards the driveway. Although it's in the front yard, it's not like it has any traffic or passersby. The driveway turns off of a small country road and goes through the woods for 300 feet, then another 300 feet to the house...completely secluded except for friends, UPS, FedEx, etc.