I do have the perfect setup. My pond is just outside my patio door and I'm lucky to have a patio that is partially under the roofline as well as the rest of it open to the sun.
I positioned the pond where the majority of it is in the sun for the turts to bask, but close enough for me to be covered should it be pouring down rain. There is also an electrical outlet right there for the fountain/pump.
One thing to remember when you pick your spot for the pond is the sun.
Full sun on it for a long time can make it like a boiling pot. We have a lot of big trees that shade us and my pond only gets full sun 3 or 4 hours in the afternoon. This seems to be enough for my happy healthy bunch in our 100+ degree temperatures and the water doesn't seem to get too warm for them.
The umbrella palm I have in the pond shades more than half of it too depending on how much of it I keep trimmed back. These plants get huge. They can also blow over ... so if you get one for shade reasons, be sure it's held down securely under the water. I have mine submerged in a 15" plastic pot with a cement block half in it holding it down as well as where I got the plant rooted. They don't need dirt and will grow like crazy.
It also creates a means of hiding the turts from that pesky hawk that hangs out around our house.
Go to pondUSA.com and then to the flex-form ponds part of the site.
The one I have is the "Tahoe" pond and I did elect not to bury it because I wanted the option to take it with us should we ever move.
These ponds are heavy duty and by placing the castle rock around them you can make an attractive outside pond at your doorstep or anywhere else you want without the digging and it being permanent.
I got real creative with this project, did it all myself and am blessed to have a husband who let me do it. That was 10 years ago and I haven't had any leaks yet and my turtles love it!
I'm going to try to post some pictures of it for you when I get some time and figure out how to do that. Look for them and good luck with your pond ... fric